Colleges are creating senior AI roles while administrative teams wrestle with how to operationalize governance across teaching, research and operations. A growing number of institutions have hired chief AI officers or similar leaders to coordinate campuswide policy, but the roles vary widely in authority, remit, and resources. Reports from campuses including UNC Chapel Hill, University of Washington, George Mason, and Maryland‑Baltimore County show institutions appointing AI leads to centralize strategy, set ethics rules, and advise on procurement. Yet practitioners warn that a single 'czar' cannot replace robust cross‑unit processes: responsible governance requires legal, IT, academic‑affairs and student‑services alignment. Experts recommend defining clear authorities for data access, academic integrity, and vendor controls; building technical guardrails; and ensuring the role has faculty and operational trust. Absent those elements, early hires risk becoming symbolic rather than operationally effective.