This pamphlet discusses the original rationale for university systems, points out some of the problems existing because of the definition of that rationale, and proposes a new responsibility for university systems and a new challenge for their leaders. The pamphlet affirms that the system chief executive officer (CEO) and board of governors are internal to the university, refuting the widespread view that they are external to the campuses and constitute state control. The CEO of a university system has three sets of responsibilities: nurturing, leading, and managing. A fundamental problem in most systems is a dissonance between the official allocation of authority expressed in the policy manual or table of organization and the actual practices and procedures that have evolved. Problems inherent in the CEO's role are a foggy identity, a lack of constituency, the requirement to observe ceremony and protocol, and the problem of having to assert and re-assert legitimacy. New challenges include: (1) the provision of a social and moral vision; (2) the rapid and continual change in technology; (3) the environment; and (4) the range of international obligations. (JDD)