Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Educause President and CEO John O'Brien Announces Retirement

Key Takeaways

  • John O’Brien will retire from Educause in August 2027: O’Brien has served as president and CEO of the higher education IT association for 11 years.
  • His tenure emphasized collaboration and community: Educause credited O’Brien with expanding the organization’s work as a convener, research organization, professional learning source, and advocate during a period of major change in higher education.
  • Educause will begin a national search for his successor: The association plans to work with a national search firm ahead of a leadership transition in August 2027.

John O'Brien, president and CEO of Educause, has announced his intention to retire in August 2027.

O'Brien has led the association for higher education IT professionals for 11 years, working to expand the organization's work "as a convener, research organization, source of professional learning, and advocate for colleges, universities, and other organizations around the world," Educause wrote in a news announcement.

"The past decade has brought significant upheaval, from the pandemic and the Great Resignation to enrollment pressures, rapid advances in artificial intelligence, and an increasingly complex policy environment," Educause noted. "Through it all, O'Brien has emphasized collaboration, shared leadership, and a clear focus on the people and communities higher education exists to serve."

"John has led with clarity and unwavering focus for 11 years, never losing sight of the greater good, even in the hardest stretches," said Educause Board Chair Tara Hughes, in a statement. "He has made Educause a bigger, more welcoming tent, and the whole sector is better for it."

"Leading Educause has been the privilege and joy of a lifetime," said O'Brien. "Throughout my career, I've embraced opportunities to make a difference, and I've never stopped believing that this work, done well, is in service to something greater than any of us. Our extraordinary worldwide community of more than 2,100 member colleges, universities, and other organizations has made that belief real every single day."

Prior to his role at Educause, O'Brien served as senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. He has held a variety of leadership positions across higher education throughout his career, including as a faculty member in English, instructional technology leader, chief academic officer, and community college president. He also currently serves as chair of the board of regents of Augsburg University and as a board member for the American Council on Education and Achieving the Dream.

Educause said it "will engage with a national search firm to identify O'Brien's successor with plans for a leadership transition in August 2027."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Neon blue security locks with a single red highlight

    AI Shifts Cybersecurity Focus from Finding Flaws to Fixing Them

    For decades, one of cybersecurity's most difficult challenges has been finding vulnerabilities before attackers do. A growing number of security professionals now say artificial intelligence is changing that equation, shifting the focus from discovering flaws to fixing them quickly enough to prevent exploitation.

  • robot hand holding stacks of coins

    Designing AI Systems for Financial Aid

    Financial aid offices have been slow to adopt AI, risking technological stagnation at a critical early student touchpoint. Systematic AI integration can improve student experiences and strengthen institutional positioning.

  • silhouette of business person facing wall of data

    Why AI Strategy Belongs in the President's Office

    Institutions that are succeeding with AI share one thing in common, and it is not a better committee, a larger budget, or a more sophisticated technology stack. It is a president who never handed off the steering wheel.

  • digital brain with network connections

    Microsoft Moving to Internally Developed AI Models in Office Apps

    Microsoft is reportedly using its own in-house artificial intelligence models to handle some workloads in Excel and Outlook, offering new evidence that the company is moving its AI strategy beyond model development and into large-scale cost reduction.