Northeastern University Senior Associate Director of AI in Teaching and Learning Lance Eaton delivered the first of three keynote addresses at UMW’s Reimagining the Liberal Arts in the Age of AI conference, which drew educators from across the country. K Pearlman Photography.
With artificial intelligence on the horizon in higher education, the liberal arts are situated to be long-term leaders in the conversation, as became evident at the University of Mary Washington during its first “Reimagining the Liberal Arts in the Age of AI” conference in July.
That was the goal for organizers, Associate Professor of Education Victoria Russell, who directs UMW’s Center for Teaching, and Professor of History and American Studies Krystyn Moon, who directs UMW’s Humanities Center. Together, they built the conference from a 2024 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC). That grant supported collaborative curricular design by humanities faculty at five public liberal arts institutions.
As a result of that work, schools had the opportunity to create open-access AI teaching resources, such as syllabus modules, readings, activities and assignments for all COPLAC institutions to utilize. The conference expanded the conversation and learning circles.
“This has been an effort to get the liberal arts to shine,” Russell said. “A lot of the hard work is happening in classrooms, with faculty responding to employers’ needs and helping students navigate the next steps.” Read more about UMW’s “Reimagining the Liberal Arts in the Age of AI” Conference.
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