In trying to make sense of AI in education, relationships and conversation are what keep me grounded and (somewhat) hopeful in the day-to-day.

Maybe because everyone is equally out to sea, there seems to be a newfound eagerness to connect, to share information, and to collaborate in new ways, both within our institutions and beyond.

In this spirit, I’m excited to be co-leading (with CSTM faculty Callid Keefe-Perry) a team of fantastic Boston College colleagues in this year’s American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum.

We’ve assembled a cross-discipline, cross-organization group in a way that reflects our goal of cultivating a broader-based conversation about the role of AI at Boston College. We look forward to learning from the institute faculty and other participant teams from around the country, and having a facilitated process for us to think together and gather resources for our community here at BC.

Our goal is also to draw on the distinctives of being at a Jesuit, Catholic institution as a resource, where there is a long tradition of educating students as whole people, where it’s part of the mission to explore how we’re formed by the world around us (in including by our technologies) and how we seek to shape that world, ideally for the greater good.

I’m so glad to have this great team of people to deliberate with:

• Callid Keefe-Perry, Assistant Professor of Contextual Education and Public Theology, Clough School of Theology and Ministry
• Nirmal H. Trivedi, Assistant Director, Teaching, Learning & Technology, Center For Teaching Excellence
• Brian K Smith, Associate Dean for Research, Lynch School of Education & Human Development
• Paula Mathieu, Associate Professor, English Department, previous director of the First Year Writing program
• Peter Salvitti, Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology Services
• Melanie Hubbard, Head Librarian, Digital Scholarship & Data Service, O’Neill Library
• Yuhan Li, Associate Director, Learning Design, Center for Digital Innovation in Learning (CDIL)
• John FitzGibbon, Associate Director, Digital Learning Innovation (CDIL)
• Noël Ingram, Digital Teaching Programs Administrator, (CDIL)

At a time when we’re trying to find our way forward – with more questions than answers – I feel lucky to have this sustained conversation with thoughtful, committed colleagues to look forward to this year.

More about the AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and Curriculum