Welcome to HigherEdRisk 

Are you looking for a resource that can provide you with a better understanding of your risk landscape in higher education? Would you welcome a holistic view of current and future exposures facing the industry presented in a style that is easy to consume? 

Our goal is to provide you with actionable insights on risk opportunities from a panoramic viewpoint. We seek engaging content that will encourage conversation and empower your organization to anticipate, manage, and adapt to industry disruptions. 

Most publications focus on one sector of the industry. We are different. We curate content from campus and industry leaders from diverse backgrounds to share their insights, experiences, and lessons learned.

Our team of experienced practitioners will bridge the gap between the campus offices, exposing risk at the macro level.

Risk is everyone’s business. This site, publications and our companion LinkedIn Group are a platform to discuss emerging risk, build insights into how executive leaders and fiduciaries can reduce or avoid losses and increase organizational effectiveness.

Thank you for joining us on our new venture. Let’s build a resilient future together!

Meet Tracey Swift our Editor-in-Chief 

Tracey Swift brings 20+ years of experience in higher education and corporate risk management.

She most recently served as the Executive Director of Risk Management at Arizona State University, where she directed ASU’s global risk management and insurance programs. Tracey’s private sector experience includes work for Fortune 500 companies, including an international assignment to train a new risk management team in Switzerland. In addition to her risk management experience, she held broker positions with Marsh at their headquarters in New York.

Tracey has earned the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Cyber 301 designations from the Institutes and a Commercial Brokers License in Property and Casualty Insurance. 

Tracey has volunteered in several capacities for risk professional organizations and has been selected as a Top Risk Management Voice on LinkedIn.

In 2024, Tracey embarked on a new journey to give back to the higher education community by bringing awareness in print and social media to highlight the interconnectedness of risk in all aspects of college life. 

The mission of HigherEd Risk is to empower higher education leaders by creating engaging conversations and fostering an innovative and collaborative approach to strategically managing risks. Tracey is not an employee and serves as an independent Editor-in-Chief at HigherEdRisk.

Why Now 

This is an important moment for higher education. 

Higher education leaders and the fiduciaries that govern colleges and universities are operating in a new environment where risks appear to be compounding.

Multiple risks are impacting the stability, trust, and confidence in the leadership of American colleges and universities. 

While the list of specific risks is large, what is less obvious is the limits of insurability of schools.

The modern risks facing colleges and university officials today, require a multi-disciplinary discussion. Too often, however, higher education associations are more narrowly focused on housing, health, business services, or enrollment with little content at conferences or in their publications on how each function impacts the enterprise risk of their institution. 

To be clear, HigherEdRisk aims to raise the visibility of strategic risk management and seeks to complement and highlight existing industry publications produced by higher education Associations, insurance brokers or underwriters.

Emerging Needs:

Fundamentally, HigherEdRisk aims to help campus leadership, decision-makers and fiduciaries understand the emerging risks and remedies available to reduce the cost of financial losses.  

Therefore the opportunity is to create a forum for discussing risk beyond the risk management and insurance office.  Enabling a discussion between departments - student housing risk, mental health, and student affairs, cyber risk and procurement, third-party events and student facilities, workers' compensation, and wellness programs.  A publication that moves beyond the risk office or themes related to the “insurable risk” but to broader topics including how to reduce and transfer risk effectively. 

A New Lens for Fiduciaries.

The aperture for discussing risks facing higher education is no longer at the department or functional level with university officials.

HigherEdRisk seeks to share a perspective at the intersection of departments and oversight by fiduciaries - such as trustees and regents. To that end, the publication seeks to:

  • Create and curate content vital to university decision-makers, fiduciaries, and stakeholders. 

  • Complement and invite collaboration with respected voices in the industry. (ie: Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA), Natiaonl Assocaition of College & University Business Officers (NACUBO), United Educators etc)

  • Connect the dots between university offices and associations. A primary aim is to become a digital-first and print publication that will bridge the risk knowledge gap, leverage common concerns amongst diverse departments, and formulate proactive dialogue to build a risk-resilient culture.

  • Create a forum for discussing and highlighting business practices that help reduce the cost of college by practical risk mitigation strategies including risk transfer programs that reduce financial losses.

Editorial Advisory Board

  • Tracey Swift

    Editor-In-Chief

  • Wimer Alberto

    College Life Protected

  • Mary Whisenand

    CampusCoverage

  • Steve Holland

    Retired risk manager of University of Arizona & past URMIA President

  • John Fees

    Publisher and College Life Protected (B-Corp)