ABSTRACT
Technology has always held great, if sometimes elusive, promise foreducators. Every decade brings new gadgets and novel ways to organize the learning enterprise that are supposed to improve upon the performance of talented instructors in traditional classrooms. The challenge for leadership is balancing the promise of a technology-enabled future with the organizational reality of academic institutions. New technologies are often dazzling, and it is easy for leaders to become advocates for costly solutions to problems of questionable value. On the other hand, the deliberative and consensus driven processes of academia are not well suited to the pace of technological change, which means that those who are risk-averse and less nimble often delay crucial investments or resist much-needed organizational changes. One thing is certain: important technological change is often both disruptive and unavoidable. The list of industries that have tried and failed to resist the onslaught of technology is long and provides an important object lesson for higher education.
