Abstract
During the summer of 1992, a questionnaire designed to obtain information on the leadership role of the Chief Information Officer in higher education was sent to 200 individuals identified as serving in that capacity. The return rate was 83 percent. The information provided by the respondents was employed to address the following research questions: 1) What is the role of the CIO in higher education? 2) What do CIOs in higher education perceive their roles to be as compared to roles identified for CIOs in the business sector? 3) What is the role of the CIO in higher education in the process of transformation? 4) Are the demographic characteristics and institutional practices identified for CIOs in studies conducted by Woodsworth in 1986 and by Penrod, Dolence, and Douglas in 1989 continuing today or have they changed, consequently affecting the role of the CIO? 5) Are there differences in the leadership role of the CIO according to type of higher education institution?The data provided by the respondents as applied to the research questions lead to conclusions that the leadership role of the Chief Information Officer in higher education has changed dramatically since the publication of the results of the Penrod, Dolence, and Douglas study in 1990.