Stephen Downes

It's a bit weird to see someone called Greg Jackson credited for a Beatles lyric, but given that the context is that of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) I guess it's OK. Maybe. "The CIO," writes Tim Chester, "once the translator between technology and mission, is now asked to do something more challenging: help the institution find its way through immense ambiguity." And the future? "With more infrastructure offloaded to the cloud, the technical footprint is shrinking while the leadership footprint is expanding." At 66 - which I am now - I should be headed off to retirement, but the economy isn't what it used to be. "I could be handy mending a fuse when your lights have gone. You can knit a sweater by the fireside, Sunday mornings go for a ride." (p.s. Greg Jackson was a Vice president and chief information officer at the University of Chicago back in 2004; his article from that date is still behind a paywall at the Chronicle but you can read it here. The Beatles were a less well-known musical quartet active in the 1960s).