IT Educator: Not My Job?

During the author's time as a higher education CIO, there have been conversations in the profession regarding what the college/university president should know about technology. In his mind, this is also a conversation about whether or not the CIO is responsible for providing IT knowledge to the president. As he's thought about this debate, he's considered how the CIO, as the IT communicator and translator -- that is, the IT educator -- can best support the president and other members of the institution management team (IMT). In most cases, a higher education institution does not exist to produce technology. It produces graduates who go on, ideally, to improve their own lives and the society. During his almost two decades as a CIO in three industries and three higher education institutions, he's learned several things about the skills that are important for a CIO. In addition, he has conducted higher education CIO research over the past thirteen years.