A Different Kind of CIO

Some years ago, the University System of Maryland decided to create a system CIO position that was neither tactical nor strategic. The system, which is highly diverse and decentralized, was being reorganized. The system office did neither operations nor top-down planning in the traditional sense. The focus of the CIO was not to be management but to facilitate cooperation and collaboration. Given that higher education everywhere is currently under many pressures, there are lessons learned from developing this role that can be applied in a variety of contexts. There is common agreement that such a position has been important to the overall cohesiveness of IT decision making throughout the University System of Maryland and has also broadly benefited institutions in other education segments in Maryland. Past EDUCAUSE Leadership Award presentations have touched on cooperation and collaboration, and the EDUCAUSE Review article by Hilton and Wheeler, "The Marketecture of Community," provides helpful context for this discussion.

Winner of the 2016 EDUCAUSE Leadership Award. Award sponsored by Moran Technology Consulting, Gold Partner.