Copyright 1997 CAUSE. From CAUSE/EFFECT Volume 20, Number 1, Spring 1997, pp. 3,7. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, the CAUSE copyright and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. To disseminate otherwise, or to republish, requires written permission. For further information, contact Julia Rudy at CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301 USA; 303-939-0308; e-mail: [email protected]

CNI Report
CNI Leadership Challenges

Paul Evan Peters served as CNI's executive director from its inception in 1990. The list of the Coalition's accomplishments of white papers, sponsored projects, technical standards setting, and convened meetings is substantial and impressive. To me, though, most important are the relationships that Paul built among the individuals, groups, and professions who must come together to achieve a new form of network-based scholarly communication. Paul's quiet style belied his firm vision of what was possible. He challenged traditional approaches without threatening those of us who still practice them. He introduced us to one another and got us to talk, and not just superficially. His accomplishments in this area are unparalleled.

CNI's Task Force membership is a tribute to this skill. Among the Task Force members are higher education institutions represented by information technologists and librarians, for-profit and not-for-profit publishers, software and hardware vendors, and colleagues from Australia and England. All of these Task Force members have an interest in understanding, developing, and benefiting from a robust operational networked information environment.

Paul's contribution is an enviable legacy, although he would have been the first to observe that the work encompassed by CNI's mission is unfinished and likely to be always so. New technologies will continually challenge old organizational and delivery models and create opportunities to advance intellectual productivity through networked information.

Since Paul's unexpected death on November 18, 1996, the leadership of the sponsors of CNI (ARL, CAUSE, and Educom), the more than 200 Task Force members, and the CNI steering committee have reaffirmed enthusiastically and emphatically that CNI should continue its programs. That CNI should continue was not immediately obvious to all. Many people with whom I have spoken concluded that CNI and Paul were the same. Could Paul's relationship building have been too successful? It is an understandable conclusion to view CNI and Paul as one. Such a conclusion would compliment Paul if he were to hear it, but he would also be very disappointed to think that CNI would falter because he is no longer leading it.

CNI now looks ahead, and is expected to continue and to prosper. We are truly fortunate that Joan Lippincott has stepped in as Interim Executive Director, and Gerry Bernbom from Indiana University has joined the staff as Visiting Program Officer to work almost full time throughout the spring and summer to keep our program operating at its high level of activity.

CNI has engaged Korn/Ferry International, a well-known executive search firm, to help seek a new executive director for CNI. As the CNI steering committee developed the search profile for the new director, it became clear to us how much had been accomplished and the important set of skills that any individual coming into this position must possess. We also clearly understand that CNI will change with new leadership. The form such change will take is not obvious, but a new individual will play a key role in continuing CNI's relevance to its Task Force members as well as to ARL, CAUSE, and Educom.

CNI gains its financial support from the Task Force members and gets its program direction from its sponsors and steering committee. This is a complex political environment that Paul managed well. Keeping the relationships working was often very difficult, and the effort expended could have been distracting from CNI's mission. Paul kept that from happening. Political and relationship-building skills are obviously key traits we seek in a new executive director. However, the steering committee recognizes that the strength of CNI is in its program. That program is developed through Task Force meetings, regional conferences, ideas generated and tested through projects, and speaking engagements, as well as the staff's intellectual leadership. Thus, above all else, the new executive director must have a vision for the CNI program, be able to articulate that vision through presentations, discussions, and projects, and collectively take us to a new level of understanding of the intellectual benefits of networked information.

We hope to fill the executive director position sometime this spring. In the meantime, CNI's program activities continue to build on the momentum established by the excellent work of Joan Lippincott and the CNI staff. The fourth regional meeting co-sponsored with CAUSE is scheduled for May 21-23 at the University of Delaware, and project initiatives in cost measurements and institution-wide information strategies are under way. (See Gerry Bernbom's article in this issue on the latter project.)

Joan Lippincott and I invite your comments or suggestions for CNI's future as well as names of possible candidates for the executive director position, by phone or e-mail. ¹. The support for CNI has been gratifying during this time of unexpected and substantial transition. Your continued support is critical to carrying on the work that has been started. A fitting tribute to Paul is a healthy CNI program focused squarely on the future.

Endnotes:

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CNI Report is a regular CAUSE/EFFECT department that provides reports about the activities of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), formed by the Association of Research Libraries, CAUSE, and Educom in 1990 to promote the creation of and access to information resources in networked environments.

Richard P. West (richard_west@qmbridge. calstate.edu) is Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance for The California State University System. He has chaired the steering committee of the Coalition for Networked Information since its establishment.