The contributors to this issue present a variety of strategies to help chief academic officers not only survive but excel while juggling their many and varied responsibilities. They offer seasoned advice on fulfilling the CAO's academic duties, and explore the CAO's faculty and administrative roles, discussing how to balance the sometimes conflicting roles of faculty mentor, advocate, and disciplinarian and the importance of establishing a synergistic working relationship with the president. They show how to resolve typical crises that arise in the course of the CAO's daily duties, and demonstrate how conflict can actually be an opportunity to effect constructive change. The issue also covers the important areas of resource and data management, providing an introduction to resource management concepts and terminology and presenting a case study of an award-winning data-driven decision-making process.

This is the 109th issue of the Jossey-Bass series New Directions for Community Colleges.