Page 9 - OIT Progress Report: 2025 Edition

discussion and shared learning. The Coalition
worked with over 100 participants from nearly
every school and division on campus. These
participants used AI in the classroom, writing labs,
research, communication, and administrative
work. Some experimented with AI alongside their
students, building transparency and new ways to
collaborate, while others helped colleagues re-
imagine assignments or gain confidence in their
digital AI fluency. As Dr. Jason Warner, Associate
CIO for Academic Technology Services, reflected
on the outcome of
this initiative, “this
unique community
showed SMU and
Dallas that the real
question isn’t whether
A.I. will change
higher education—but
whether we will be
the ones to shape that
change. The SMU A.I.
Coalition of the Willing
answered: YES.”
The Academic
Technology team
developed a series of faculty workshops to support
faculty, including an AI Teaching Workshop
at the Dedman School of Law and “Curious to
Confident,” introducing law school faculty and
staff to AI models. These sessions explored
how faculty can leverage AI in lesson planning,
communications, grading, feedback, and time-
saving tasks. Additional Faculty Technology
Workshops have emphasized the integration
of AI into Canvas. AI guides were created and
tailored for each school by their respective
Academic Technology Service Director. We also
had the opportunity to participate in last spring’s
2025 Provost Symposium on AI in Research and
Teaching, where the SMU PerunAI Playbook was
announced.
Looking ahead at the AI Coalition of the Willing
2.0, we aim to encourage more people, particularly
those interested in how AI is used with students,
to actively participate and provide feedback to
strengthen SMU’s academic use of AI.
“ The real question isn’t
whether A.I. will change
higher education—
but whether we will be
the ones to shape that
change. The SMU A.I.
Coalition of the Willing
answered: YES.”
DR. JASON WARNER
ASSOCIATE CIO FOR ACADEMIC
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
Staff Initiatives with AI
The IT Training team spearheaded efforts for
staff participation in
Microsoft’s AIX00
research initiatives.
Through this program,
twenty staff members
from Development
and External Affairs,
Business and Finance,
and the Provost’s
Office participated
in monthly sprints,
receiving premium
licenses to utilize
Copilot. Participants
joined regular calls
with professionals
across higher education and major corporations
worldwide, testing beta AI features, learning about
adoption strategies, and sharing impactful user
experiences that fostered greater AI engagement.
Jomita S. Fleming, Associate Director, Protection
of Minors and Special Projects for the Office of
Risk Management, implemented Copilot to assist
with interpreting data, generating ideas, analyzing
emails to produce completion reports, and
reviewing outstanding tasks.
Jomita shared, “The Copilot study has been
transformative for me. It has helped me to be
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