This thesis describes the profile characteristics and role of the chief business officer in colleges and universities in the northeastern United States. Part I describes the "who" dimension of the CBOs. It compares the age, sex, race, length of employment in present position, and the highest academic degree held by the CBOs. Part II of the study examines the "what" dimension of the CBOs. This part focusses on the level of responsibility CBOs actually have and the level of responsibility they think the position should have for them to function most effectively. The data collected compared the public and private institutions of higher education. The population studied consisted of chief business officers of public and private higher education institutions with enrollments of 1,000 or more. The data were gathered through a mail questionnaire. Major findings of the study are: (1) The overwhelming majority of CBOs are middle-aged, White males. (2) The majority of CBOs hold earned graduate degrees in business administration. Many CBOs hold more than one graduate degree and the previous experience in college business administration was believed to be the best background for the job. (3) Fiscal and financial management duties were judged the most important functions of the CBO. (4) Among the fiscal and financial management duties, adhering to the budgeting procedure was the single most important job function, followed by fiscal and management audits and internal control. The findings confirmed the general belief that, with increasing financial pressure, higher education has to be particularly sensitive to the fiscal and procedural accountability. (5) The majority of the CBOs would like to get more involved in institutional policy-making. This may be a major finding because it seems contrary to the common belief that CBOs do not like to get involved in institutional policy-making functions and academic administrative management. (6) There was very little difference between the role functions of CBOs in public and private institutions.