Presented at EDUCAUSE Annual Conferences, Leadership, and EDUCAUSE2007

As higher education institutions face a growing shortage of IT leaders, some executives question the need for a CIO while others see this role expanding. During this annual Gartner/EDUCAUSE update, we will look at the role of the CIO and how it has evolved, along with current and future institutional needs for IT leadership. We will also look at how institutions can prepare for the next generation of IT leaders and future models for IT governance.

This workshop covers information technology strategic planning in higher education environments. Participants will receive an overview of different approaches to strategic planning for technology, including best practices and analyses of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Three case studies will be presented; each covers a different aspect of strategic planning. A hybrid approach to strategic planning will be developed using the lessons learned from these case studies. The workshop will be of interest to those engaged in any type of planning activity that involves deploying or supporting IT in large organizations.

Senior IT leaders in higher education function at the intersection of two worlds. CIOs serve as the interface between the processes and practices of the technological world and the ambiguities and diversity of the academic world. This seminar will review the various roles CIOs are expected to play, as well as how those roles may be changing. We will explore strategies IT leaders can use to align their organizations and themselves with the institutional missions.

While the session is especially designed for new and relatively new IT leaders, experienced CIOs will also find value in it, as it will help them reassess their roles and the their institutions' changing expectations of them. Topics will include what senior institutional leaders want and need from senior IT leaders, relationships with faculty and staff, the importance of customer service, organizational structure, leading as a change agent, and career issues.

After years of dynamic technological change, current economic circumstances continue to necessitate ever more transformation. Pressing needs to reformulate budgets, strategic plans, and organizational patterns require leadership at all levels of an organization, in informal as well as formal networks. This meeting will explore ideas and best practices for managing in our present climate.

With stories and insights from the successes and failures of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson, Goodwin offers timeless lessons that apply to the worlds of business, politics, and higher education. Her talk will focus on the individual qualities that make a leader great.

This session will describe a leadership development process for IT professionals that includes a leadership framework (using leadership research instruments, examining individual strengths, promoting team participation); managing resources (program planning, organizing and budgeting, conflict resolution and negotiation); and improving performance of IT units (valuing diversity, futuring, trend analysis, scenario development and visioning, and entrepreneurship).

This meeting will focus on the challenges facing CIOs, including funding strategies for today's economic reality, keeping pace with expectations, and the CIO’s evolving role. Part of the session will include structured open discussions focusing on current issues for CIOs from a breadth of institutions.

In November of 2006, Brian Hawkins announced his plans to retire from the presidency of EDUCAUSE at the end of the 2007•2008 academic year. For this session, he was asked to share the important lessons he has learned in his nearly 40-year career in higher education regarding management, leadership, and professional life. He will discuss issues including personnel management, professional development, and how to map a course for good leadership and a successful career.