Higher ed leaders have forcefully defended the value of the liberal arts as more students—and even colleges—question the relevance to today’s rapidly changing workforce. However, a host of academic leaders now believe the liberal arts can lead the way in thoughtfully integrating higher education’s latest boogeyman: generative AI.
This weekend, Connecticut College hosts academic leaders—including faculty, support staff and librarians—from over 50 institutions to explore generative AI’s place in pedagogy, research and the student experience. Many of the presentations will explore AI’s ethical integration, ensuring the technology does not disrupt academic rigor or exacerbate the digital divide.
The inaugural forum plays a pivotal role in Connecticut College’s three-year initiative that aims to upskill faculty and revamp academic courses on generative AI, which now “infiltrates everything,” says Susan Purrington, a teaching and learning fellow at Connecticut College.
“It’s shaping our society, our relationships and environment around us. We have an obligation to engage educators who may be unable to hold healthy conversations at their home institution.”
Higher education leaders have expressed interest in integrating generative AI. However, tight budgets and a lack of strategic prioritization have hampered thoughtful adoption among staff.
This forum may also provide liberal arts leaders with the space and time to think through generative AI as their institutions are bombarded with policy and funding changes enacted by the Trump administration, says Lance Eaton, a higher education consultant and the forum’s keynote speaker.
More on liberal arts innovation: Why colleges are hopping on skills-based microcredentials
“When everything feels like it’s being toppled over, how does one find the cognitive load to really think through how generative AI can be deployed within an institution? Those are the conversations I typically have with leaders across institutions that I’ve interacted with.”
One way higher education can limit the questionable use of generative AI in research is by expanding access to scholarly journals, which currently sit behind expensive paywalls, Lance says.
“We’ve put up barriers to knowledge, which make it difficult for scholars to engage. It makes a lot of sense why people would decide to run to AI, because things right now aren’t readily available.”
As generative AI and its applications continue to develop, Furrington believes that input from students, faculty and staff will is needed to find a correct balance for generative AI in the liberal arts.
“One of my hopes for the symposium is that we discuss those hard questions that we don’t really have an answer for yet, but with more depth than the current conversations usually held after a faculty meeting or just in passing,” she says.
