Strengthening trust and resilience: How George Mason’s new CRO is advancing enterprise risk management

Aurali Dade was recently named vice president for enterprise risk management and chief risk officer at George Mason University. Learn more about her and her role.

Tell us about yourself and what brought you back to George Mason?

My journey with George Mason started in 2012. In my first decade here, I served in a series of leadership roles in Research Integrity and Assurance, then Research and Innovation Initiatives, followed by serving as interim vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact. I then spent more than three years at the National Science Foundation funding nationally impactful research and education programs as an Intergovernmental Personnel Act appointee.

What ultimately brought me back was George Mason's sense of purpose and momentum. Stepping into the role-first as interim and now permanently-of vice president for enterprise risk management and chief risk officer (CRO) felt like a meaningful way to contribute to an institution that has been such a major part of my professional life. It brings together everything I care about: building strong governance, supporting strategic decision-making, and creating systems that protect and enable the university's mission. It felt like a natural homecoming to return and continue serving a community I believe in.

For someone who might not be familiar with enterprise risk management, explain what it is and how it protects our university?

Enterprise risk management (ERM) is an institution-wide approach to identifying, assessing, and managing potential risks that could affect operations, people, finances, reputation, or mission. Rather than working in silos, ERM looks at the entire organization to understand what could go wrong, how likely it is, and what actions can reduce the impact. This helps leadership make informed decisions, prioritize resources, and respond to challenges proactively rather than reactively.

For a university, ERM acts as a safeguard that helps protect students, faculty, staff, and the institution's long-term stability. It helps ensure risks are spotted early around everything from safety and compliance to cybersecurity and financial stability. ERM also supports strategic planning by aligning risk awareness with the university's goals, so innovations or new initiatives move forward with a clear understanding of potential challenges. In short, ERM helps the university operate responsibly, stay resilient, and maintain the trust of its community.

How has the ERM program evolved at George Mason?

As George Mason has grown, so has ERM. Our approach has matured to reflect and support George Mason's rapid expansion in size, complexity, and ambition. We've been intentional about building on the strong foundation that [Dr.] Julie Zobel established-she had a clear vision for how ERM could move beyond traditional risk mitigation and become a true strategic decision-making and prioritization tool. One of the biggest shifts has been ensuring ERM stands on its own as an independent, university-wide function, which has allowed us to take a broader, more holistic view of risk and its connection to institutional goals.

Today, ERM serves as the organizing concept for a wide range of efforts that address institutional risks. The unit encompasses work focused on policy management including policy standardization, maintenance, and strengthening our approach to governance at every level. Most importantly, ERM helps ensure every risk mitigation strategy intentionally ties back to George Mason's strategic priorities, helping the university invest its resources wisely and advance its mission with clarity and confidence.

You've updated the university's policy on policies, why is that important?

One of the important developments in the ERM and governance work over the past year has been the recent update to Policy 1101, our policy on policies. Partnering with Melissa Brockelman-Post, assistant provost of academic affairs, we modernized the policy to create a stronger, more transparent framework for how policies are developed, reviewed, approved, and maintained going forward. This update wasn't just procedural-it was designed to build consistency, strengthen accountability, and treat policy management as an essential component of institutional risk mitigation.

We also expanded and formalized our broader Policy Management Group, chartered by the provost and the chief operating officer. Bringing in more diverse campus perspectives- instructional, research, operational, academic, compliance, legal, student-facing, and more-helps us anticipate issues early and avoid unintended consequences. This ensures that policies not only meet compliance requirements but work effectively in practice, support our strategic direction, and minimize downstream risk. It's a great example of how ERM is strengthening our structures to help prevent or mitigate risks before they emerge.

What's next for ERM at George Mason?

This is an exciting new era where ERM does not just identify risks, it connects the dots across the institution and helps the university "see around corners." As George Mason continues to grow in size and complexity, ERM is becoming an even more strategic partner, helping leadership make informed decisions and anticipate challenges before they arise.

Looking ahead, we're focused on leveraging new tools and technology to strengthen how we gather data, monitor risks, and identify trends. We continue to foster partnerships across campus, deepening our engagement and broadening our network. The next phase of ERM at George Mason is about continuing to expand our impact, modernize our approach, and ensure we're supporting the institution in a holistic and forward-thinking way.

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