From administering Old Dominion's corporate insurance programs to inspecting buildings to conducting fire drills, the Office of Risk Management acts as the university's protector.

"We're here to support the educational purpose of the university," said Kenneth Blow, director of the office. "We really do endeavor to protect the university and its assets from financial loss and identify, eliminate or reduce conditions that might cause loss."

The office develops procedures to minimize risks through physical inspections, contract reviews and on-site assessment of university activities, buildings and programs. "We review a program or activity and might pick up on something that was left out as a necessary step," Blow said.

For example, the office is involved in the planning stages for new construction to ensure that facilities conform to fire safety codes by having the proper number of exits and emergency equipment. Blow and his staff are currently monitoring plans for the convocation center, including its size, configuration, exits and seating. "It gets very detailed," he acknowledged.

The Office of Risk Management is also working with the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the Office of Facilities Planning regarding insurance concerns on buildings Old Dominion is purchasing for the University Village expansion.

"We make sure insurance is covered on the buildings before they're demolished, especially for those with tenants, and we keep up with leases with those tenants," Blow said, adding that his office also photographs the properties before they are destroyed.

When it was created, the Office of Risk Management was initially concerned with general safety. By necessity, it has since expanded its scope to include more highly specialized attention, said Blow, who has been with Old Dominion for 15 years.

"The university has expanded so much in the academic areas of science and chemistry and environmental health," he noted. "We have many more labs and programs that have safety and environmental regulations. We just had to grow to keep pace with where the university was going and keep up with federal and state regulations."

Those rules and other safety concerns contribute to much behind-the-scenes work for Blow and his staff: Charles R. Core, fire protection inspector, and administrative aides Patty Poore and Nancy Wright.

Fire safety is probably the office's best-known responsibility. Core provides fire safety training twice a year to the directors and advisers in all residence halls, during which he creates a simulated fire and evacuates the buildings. He recently had the Norfolk Fire Department talk with children in the Lions Child Study Center and the Child Development Center as part of Fire Prevention Week.

Core conducts semiannual fire drills in each university building, ensuring that everyone gets out quickly and safely.

Fire safety concerns also play a crucial role in special events, including the President's Lecture Series. Blow and his staff work with the Office of University Events on site selection for such activities to determine the best location based on maximum seating capacity and configuration.

"Every building has a capacity based on the number of exits, the size of the room and its type of use," Blow explained. "We work to put the safest number of people in there."

Unless departments have had the misfortune of property loss or have filed an insurance claim, most people on campus generally have little personal contact with the Office of Risk Management, aside from fire drills. However, damage from Hurricane Floyd kept the office busy recently coordinating claims involving the university's insurance carriers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Blow noted that the university sustained approximately $90,000 in property damage, including damage to roofs, landscape materials, the Sailing Center pier and the boardwalk behind Whitehurst Hall. Old Dominion is part of a self-insured program in which all state agencies contribute to a pool from which insurance claims are paid.

The Office of Risk Management also worked on another high-profile insurance claim - the fire in the Health and Physical Education Building elevator last January.

"We filed a claim to allow Old Dominion to replace a gymnasium floor and were able to prove to them that it needed to be totally replaced," Blow said. "That claim came to be several hundred thousand dollars."

In addition to dealing with claims, new construction and fire safety, the office periodically inspects campus buildings for safety hazards and follows up on complaints received from faculty, staff and students regarding problems such as blocked hallways or steps in poor condition.

No matter what area the office focuses on, Blow emphasized his staff must be prepared for whatever might occur.

"It's knowing where to look in advance of something happening or deploying the proper resources following an event that may lead to a claim. We have to keep a finger on the pulse of the university day-to- day, sometimes minute-by-minute, and be able to recognize potential problem areas and implement some safeguard to lessen the exposure or degree of risk."