Academic management and administrative processes rely heavily on
technology in business offices, virtual laboratories, digital libraries,
and the like. Technology also has an impact upon teaching, freeing
classrooms from constraints of time and space. Yet many university
leaders are hesitant to set technology as a priority. This book is
designed to address the subject from a perspective appropriate to
leaders. An important concept covered here is that the new advances in
information technology drive a significant restructuring of our social
institutions, which will provide access to knowledge and education that
was formerly restricted to the privileged. The generation raised with
this technology demands new approaches to teaching and learning-this
poses a unique challenge to traditional faculty members. The authors of
this book believe It is our collective challenge as scholars, educators,
and academic leaders to develop a strategic framework capable of
understanding and shaping the impact that this extraordinary technology
will have on our institutions. They believe that academic institutions
will change in form and character, and that such changes will affect the
mission, function, and possibly even the concept of the university. The
role of leadership is to both see over the horizon and adapt leadership
styles to an environment of constant change. Leadership must formulate a
clear and consistent institutional vision.