Documents Contributed by ECAR, CIO, and Research Bulletins

This research bulletin is a personal account of the career of James Penrod, who served as chief information officer at four higher education institutions for over 25 years. Well known as an expert on leadership, Penrod discusses critical success factors for CIO leaders, from strategic planning to portfolio and policy development to knowing your personal strengths and limits.

As more IT leaders assume a cabinet-level role as chief information officer, colleges and universities with truly effective IT leaders have a strategic advantage. This bulletin analyzes the findings from 229 responses to a national survey of the highest level IT or information management staff at 867 higher education institutions. It describes critical success factors for effective CIO leadership: what CIOs must know, what they must be competent to do and facilitate, and which leadership styles yield positive outcomes.