Fall Academic Conference focuses on artificial intelligence in education
(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — OCTOBER 11, 2024) Empire State University welcomed faculty to Saratoga Springs, New York for the annual Fall Academic Conference. The event, spanning three days, brings faculty and university leadership together to discuss pressing issues, topics, and initiatives in higher education across the country and at the university.
“We have so much to be proud of and so much to look forward to with regard to the students we are serving and poised to serve,” President Lisa Vollendorf said, touching on the university’s recent ten percent increase in enrollment, including record enrollment in Empire State University’s Opportunity Programs, which now serve over 1,000 students.
“The work that we’re doing around advising and mentoring, and supporting the work of student success institution-wide speaks to the creativity that we bring that is very student- forward,” President Vollendorf said. “We pride ourselves on holding ourselves accountable to helping our students do better and our retention rate going up, even as we’re diversifying and growing the student population. It is really a testament to the very thoughtful and intentional work happening in every department, every unit, in every division, across the entire institution.”
“We have so much to celebrate this year and I’m eager to hear about your accomplishments and discuss our vision for our future,” Provost Rai Kathuria said. “We are navigating a rapidly changing landscape, and your resilience and dedication have been truly inspiring. I am grateful for the commitment you all show to our mission every day. Looking ahead, I firmly believe we are poised for great things. With such a talented and dedicated group of faculty and staff, we are well positioned to provide our students with an exceptional education and unparalleled support.”
Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence
Many of the events at this year’s conference are designed to educate faculty on how to best incorporate artificial intelligence into their classes with SUNY Empire’s mission of student success in mind, remaining mindful of the risks and strategies needed to properly integrate AI into higher education.
Deans from each school within the university presented an AI report highlighting faculty research and efforts to create AI-related courses, policies, and guidelines for the university.
“As educators, we need to communicate, collaborate, and make sequential decisions to strategically move the dial and achieve a task, and our task here is to prepare today’s learners for real world engagement with these technologies and applications,” Mary Mawn, Dean of the School of Science, Mathematics, and Technology, said. “Every student who leaves SUNY Empire will have had some experience thinking about AI for skillful applications and workforce development needs. Our students need to have these skills, to be prepared to engage win their jobs and to be able to apply these skills in their lives.”
Nicola Allain, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, described the school’s efforts to incorporate AI into growing programs like digital media, game design, and courses aligned with using emerging technologies.
“We’re going to scale this all across the arts and humanities curriculum,” Allain said. “We’re going to build the AI into new programs and we’re going to continue all of our wide range of active research in AI and its application in the arts and humanities.”
Susan H. Turben Lecture
Sabrina Fuchs Abrams, a professor in the School for Graduate Studies, presented the Turben Lecture. Abrams teaches English in the master’s in liberal studies program and focuses on the intersection of literary study, women’s and gender studies, humor studies, racial and ethnic studies, and urban studies.
Abrams is the founder and co-chair of the Mary McCarthy Society and has published and edited several books and academic journals. She spoke about her book “New York Women of Wit in the Twentieth Century.”
“Female humors have been largely resisted or overlooked,” Abrams said. “This book looks at the four figures of women’s humor who use satire, irony, and wits as an indirect form of social protest, setting the stage for future generations as these humors, these women writers, go beyond the direct domestic realm of many 19th century female humors to look at the distinct body of humor of New York women writers in the interval period. Many of these writers stood of the periphery of the predominantly male New York intellectual circles.”
Preparing Students for Real-World Applications
Edward C. Watson presented the keynote address, focusing on “Preparing Students for Life Beyond College: Embracing AI as Essential Learning.” Watson’s knowledge of generative AI tools and their impact on learning, work, and thinking across higher education provided key insights for educators at SUNY Empire working to incorporate AI into the classroom.
Watson is the Vice President for Digital Innovation at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the founding director of AAC&U’s Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum.
Watson said the emergence of AI has changed almost every aspect of life from education and health care to legal advice and communication.
“It’s going to change the way that we actually think,” Watson said. “I think it’s also changing the very definition of the word ‘average,’ like within our syllabi, our rubrics, within our courses.”
Watson also touched on his book “Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning” to discuss the challenges and opportunities that have emerged for higher education and how to best prepare students for life after graduation using emerging technology and the workforce, focusing on AI literacy.
“We do a really good job of teaching critical thinking, because the number one thing on the list to use AI is you have to be a critical thinker,” Watson said. “It’s not just having the degree; it’s not just having those additional skills. Now it seems that generative AI is going to be essential learning for college students that are going to be prepared for the world that awaits them post-graduation and having those skills will certainly bring rewards in terms of starting salaries.”