Case in Point:
Lessons for the proactive manager

We are nearing the end of 2016 and the eighth full year of Case in Point. Case in Point has grown well beyond what we originally expected (or intended), and we hope you continue to find value in our monthly publication. We believe the industry of higher education is vitally important and hope this publication in some way helps our industry achieve success through pro-active risk management.

At the end of our first year of publication, I wrote a column titled ''Back to the Basics'' in which I discussed in very basic terms what we mean by risk management. I thought the end of this year would be a good time to revisit this process.

At its heart, risk management is a very simple process and one we intuitively use regularly. We can break the risk management process down into 5 simple steps:

1. What are we in business to do? (The Mission)
2. What are the things we do to carry out this business? (The Activities)
3. What are the bad things that could happen (or not happen) to keep us from being successful? (The Risks)
4. Which of these bad things do we think are the biggest deal and the most likely to occur? (Risk Assessment)
5. What can we proactively do to reduce the chances that these bad things will happen and increase the chances of success? (Risk Management)

As you reflect on this month's stories across higher education, we hope you will look through the lens of the risk management process and consider how you can proactively increase the odds of success. As always, we invite your comments and suggestions.

M. Kevin Robinson, CIA, CFE
Associate Vice President
Office of Audit, Compliance & Privacy

Information Security & Technology Events

Dec 17, 2016: It is estimated that today there are over 1 million InfoSec positions unfilled -- growing to over 1.5 million by 2019 -- and more than 200,000 of those vacancies are in the U.S. This global shortage of expertise and experience lies at the very heart of the InfoSec world's ability to respond to cyber attacks -- affecting vendors and consumers alike. (link)

Dec 06, 2016: A database within the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School that contained Social Security numbers and name pairs corresponding with 1,213 Law School applicants for 2005-'06 was hacked last month, the university announced Tuesday. The university removed from the server the records that were likely accessed by the cyber attacker and reported the incident to law enforcement for further investigation. The breach also was reported to three national credit reporting agencies, the news release said. (link)

Fraud & Ethics Related Events

Dec 17, 2016: Louisville and Virginia Tech have been fined $25,000 apiece by the ACC after the conference's review of Wake Forest's internal investigation of leaked gameplan information. Yesterday, Louisville suspended co-offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway, who was implicated in the Wake Forest scandal involving Demon Deacons announcer Tommy Elrod handing pertinent strategic information over to opposing teams. (link)

Dec 14, 2016: A state audit of the University of Louisville Foundation found a president with too much unchecked power, numerous examples of broken bylaws and a "dysfunctional governing climate" at the school's nonprofit. But the 59-page report released Wednesday by State Auditor Mike Harmon stopped short of making referrals for a criminal investigation. The audit report describes a nonprofit organization that was run unilaterally by then-university president James Ramsey, who kept his board of directors in the dark about financial transactions and the bylaws governing them. Shortly after the investigation began, Harmon said, the foundation withheld public records and information and questioned Harmon's auditors when they sought spending information. (link)

Dec 07, 2016: A former California State University, Northridge, director of basketball operations acted unethically when he committed academic misconduct for and provided impermissible academic benefits to a total of 10 men's basketball student-athletes, according to a decision issued by a Division I Committee on Infractions panel. The university also failed to investigate and monitor the activities of the former director of operations. (link)

Compliance/Regulatory & Legal Events

Dec 19, 2016: Syracuse University is suing its longtime law firm over claims of legal malpractice related to failed plans to build a bookstore and fitness center on campus. SU filed court papers last week accusing the city's largest law firm - Bond, Schoeneck & King -- of legal malpractice over the firm's representation of SU in a contract with developer Cameron Hill Construction to build a $20 million bookstore and fitness center on University Avenue. Bond, Schoeneck & King has been SU's law firm for years. (link)

Dec 19, 2016: A university investigation of Michelle Karnes' sexual harassment complaint concluded that Stephen Hinton, who is 20 years older, had made an "unwanted sexual advance", but it's unclear if the professor faced any consequences. On the contrary, Karnes says that administrators retaliated against her for speaking up and pushed her out of Stanford. Hinton vigorously denied the allegations, claiming they had a "platonic, reciprocal relationship" and pointing out that a university investigation concluded his conduct did not constitute sexual harassment. (link)

Dec 19, 2016: The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Princeton University to resolve a compliance review initiated in May 2014 regarding Princeton's treatment of students with mental health disabilities and its policies and practices related to requests for reasonable modifications, withdrawals and leaves of absences. The agreement details specific steps Princeton will take to strengthen its policies, practices and training to benefit all current and future Princeton students with disabilities. (link)

Dec 18, 2016: The attorneys for Joe Mixon released a surveillance video on Friday that shows the Sooners star running back punching a female Oklahoma student in 2014. The video shows Mixon punching Amelia Molitor, fracturing four bones in her face, during an altercation at a sandwich shop near Oklahoma's campus in Norman. The video was released after the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters sued for its access, prompting the Oklahoma Supreme Court to rule earlier this month that the city of Norman should release it. (link)

Dec 11, 2016: Auburn University employees who switched to being paid hourly on Dec. 1 because of updated U.S. Department of Labor rules will go back to being paid a flat salary on Jan. 1, according to Auburn University Human Resources. The new rule, which made employees making less than $47,476 a year non-exempt from federal overtime rules, was put on hold by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant on Nov. 22. The injunction keeps the threshold for non-exempt employees at $23,660. Alabama was one of 20 states that sued to block the new rule's implementation. (link)

Dec 12, 2016: Deputies say a Clemson University professor has been charged with driving under the influence after officers saw him cross a center line and drive erratically in a state vehicle. The driver was later identified as 52-year-old Ronald David Lamie. Deputies say the Taurus that Lamie was driving was a state of South Carolina vehicle bearing a permanent license tag. Lamie is an associate professor of Applied Economics and Statistics and works at the Clemson Sandhills Extension facility at the time of his arrest, deputies said. (link)

Dec 09, 2016: Lawmakers in Ohio approved a bill on Friday that opens the way for licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons on college campuses, less than two weeks after a man injured 11 in a stabbing attack at Ohio State University. State senators passed the bill 22-8 after representatives approved it 68-25 late on Thursday, sending the bill to the desk of Republican Governor John Kasich for his signature. If signed into law, the board of trustees at Ohio's public universities would have the option to allow for concealed-carry on campuses. (link)

Dec 08, 2016: A student group at Grand Valley State University has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the university unfairly restricts free speech on campus. The student group, "Turning Point USA at Grand Valley State University," says GVSU limits expressive activity to "two small speech zones" on campus and requires students to gain prior university permission for free-speech activities. They say campus police and administrators told students they would be arrested for trespassing when they tried to talk to other students about the First Amendment outside of a designated speech zone. (link)

Dec 06, 2016: The Southern Association of College and Schools' Commission on Colleges has placed Baylor University on warning for 12 months over issues related to the sexual assault scandal that engulfed the school's football program, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported Tuesday. The publication reports that the commission found that Baylor was not in compliance with "several accrediting requirements." The publication reported that Baylor could spend as much as two years under the sanction before the commission takes action on the status of the schools accreditation. (link)

Dec 06, 2016: The University of Louisville said Tuesday it has been placed on probation by its regional accrediting agency, stemming from turmoil involving Gov. Matt Bevin over the makeup of the school's governing board and the turbulent departure of its former president. In the school's latest setback in a difficult year, UofL acting President Neville Pinto stressed the university remains accredited and is determined to correct problems that led to the one-year probation, which could be extended another year. (link)

Nov 30, 2016: A judge on Wednesday awarded more than $5 million to a former Penn State assistant football coach over his treatment by the university following Jerry Sandusky's arrest on child molestation charges five years ago. Judge Thomas Gavin ruled in favor of Mike McQueary's whistleblower claim, adding to a jury's $7.3 million verdict issued last month for defamation and misrepresentation. (link)

Campus Life & Safety Events

Dec 07, 2016: Hofstra University has asked police to investigate allegations of "extreme hazing" at a now-defunct campus fraternity after the Long Island college's student-run newspaper published disturbing images from a former pledge. The college said in a statement that the photos -- which include images of a man locked in a dog cage, blindfolded students kneeling in front of a swastika with their bodies covered in hot sauce and pledges laying on the ground covered in what appears to be flour -- were allegedly taken off campus and show pledges of the Sigma Pi fraternity's Eta-Gamma Chapter in 2014 and 2015. (link)

Dec 03, 2016: A USC psychology professor was stabbed to death inside a campus building Friday by a 28-year-old student who was taken into custody, Los Angeles police said. Bosco Tjan, a co-director of the Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging Center who joined the faculty in 2001, was identified as the victim by USC President C.L. Max Nikias. Authorities said they arrested Jonathan David Brown, a Los Angeles resident, and booked him in jail. Brown is a PhD student in the lab that Tjan ran, according to a USC website. (link)

Dec 02, 2016: Auburn University employee Dennis Rae Ledbetter, 46, was arrested on three felony warrants Friday and charged with possession of child pornography. Ledbetter is a police lieutenant with the Auburn University Department of Public Safety, according to Auburn University's website. Ledbetter is a police lieutenant with the Auburn University Department of Public Safety, according to Auburn University's website. (link)

Other News & Events

Nov 30, 2016: In the wake of Donald Trump's election, many colleges and universities vowed to become "sanctuary campuses" for students in the country illegally. The matter will take on a special urgency in the event that soon-to-be President Trump repeals the executive-ordered Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which "deferred" the enforcement of immigration laws for those who came here as children. The practical consequences of a "sanctuary campus" policy remain murky (as is often the case when college administrators take direction from student protesters). Will openly harboring illegal aliens jeopardize colleges' federal funding, for instance? In an age of funding-backed executive overreach puppeteering campus policy, it would be dangerous to assume otherwise. (link)

If you have any suggestions, questions or feedback, please e-mail me at robinmk@auburn.edu. We hope you find this information useful and would appreciate hearing your thoughts. Feel free to forward this email to your direct reports, colleagues, employees or others who might find it of value. Back issues of this newsletter are available on our web site at https://www.auburn.edu/administration/oacp.

If you have any suggestions for items to include in future newsletters, please e-mail Robert Gottesman at gotterw@auburn.edu.

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