What CIOs are saying about the future of higher ed IT

College and university IT leaders are entering a year where almost nothing feels predictable. Change in higher ed IT isn’t just speeding up, but changing shape as well.

In December, EAB convened chief information officers (CIOs) and senior technology leaders for a virtual fireside chat focused on the future of higher ed IT. Leo Howell, Vice President for IT and CIO at Georgia Tech, and Dave Weil, Senior Vice President for Strategic Services and Initiatives at Ithaca College, joined the conversation as guest panelists to share what they’re seeing on their campuses and what they’re preparing for next.

The discussion surfaced a clear theme: while today’s challenges feel unprecedented in speed and scale, CIOs are finding ways to lead with clarity, optimism, and purpose, often by re-centering their work on mission, data, and partnership.

Below are several insights that resonated most strongly with participants and will continue to shape CIO agendas throughout 2026.

Leading through volatility starts with the “why”

Financial pressure, political uncertainty, enrollment headwinds, and rising expectations have become a constant backdrop for CIOs. But leaders are sharing that optimism isn’t naïve—it’s intentional.

For Dave Weil, that starts with grounding IT work in institutional mission. “When things get hard,” he shared, “focusing on our why—our students—becomes a real source of motivation.” At Ithaca, that has meant creating more opportunities for IT staff to see their impact firsthand, including deeper engagement with students through internships and experiential learning.

Leo Howell echoed that sentiment, noting that reminding teams what they’ve already accomplished and why their work matters can help sustain momentum. Just as important, he shared, is being honest about what lies ahead: the speed of change isn’t slowing, and resilience will remain a core leadership skill.

AI is forcing a rethink of old assumptions—especially about data

Security, data governance, and AI dominated much of the conversation—not because they’re new ideas, but because of how tightly intertwined they’ve become.

CIOs have been wrestling with data challenges for decades. What’s different now is that AI has raised the stakes. Clean, well-governed data is no longer just a reporting issue—it’s foundational infrastructure.

But Leo Howell cautioned against waiting for “perfect data” before moving forward. Instead, he urged CIOs to start with the business questions they’re trying to answer and work backward. “If you try to fix 20 years of data problems before adopting AI,” he warned, “you’ll push meaningful progress out by years.”

Dave Weil reinforced this point, reflecting on Ithaca’s decision to bring IT, analytics, and institutional research closer together. In hindsight, that integration proved critical for the college’s early AI efforts—underscoring the importance of aligning data, governance, and strategy under a shared vision.

Innovation still depends on having the basics in place

While generative AI and automation have been dominating headlines, CIOs need to remember they are still responsible for “keeping the lights on.”

Technology refresh cycles, network reliability, infrastructure capacity, and cybersecurity hygiene haven’t gone away. In fact, AI has made them more important. Emerging threats are increasingly contextual and targeted, requiring institutions to adopt AI defensively, not just experimentally.

The challenge, then, is balance: how to put guardrails in place without becoming a barrier to innovation. CIOs in attendance described governance not as bureaucracy, but as a mechanism for making hard decisions, especially around tool sprawl, duplicative systems, and limited resources.

The CIO role is shifting from technology leader to strategic partner

Perhaps the most forward-looking insight from the conversation centered on how the CIO role itself is evolving.

At Ithaca, there’s a clear shift away from purely technical roles toward service-oriented capabilities: change management, business analysis, and solution design. Technology remains essential, but increasingly, its value lies in how it enables institutional priorities.

There’s been a similar evolution at Georgia Tech, where expectations for speed and impact continue to rise. Campus leaders are looking to IT not just for systems, but for insight, using data from across the enterprise to inform decisions about enrollment, student success, research, safety, and operations.

That shift requires new skills, new organizational models, and deeper trust between IT and institutional leadership. It also reinforces the importance of peer learning, as CIOs navigate challenges that no single playbook can fully address.

Stay connected to the CIO community

One of the most powerful aspects of the December fireside chat was the opportunity for CIOs to learn directly from peers—comparing notes, sharing early wins, and naming unresolved challenges together.

That peer exchange will continue in the months ahead. This spring, EAB will host another CIO-focused fireside chat, building on the themes surfaced in December and creating space for deeper discussion among senior IT leaders. To be notified of upcoming sessions, or to volunteer to be a future panelist, please contact [email protected] or your Strategic Leader.

Clarissa Thompson

Senior Strategic Leader

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