Interview with Brett A. Sokolow, JD, Higher Education Risk Management Consultant, President of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management (NCHERM). Adapted from the Report on Campus Safety and Student Development, with permission.

CS&SD: Thank you for agreeing to an interview. Please tell our readers a little about your professional life.

BAS: It's frenetic. I'm on the road upwards of 150 days a year. I try to be very proactive in my professional life, providing services not only to college and high school administrators, but also providing programming for students. Often, it feels like two full time jobs, but I believe the best risk management is to prevent incidents, so I go right to the source—the students. I devote part of my time to student programs, and the other part to running a not-for-profit consulting firm, NCHERM, that serves my higher education administration clients. We're based near Philadelphia, and NCHERM focuses on policy development assistance and training on hot-button student development issues like problem drinking, hazing, sexual assault and harassment, campus security, and judicial affairs. We provide seminars and videoseminars each year, and offer publications, videos, and articles on our areas of specialization through our website, www.ncherm.org.

CS&SD: Are you involved with organizations in addition to NCHERM?

I serve a number of institutions as outside counsel, or as an advisor to the student affairs division. I edit the Report on Campus Safety and Student Development for the Civic Research Institute. I sit on the Board of Directors of the Council on Law in Higher Education, where I also serve as Vice President for Campus Security. I am on the Advisory Board of the Communities Against Violence Network (CAVNET) and I am member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), the Association for Student Judicial Affairs (ASJA), the University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA), the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Agencies (IACLEA), the Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA), the American College Personnel Association (ACPA), and the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I). I serve on the Advisory Board of the Higher Education Program at Old Dominion University. I am also professionally affiliated with several insurance companies in a variety of higher education-related capacities.

CS&SD: What types of colleges does NCHERM represent?

BAS: I have had the chance to work with almost 350 different institutions in a nationwide practice, from small liberal arts colleges, to religious institutions, to large state universities, state systems of higher education, and community colleges. Each year is different, and that's part of what keeps it so interesting. Different clients have different needs. For one, I recently provided an off-site review of their entire conduct code, transforming it into a values-based code. For another, I facilitated a community forum on the campus climate on sexual assault. For another, a federal grant recipient, I provided a policy workshop for 21 other federal grant recipients. For another, an update on Legislation and Litigation for 2003-2004. For many clients this year, investigation training and judicial training have been active areas, and looking forward, classroom disruption, student psychological needs, and culture change on alcohol are clearly hot topics.

CS&SD: Do you have clients who you work with every year?

Yes, I have about forty “regulars”, whom I visit annually. I provide these colleges with annual compliance services, mainly with regard to federal laws such as FERPA, the Clery Act, Title IX, and some others. The consistency of working with these schools over time enables us to help manage long-term risk for these institutions, ensuring compliance and sound practices that can reduce the potential for legal liability and increase the potential for student safety.

CS&SD: How has the higher education community responded to your services?

BAS: We continue to grow every year. Many of our clients are coming to us soon after a severe lawsuit, hoping to prevent another one. It would be great if more schools came to us proactively, because that is our strong suit. We can do crisis management quite well, but the best way to manage a crisis is to prevent it. Part of our organizational ethic is that we play the role of change agents for institutions that are interested in innovative ideas to reduce risk and enhance student safety. Our ideas are very much leading-edge, and are well suited to colleges and universities that are willing to challenge their status quo, and recognize the possibility that the accepted way of doings things might not be the best way. My colleagues know me to take controversial positions, and I'm not afraid to say the things that I think need to be said, even if they are unpopular. I'm comfortable in my role as a provocateur, because it allows me to be an agent for positive change. Challenging the status quo keeps all of us fresh, thinking about tough issues and creative solutions to problems.

CS&SD: What’s New at NCHERM?

BAS: In 2003, we completed the first project in our LifeLessons software initiative. Sexual Assault 101 is a half-hour interactive educational CD-ROM for college students. It is available now to colleges at low cost. It is an innovative, high-quality educational tool.

CS&SD: It has been a pleasure to interview you.

BAS: And a pleasure for me to be interviewed.

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