Looking Back, Leading Forward: The Chief Business Officer Through the Years

Inside this thoughtful monograph, readers will find a brief glimpse into the role of the chief business officer (CBO), how it has evolved, and where it's heading. Interviewees, Patricia Charlton; Nim Chinniah; Mary M. Lai; Wendy B. Libby; James E. Morley, Jr.; Joseph P. Mullinix; and Benjamin F. Quillian, Jr., were asked to answer the same set of questions, and their answers-in their own words-were transcribed into the chapters you are about to read. When developing the questions that eventually "made the cut," it was critical that this monograph remain useful to you, your successors, and your colleagues. Three areas that resonated and came to be the points of focus were the following:1) Career - How they started a career in higher education, what significant influences impacted their work, and how mentors were an important component to where they are today.2) Role - When the role of CBO transitioned to the "inner circle" of the president's cabinet and how the CBO can engage the academic side of the house.3) Future - What the position will look like in 50 years and how the impacts on the profession today will set the stage for the future.You'll read how the GI Bill rapidly expanded the student population on campuses nationwide, prompting institutions to undertake ambitious construction projects and expand staff. Most notably, you'll find that the invisible line between administration and academia has softened in the intervening decades. Along the way, the visibility-and responsibilities-of senior financial officers has risen markedly.