Universities are creating senior AI roles to centralize policy and strategy, but the positions vary widely in scope and influence. Some institutions have already appointed chief AI officers to coordinate research, operations, and pedagogy; others have folded the role back, exposing limits to a one‑person governance model. What happened: Several campuses named senior AI leads while others questioned whether a single office can keep pace with evolving tools. Who’s involved: UNC, University of Washington, George Mason, UMBC and other institutions that have piloted or rescinded ‘AI czar’ roles. Why it matters: Governance design choices—centralized czar versus distributed oversight—will determine how quickly campuses close policy gaps around privacy, data security and instructional integrity.