Assessing Risk Within the Foundation

The role of higher education in society is vitally important, as data overwhelmingly show benefits for both students and society. And yet the sector, which is under pressure financially, politically, and reputationally, has become a risk-based industry. Higher education leaders—senior administrators, governing boards, and foundation boards—are assessing much of their plans and addressing many of their challenges based on traditional risk tolerance considerations. How much risk are public higher education institutions and their related foundations comfortable taking on? Has a culture of innovation and risk taking been established with specific standards and structures? It is time for our sector, inclusive of public institutions and their affiliated foundations, to consider a process for evaluating, accepting, and mitigating risk factors. Twenty-first-century policy considerations require a clear-eyed awareness of risk factors, and foundations and institutions need to shape their policy considerations accordingly.