Jared Wise’s Tightrope: Risk Management in Higher Ed and the Cyber Arms Race – Penn State’s Playbook or Penned-In?


Let’s face it: higher education and risk management go together like undercooked ramen and all-nighters – a real rough pairing that leaves you wondering if there was ever another option. But Penn State’s Jared Wise has jumped into the fray, navigating a path from commercial underwriting to the risk-soaked halls of academia as Penn State’s Chief Risk Officer (CRO). It's a long way from balancing commercial lines for private companies to ensuring a colossal institution like Penn State doesn’t face its next headline-worthy fiasco. So, what is Wise doing to protect Penn State from cyber threats, reputational risk, and, well, itself? Let’s dig in.

Risk Management in Higher Education: "Cohesive and Collaborative" or Just Collegial and Complacent?

Wise has found himself on a campus risk team that he characterizes as “cohesive and collaborative” – which, in corporate-speak, translates to “we’re all in this together, but nobody’s got a real plan.” He’s not entirely wrong; the risk management field in higher education is a close-knit community. But just because you’re sitting in a room with everyone nodding along doesn’t mean you’re solving anything. While Wise praises this environment as a resource for learning and benchmarking, one wonders if this “collaborative” approach actually produces actionable risk plans or just more PowerPoints and LinkedIn kudos.

Wise’s work has been buoyed by the need to address issues most industries are sweating over: cyber threats, resource allocation, and aging personnel. The twist? Academia moves at its own, gloriously sluggish pace, often confusing “thorough” with “slow.” It's the same reason some universities still accept checks for tuition payments while Wall Street was trading crypto futures last year. But Wise, to his credit, sees the potential – or maybe just the challenge – in aligning these legacy institutions with modern risk management principles.

Cyber Threats in Higher Ed: Welcome to the "Arms Race"

When asked about the most pressing emerging risk in his industry, Wise doesn’t hesitate: it’s cyber. And not just your run-of-the-mill “someone opened a phishing email” kind of cyber. Wise is locked in what he aptly describes as an “arms race” against bad actors who can outwit your typical antivirus software before breakfast. Picture this: a quiet campus IT department being metaphorically outgunned by cyber masterminds worldwide, all while keeping their heads down in a network that wasn’t exactly designed with hackers in mind. Higher ed is a prime target for cyber threats – sensitive data galore, limited IT funding, and way too many people clicking on sketchy emails.

And then there’s the AI wildcard. Wise, like many CROs, acknowledges that AI amplifies the threat. Bad actors are not just “evolving” their tactics; they’re turbocharging them with AI to reach new heights of cyber villainy. For a place like Penn State, this could mean anything from ransomware attempts that cripple the entire system to sophisticated data heists that leak sensitive student and faculty information. Wise doesn’t pull punches about the challenge: his team is playing catch-up, and sometimes it feels like they’re running uphill – in quicksand.

The Talent Drought: Risk Management’s Missing Generation

Risk management isn’t exactly bursting at the seams with eager talent, thanks in large part to a double whammy: a post-boomer talent drought and the academic industry’s reputation for, let’s say, "noncompetitive" salaries. With the boomer exodus in full swing, institutions are bleeding experienced talent, often leaving the next generation of managers to play puzzle-piece scramble with fragmented knowledge. Wise sees this firsthand, lamenting that much-needed wisdom left the building with retiring personnel, creating a void that college interns and freshly minted hires are struggling to fill.

So what’s Wise’s strategy? Well, as far as we can tell, it’s a mix of strategic recruitment, mentorship (if he can find mentors willing to step up), and sheer determination. Wise is just one of many in the higher education sphere who have come to realize they’re essentially at the starting line of a marathon they didn’t expect to run.

Getting to "Yes" (or Close Enough): Risk Management Isn't Just “No” and Compliance

To his friends, Wise’s job sounds mind-numbing. After all, most assume he’s just "buying insurance and reviewing contracts." And to be fair, there is an element of insurance drudgery here – compliance checklists, legalities, the endless scroll of indemnity clauses. But Wise would like us to know that his job is, in fact, more about creatively finding solutions than blocking them. He’s not the risk manager saying "no" to every question that lands on his desk; he’s the one working to figure out how they can say “yes” – even if it’s a qualified yes.

But let’s be real: insurance and contract review are not going anywhere. In the high-stakes world of academia, where liabilities range from lab mishaps to frat parties gone wrong, Wise’s job involves a whole lot of fine-print scrutiny. It's hardly sexy work, but it’s critical – and it’s not just about preventing disasters but about strategically positioning Penn State to withstand them.

Legacy and Influence: The Penn State CROs Who Paved the Way (and Left Jared to Clean Up the Rest)

Wise gives credit to mentors like Gary Langsdale and Dave Snowe, two former Penn State Risk Management officials who apparently knew how to break down insurance jargon and make it all seem, well, almost fun. Wise’s journey into risk management was apparently paved by these two icons, each one playing a role in helping him understand that risk management can be an “exciting” and “fulfilling” field. (Yes, you read that correctly. Exciting risk management!)

While Wise holds Langsdale and Snowe in high regard, let’s hope they didn’t pass down too many outdated practices. With Langsdale retired and Snowe’s open-door policy now a fond memory, Wise is taking the reins during a time when the industry is reinventing itself, sometimes at a speed academia can barely keep up with.

THON: The Quiet Giant in Wise’s Legacy

Every CRO has their crowning achievement, and Wise's may very well be his work with Penn State’s IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, or THON. This annual event, raising millions for childhood cancer, is a student-led behemoth of fundraising and goodwill. Wise’s behind-the-scenes involvement in making sure THON adheres to risk management protocols is no small feat; he’s essentially tasked with building a safety net around the world’s largest student-run philanthropy.

And while it might not be headlining Penn State’s promotional material, it’s worth noting: Wise’s work on THON has arguably been some of his most impactful, offering a rare glimpse into how risk management can be as much about enabling success as it is about mitigating failure.

A Word to the Wise (Pun Intended): The Future of Risk Management in Academia

So, what’s the future for Jared Wise and others like him? Will they continue wading through policy forms and fending off digital wolves at the university’s door? Or will risk management in higher education finally get the agility boost it so desperately needs? Wise seems optimistic, but cautiously so. He believes that the risk management community can do better at marketing itself and, more critically, in becoming more agile with tech adoption. It’s almost as if Wise is waiting for someone to hand him a startup-esque playbook – something higher education has traditionally avoided like the plague.

But here’s the kicker: Wise knows that the job he does isn’t flashy, and it’s certainly not simple. His role straddles the line between cautious guardian and strategic enabler, with the next cyber threat always looming on the horizon. The question remains, can academia keep up, or will Wise and his peers always be two steps behind?


In Closing

Jared Wise may not be the superhero risk manager academia didn’t know it needed, but he’s the one it’s got – and frankly, he’s probably doing more for Penn State than his job description will ever reveal. The reality of his role may not match the heroic optics, but Wise’s effort to move the needle, however incrementally, is a feat in its own right. So here’s to Wise, the CRO who navigates everything from cybersecurity landmines to managing one of the world’s most ambitious student-led charities, all while trying to get risk management noticed as an industry that’s every bit as dynamic (and just maybe, just maybe, a bit sexy) as it claims.

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