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AC2008-1040:RISKASSESSMENTOFAMECHANICALENGINEERINGDEPARTMENTGregKremer,OhioUniversity-AthensDr.KremerisanAssociateProfessorandChairoftheMechanicalEngineeringDepartmentatOhioUniversity.HeteachesintheMechanicalDesignareaandhasprimaryresponsibilityfortheCapstoneDesignExperience.HismainresearchinterestsareEnergyandtheEnvironment,especiallyasrelatedtovehiclesystems,andengineeringeducation,especiallyrelatedtointegratedlearningandprofessionalskills.Dr.KremerreceivedhisB.S.degreeinMechanicalEngineeringfromRose-HulmanInstituteofTechnologyin1989,hisPh.D.degreeinMechanicalEngineeringfromtheUniversityofCincinnatiin1998,andhasfiveyearsofexperienceasaMechanicalDesignEngineeratGeneralElectricAircraftEngines.©AmericanSocietyforEngineeringEducation,2008Page13.1055.1RiskAssessmentofaMechanicalEngineeringDepartmentIntroductionInthespiritofcontinuousimprovement,theMechanicalEngineeringDepartmentatOhioUniversityinitiateda"riskassessment"processintheFallof2006totakeanopenandhonestlookatallaspectsofourdepartment.Risksarepotentiallyundesirableevents,andexamplesofrisksthatarepossibleinamechanicalengineeringdepartmentincludeextendedsickleavefortechnicalstafforfaculty,ahiringfreezeduetobudgetcuts,purchasingcardrestrictionsduetomisusebyUniversitypersonnel,afacultymemberleavingforindustrymid-year,andtheadversereputationaleffectsofmisleadingreportingofeventsinastudentnewspaper.Althoughyoumaythinkthatariskassessmentcanonlybedonebyalargedepartmentwithlotsofresources,thatisnotthecase.Ourdepartmenthasabout250undergraduates,30graduatestudents,12fulltimefaculty,andthreestaffmembers.Therearetworesearchcentersunderthedepartment,andoverallthedepartmentandcentersareinvolvedinseveralmilliondollarsworthoffundedresearch.Ourcampusisprimarilyresidentialandislocatedinasmalltown.OhioUniversityissimilartomostuniversitiesinthatwehaveadivisionofSafetyandRiskManagementthataddressesrisksontheuniversitylevel,butthisdivisiondoesnotdealwithdepartment-levelrisks.Whenweinitiatedourriskassessment,wewerenotabletofindpublishedexamplesofengineeringdepartmentriskassessmentsforguidance.Department-levelriskassessmentswereaddressedinatalkbyAnnFrankeofWiseResultsLLC,inwhichsheidentifiesthemaincampusriskcategoriesas:Financial,Operational,LifeSafety,Compliance,andReputational.Importantly,sheidentifiesseveralriskstoconsideratthedepartmentallevel,including1:•Teachingrisks(poorteacher/studentboundaries,biasorfraudingrading,harassment,injuryinclassroomorlaboratory,targetedviolenceagainstaprofessor•Researchrisks(lossofresearchdataorspecimens,misuseofgrantmoney,datafabrication,plagiarism,failedcollaborations)•Otherrisks:emailprivacyrisks(non-universityaccounts),unfairstudentdiscipline,discrimination,plagiarism,embezzlement,tenuredenialcomplicationsandlawsuits,lossofcomputerdata,fieldtripaccidents,suicide,etc.Operationally,AnnFrankeadvisestotakeabroadviewofwhatcouldgowrong,focusonsmallstepsforimprovement,gethelp,followup,adjustandstickwithitforthelongterm.Thoughnotfocusedoncollegeteaching,Dunkleeetalin"APrimerforSchoolRiskManagement"identifythefollowingrelevantcaseswhereschoolemployeeswerefoundinthecourtstobenegligent2:•Forinadequatelywarningstudentsaboutexperiments,machineryorequipment.•Forassigningtasksthatexceedtheskilllevelofemployeesorstudents•Fornotfollowingthesyllabus•Forinsufficientsafetytrainingandinadequateenforcementofsafety...