IT leadership can no longer stop at being a resource provider or even a collaborator. According to Zhou, the “CIO 3.0” uses technology to drive educational goals, uplift the university’s brand and anticipate future needs.
“I’m a CIO, but I don’t behave like a typical CIO,” he said.
Zhou brings multiple perspectives to IT initiatives. He considers himself more of a mentor than a manager, focused on identifying his colleagues’ strengths and ensuring IT processes are standard and understandable across the organization.
“In my team, everybody is good at something,” he said.
“My role is to find the right position for the right people at the right time, and then I empower them.”
With this mindset, the IT division produced operational improvements over the last year. The range between the shortest and longest project duration — a measure Zhou said indicates control over execution — narrowed by a factor of three. The percentage of projects delivered on time increased fivefold, and projects were completed four times faster.
Zhou also introduced a customer satisfaction benchmark. Shortly after he joined Texas Tech in September 2024, he issued a Net Promoter Score survey to be repeated annually. Results showed faculty satisfaction with IT more than doubled in a year.
Zhou spent years at IBM helping develop an AI-enabled tutor before switching to education leadership. Now, he measures satisfaction benchmarks against companies like Walmart and Chick-fil-A, not just other universities.
Zhou is also looking forward. When he arrived, the university did not have a quantum computing course, so he developed one. He has supported statewide quantum initiatives, including testifying in support of Texas’ quantum legislation and attending the first Texas Quantum Summit, bringing together leaders from Texas government, universities and industry. Texas Tech students are now researching quantum and AI applications to diagnose breast cancer.
“We are building a time machine for the university,” he said, aiming to anticipate needs years into the future.
