By Dr. Norean R. Sharpe
In 2019, St. John's University and Deloitte began organizing a series of symposia on Risk Management in Higher Education for deans, provosts, and chief risk officers to discuss the risks facing universities, such as enrollment management, resource constraints, branding challenges, faculty recruitment, student retention, and the rise in online learning. As these symposia have evolved, the scope of our discussion has naturally expanded to include emerging risks, such as political activism, athletic funding, public confidence, and generative artificial intelligence (AI).
The 13th Symposium on Risk Management in Higher Education, co-hosted by Deloitte and St. John’s University, was held on April 4, 2025. This symposium once again gathered a diverse set of leaders–CROs, CCOs, trustees, deans, provosts, and presidents–to tackle the pressing risk-related challenges facing higher education today. The focus of this year’s symposium was on prominent risk issues, such as evaluating the cost and effectiveness of institutional insurance and mitigating academic leadership risk. Here, I share some of the insights from the panel of academic deans discussing Deans as Risk Owners: How Can Deans Prepare for Our Evolving Educational Landscape.
Overview
The role of deans has expanded over the past few decades beyond traditional administrative duties to encompass a broader spectrum of responsibilities. Deans are now asked by executive leadership to oversee critical functions–such as student enrollment and retention, faculty recruitment, curriculum creation, global programming, and fiscal management–all while working with constrained resources. This level of responsibility requires a proactive approach to identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks that could impact the institution’s success.
This level of responsibility requires a proactive approach to identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks that could impact the institution’s success.