THE RISE OF THE CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER IN HIGHER EDUCATION - Importance of Managing Change on Campuses

Sep 14, 2026

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Innovation is transforming higher education as colleges and universities create formal innovation roles and, in many cases, chief innovation officer functions. The discussion explains why innovation often remains confined to pockets, producing boutique programs that do not scale. It outlines the need for coordinated change management across campus, supported by processes, momentum for ideas, partner connections, and internal empowerment. The paper focuses on how such a role can be integrated into higher education governance structures while shaping future experiences for learners and institutions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Why a Chief Innovation Officer? Why Now?

Building an Innovative Culture

Choosing a Chief Innovation Officer

THE RISE OF THE CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER IN HIGHER EDUCATION THE IMPORTANCE OF MANAGING CHANGE ON CAMPUSES by Jeffrey J. Selingo January 2018 2 THE RISE OF THE CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER IN HIGHER EDUCATION TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 10 11 13 14 INTRODUCTION WHY A CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER? WHY NOW? 1. Help faculty, administrators, and staff look up and out. 2. Generate and build momentum for ideas and develop an innovative mindset within the campus community 3. Develop processes for innovation 4. Connect with partners and funders outside of the institution. 5. Administer seed funding and “release time” for promising projects. 6. Give “air cover” for innovation. 7. Act as the external spokesperson for innovation. BUILDING AN INNOVATIVE CULTURE The Skunkworks/Autonomous-Entity Strategy The Internal Consultancy The Integrated Strategy AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY CHOOSING A CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER 3 THE RISE OF THE CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER IN HIGHER EDUCATION INTRODUCTION Look at the titles of any of the annual association meetings or their individual sessions these days and it’s likely you’ll see the world “innovation” featured prominently. That’s because innovation is everywhere across higher education. Colleges and universities are increasingly reflecting the trend by creating formal innovation roles—under the provost’s office, within information technology departments, or as free-standing C-suite positions. More than 200 institutions now have senior roles with words such as “innovation” or “digital” in their title, and another 200 schools have online learning roles that are often connected to broader academic innovation efforts, according to our research. At one point in the fall of 2017, a search of online job advertisements showed that more than two dozen institutions were looking to fill top innovation roles. Innovation jobs on campuses have their roots in the aftermath of the Great Recession, when colleges were looking to leverage technology to cut costs. The number and scope of the roles increased substantially after 2011, when Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were heralded as the invention that would disrupt higher education’s expensive business model, increase access to college, and improve teaching. College and university leaders scrambled to get their courses online and rethink pedagogical methods on their campuses. Teaching and learning centers became popular outlets to test technology and alternative classroom approaches, and new positions were created to oversee academic innovation. 4 THE RISE OF THE CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER IN HIGHER EDUCATION INTRODUCTION INSTITUTIONS ARE MOBILIZING LIKE NEVER BEFORE TO SHAPE WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE FOR BOTH LEARNERS AND THEIR CAMPUSES With MOOCs no longer grabbing the breathless headlines they once did, perhaps their greatest legacy is that they changed the conversation on campuses about how colleges could become more agile yet remain committed to their mission and shared governance.“The discussions elevated teaching innovation in ways they didn’t before, and that is allowing new ideas to blossom,” said Chris Dellarocas, associate provost for digital learning and innovation at Boston University. Interviews with more than a dozen innovation officers in higher education, from all types and sizes of institutions, illustrate that colleges and universities are still in the early days of defining these new jobs on campuses. The roles and responsibilities of innovation jobs are as diverse as the institutions and the people who hold the positions. These individuals “really need to have their fingers in a lot of pots” said MJ Bishop, the inaugural director of the University System of Maryland's Center for Academic Innovation.“They need to be collaborating with student and academic affairs about student success, with CFOs [chief financial officers] about the ROI [retur

FAQs

Why are higher-education institutions creating Chief Innovation Officer roles now?

Campuses are facing fast, deep changes in demographics, technology, finance, and politics. Innovation roles are being formalized to shape the future for learners and institutions and to help ideas scale beyond isolated pockets.

What problem does the paper identify with innovation on campuses?

Innovative ideas often take hold in a corner of campus and rarely spread. As a result, they become boutique programs owned by specific individuals rather than systems that can scale across the institution.

What responsibilities does the paper say a Chief Innovation Officer should cover?

The role is intended to coordinate projects across campus, build a systems approach to change management, generate momentum for ideas, develop innovation processes, connect with partners and funders, and support promising projects through funding and empowerment.

Sep 14, 2026

Upload by Liam