From a short-lived federal grant program to an 1,800-member network, the Disaster Resilient Universities® (DRU) Network has spent two decades proving that higher education is stronger when it stands together.
In higher education, organizational resilience is rarely built in a single moment. It is cultivated over years of shared crises, hard-won lessons, and the deliberate choice to collaborate. That is precisely the story of the Disaster Resilient Universities Network. This peer-to-peer network emerged from adversity, grew through the strength of its multidisciplinary professional community, and today stands as a model serving institutions of higher education (IHEs) across North America.
“In higher education, organizational resilience is rarely built in a single moment.”
Where It All Began: A Federal Sunset and a Grassroots Response
The DRU’s origin story is a testament to what happens when dedicated professionals refuse to let critical connections disappear. In 2005, a federal grant program supporting campus emergency management and resilience was eliminated without a clear successor or transition plan. For many institutions, that would have meant the end of a vital national resource. The colleges that participated in the program learned firsthand that connecting multiple professions under a shared mission has the power to make their campuses more disaster resilient.
Those colleges, unwilling to lose the momentum and community that had started to take root, came together to keep the collaboration alive. The effort found a home under my leadership at the University of Oregon. What followed was a period of foundational work for the DRU. The university provided a needed organizational anchor to help the young network grow and thrive.
An important part of the DRU’s early growth was a simple Listserv. By creating a shared communication platform where campuses could exchange information, ask questions, and raise emerging concerns in real time, the DRU built a culture of peer-to-peer learning that spread entirely by word of mouth. No marketing campaign. No federal mandate. Just professionals recognizing value and bringing their colleagues along.
In partnership with the former National Center for Campus Public Safety and other IHE professional associations, the DRU developed nationwide benchmark surveys for both emergency management and enterprise risk management. For the first time, those surveys gave IHEs and their leadership a consistent, data-driven lens through which to measure their programs, compare them with peers, and share promising practices.
In 2016, the findings of the Emergency Management Survey were presented directly to Congress, underscoring the national significance of the data and the policy relevance of the network.
From these early efforts, a broader structure began to take shape—one explicitly designed to benefit risk and safety practitioners by bringing together multiple professions under a shared purpose: helping campuses become more disaster resilient and future-ready.
What the DRU Does Today: A Multi-Disciplinary Platform for Organizational Resilience
Two decades after its founding, the DRU has evolved into a robust, multifaceted network serving a community of more than 1,800 campus safety and resilience professionals representing IHEs across the United States and Canada. The network has become a hub for organizational resilience in higher education.
At its core, the DRU provides a framework and structure for approaching risk, emergency management, and organizational resilience through a multi-disciplinary lens. Rather than siloing emergency managers, risk officers, environmental health and safety professionals, security professionals, and others into separate conversations, the DRU brings these disciplines together.
The DRU’s core activities:
The DRU member platform facilitates peer-to-peer information sharing at scale, enabling practitioners at institutions large and small to learn from one another’s experiences, successes, and setbacks.
The DRU Library shares resilience tools, templates, and materials specifically curated for IHEs.
DRU-emerging issues roundtables and national summits bring practitioners together to identify safety, risk, and resilience challenges and develop solutions collaboratively. These interactive working sessions generate actionable intelligence about the threats and opportunities IHEs face.
Partnership development remains central to the DRU’s model. By creating structures for networking, problem-solving, and collaboration, the organization helps campuses build professional relationships that enable effective resilience.
Through national surveys, the DRU captures and shares field-wide data on needs, trends, and emerging issues.
What’s Ahead: Fall 2026 and the Road Forward
In Fall 2026, the DRU is hosting a series of virtual events and sharing findings designed to address pressing issues facing campuses today.
Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS) Serious Games for Emergency Management Webinar—an overview and case study of research-based simulation games used to prepare teams for complex incidents.
Cybersecurity Panel—brings together expert voices on one of the fastest-growing threat vectors in higher education.
Findings from the 2026 Cybersecurity Roundtable and Survey—translates peer-sourced data into practical, field-tested guidance for campus leaders.
These events and findings reflect the DRU’s ongoing commitment to staying ahead of emerging issues and ensuring that IHEs have access to timely, relevant, and practitioner-informed resources.
Now Is the Time to Get Involved
It has always been my philosophy that we are better together. When institutions lose access to shared resources and support structures, they are more vulnerable—and rebuilding takes years. That is why the DRU’s work matters more now than ever. Here is how you can be part of it:
Join the DRU Network and help increase resilience across higher education by contributing your experiences, expertise, and institutional knowledge to the conversation. Visit dru-network.org to sign up.
Visit the DRU Library to access resilience resources tailored to IHEs—and share resources from your own institution to help colleagues across the network (drulibrary.uoregon.edu).
Build partnerships and break down silos at your institution by connecting disciplines, bridging departments, and identifying the internal collaborations that make your campus stronger and more resilient.
The infrastructure for higher education resilience does not sustain itself. It requires engaged professionals who believe that shared knowledge is a force multiplier—and who are willing to invest in the community that makes it possible. The DRU has spent 20 years building that community. The next chapter depends on who shows up to write it.
For more information about the Disaster Resilient Universities network, visit resilient.uoregon.edu/dru
“It has always been my philosophy that we are better together.”