3 This chapter describes the opportunity for senior student affairs oficers (SSAOs) to develop an increased digital luency to meet the needs of various constituencies in the digital age. The authors explore what a digital luency is, how it might impact SSAOs’ leadership potential, and the beneits for their respective divisions. A Strategic Necessity: Building Senior Leadership’s Fluency in Digital Technology Kara Kolomitz, Edmund T. Cabellon Senior student affairs oficers (SSAOs) face evolving innovation opportuni- ties through the successes and challenges brought on by digital and social technologies. Today, the academy’s leadership, at all levels of an institution, struggles with allocating the proper resources toward activating technol- ogy’s potential, from staff time to complementary software and hardware; however, SSAOs also focus on utilizing various digital technologies to en- gage students throughout their entire life cycle (Cabellon, 2016). Yet, the landscape of higher education continues to shift through the disaggregation of services and pressure to establish new cost models and provide evidence of return on investment (Bowen, 2013; Selingo, 2013). In the wake of the technological revolution, senior student affairs lead- ership, provosts, vice presidents, deans of students, and other key senior divisional leaders, have an unprecedented opportunity to develop a tech- nological luency, imparting to their constituents the essential, critical, and exciting possibilities of digital and social communication. Literature high- lights a relationship between the increased use and prevalence of social and digital technologies and increased opportunities for student learning (Junco, 2014). However, senior student affairs leaders hold prominent roles in highlighting and embracing the relevance and inluence of digital tech- nology in the lives of the contemporary college student, and the ways in which it resonates and deines a student’s identity and support network (Ellison, Steinield, & Lampe, 2007). This chapter presents, from the practicalities to the research, the dig- ital mindset and luency vital to higher education executive leadership, proven implementation practices from senior student affairs leadership, NEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, no. 155, Autumn 2016  2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/ss.20182 47