BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:aiandtheliberalarts X-WR-CALDESC:Event Calendar METHOD:PUBLISH CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:-//Sched.com Connecticut College AI and the Liberal Arts Symposium//EN X-WR-TIMEZONE:UTC BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T113000Z DTEND:20261016T130000Z SUMMARY:Breakfast at Harris DESCRIPTION:\n CATEGORIES:MEAL LOCATION:Harris Dining Hall\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:4adf71275094a34c4b9897183add67e6 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/4adf71275094a34c4b9897183add67e6 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T130000Z DTEND:20261016T133000Z SUMMARY:Opening Session DESCRIPTION:Welcome and Symposium Overview CATEGORIES: LOCATION:Crozier-Williams 1962 Room\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:c24f98d65e456cfa8373a281d2186ff9 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/c24f98d65e456cfa8373a281d2186ff9 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T133000Z DTEND:20261016T143000Z SUMMARY:Opening Plenary — The Year of an Awakening in the Liberal Arts DESCRIPTION:This opening panel brings together AI leaders from small liberal arts colleges who first connected at the inaugural AI and the Liberal Arts Symposium and left with a shared conviction: that navigating AI in the liberal arts context requires ongoing collaboration across institutions. The panelists will reflect on the year since that first gathering. What has changed on their campuses? What differences do they see between SLACs and other types of institutions in their response to AI? What further opportunities for collaboration do they see between SLAC institutions? This session will set the tone for the symposium by grounding the day's conversations in lived institutional experience\, honest reflection\, and the power of a growing community of practice among liberal arts institutions. CATEGORIES:PLENARY LOCATION:Crozier-Williams 1962 Room\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:fec55047f0bd9cd4369f33a45a60b9b8 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/fec55047f0bd9cd4369f33a45a60b9b8 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T144500Z DTEND:20261016T160000Z SUMMARY:Harold F. Wiley Keynote Presentation DESCRIPTION:Harold F. Wiley Keynote — a 75-minute featured address by Dr. Jon Ippolito. CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE LOCATION:Crozier-Williams 1962 Room\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:89307b9587ca4a838bb29fdda4fc28c6 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/89307b9587ca4a838bb29fdda4fc28c6 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T160000Z DTEND:20261016T170000Z SUMMARY:Lunch at Harris DESCRIPTION:\n CATEGORIES:MEAL LOCATION:Harris Dining Hall\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:823e7ff12141f8ac25e278eb4653c763 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/823e7ff12141f8ac25e278eb4653c763 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T170000Z DTEND:20261016T180000Z SUMMARY:AI Play Lab DESCRIPTION:This is the dedicated AI Tool demo and exploration space with our Symposium Friends and/or each other. \; CATEGORIES:AI PLAY LAB LOCATION:Shain Library Visualization Wall (Lower level)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:cb2ca673baf74b9d9d5b6128b3e2f976 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/cb2ca673baf74b9d9d5b6128b3e2f976 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T170000Z DTEND:20261016T171000Z SUMMARY:AI Is Not Transforming Education—We Are Using It to Preserve It DESCRIPTION:Artificial intelligence is widely framed as a transformative force in higher education\, yet this assumption overlooks a persistent historical pattern: technology alone rarely produces meaningful change. Drawing on research examining how curricular ideology and pedagogical beliefs shape technology adoption\, this presentation argues that institutions do not adapt to technology—technology is adapted to fit existing beliefs. Despite decades of innovation\, higher education remains largely lecture-centered\, with new tools reinforcing rather than disrupting established practices.AI is already following this trajectory. Its use varies not by capability\, but by underlying assumptions about teaching\, knowledge\, and authority. This talk reframes AI not as a disruptive force\, but as a mirror of institutional values. Meaningful transformation\, therefore\, depends less on technological advancement and more on confronting the ideological foundations of education. CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:e9421e2067c5e79d7b9e1154ca001012 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/e9421e2067c5e79d7b9e1154ca001012 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T170000Z DTEND:20261016T180000Z SUMMARY:Lightning Talks - AI Literacy and What Students Learn DESCRIPTION:This session includes the following four talks:\n10 minutes each with 20 minutes of Q&A for the group\n1. AI Is Not Transforming Education—We Are Using It to Preserve It\n \;  \; Chris Bernard | The Jackson Laboratory\n2. Critical from the Start: A Coordinated AI Literacy Model for the First-Year Liberal Arts Seminar\n \;  \; Sarah Lohnes Watulak & Dr. Amy Collier | Middlebury College\n3. What Should Students Learn? Navigating the Paradox of AI in Liberal Arts Education\n \;  \; Javkhlan Batsaikhan* | Amherst College CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:cf066d25c4c36623278184d101d83ce7 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/cf066d25c4c36623278184d101d83ce7 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T170000Z DTEND:20261016T173000Z SUMMARY:The Design Problem of AI Literacy: Teaching Thinking When Answers Are Instant DESCRIPTION:In AI-rich classrooms\, answers often arrive before questions. This creates a central paradox for liberal arts education: tools that promise intellectual support can also short-circuit the uncertainty and iteration through which thinking develops. This session reframes AI literacy as the ability to structure and sustain inquiry when answers are instantly available. Participants will examine how common assignment designs invite premature closure and will practice redesigning them using three strategies: staging tasks to delay answer-generation\, requiring student reasoning before feedback\, and separating composing from evaluation. Attendees will leave with adaptable frameworks for designing assignments that preserve critical thinking across disciplines\, even when AI systems can generate polished responses on demand. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein 210\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:9c3fba45db7163f3f7a4e30e4e9ccde0 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/9c3fba45db7163f3f7a4e30e4e9ccde0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T170000Z DTEND:20261016T173000Z SUMMARY:The Great AIqualizer: How Small Liberal Arts Colleges Can Use AI to Rethink Administrative Work\, Faculty Support\, and Student Success DESCRIPTION:The conversation about AI in higher education is loud\, anxious\, and often dominated by the largest institutions with the most resources to navigate it. Small liberal arts colleges are watching from a complicated position: wary of the hype (if not downright resistant)\, uncertain about the risks\, and not entirely sure the opportunity being described is one that was designed with them in mind. \;This presentation will argue that\, for small colleges with distinctive curricula\, signature programs\, and their own institutional culture\, AI can offers something more interesting than automation or efficiency gains. It offers\, for the first time\, the ability to build infrastructure that actually reflects what makes them distinctive. Tools that understand your academic model. Dashboards that speak your institutional language. Systems that serve your students\, and not a generalized approximation of them.New College of Florida decided to rethink our approach to software built for someone else and start building tools that are genuinely\, specifically ours. In a single academic year\, a small cross-functional team (IT\, Institutional Research\, Registrar\, Provost's Office\, and students) built working dashboards for advising\, athlete eligibility\, thesis progress\, early alert and retention\, and faculty workloads\, at a fraction of commercial licensing costs.This session is a practitioner's honest account of how we did it\, and why the real payoff isn't efficiency. It's institutional identity. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:d771dbc8e51d9849e75497c072628541 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/d771dbc8e51d9849e75497c072628541 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T170000Z DTEND:20261016T180000Z SUMMARY:Managing AI Burnout: Self Care for Faculty and Librarians DESCRIPTION:Adapting to new technologies is a staple of academic life\, but the rapid rise of generative AI is creating an unsustainable mental and emotional landscape for faculty and librarians. Beyond the daunting technical learning curve and the exhausting game of “whack-a-mole” as AI “assistants” pop up in familiar tools\, this shift brings profound existential repercussions. Ethical dilemmas and the relentless pressure to innovate while maintaining pedagogical integrity have pushed many to a breaking point.Together\, we will situate AI burnout within the broader cultural context of higher education while reflecting on our personal and professional values. Through prompts\, small-group discussions\, and personal inventories\, participants will identify current challenges\, discover areas of agency\, and find sparks of hope and inspiration. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Hood Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:f8c11a4107463dd81421bba65c193560 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/f8c11a4107463dd81421bba65c193560 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T171000Z DTEND:20261016T172000Z SUMMARY:Critical from the Start: A Coordinated AI Literacy Model for the First-Year Liberal Arts Seminar DESCRIPTION:First-year students arrive at liberal arts institutions at the precise moment they are forming their intellectual and ethical identities as scholars\, and they arrive already using AI. At Middlebury College\, we designed a coordinated\, multi-modal approach to help students critically engage with AI within that formative context. Our model centers on \;GenAI @ Middlebury\, a short asynchronous Canvas course\, paired with custom in-class workshops co-developed with First-Year Seminar (FYS) faculty\, and peer support for students. Together\, these resources equip students to analyze AI's role in their learning - to shortcut or support - while giving faculty the knowledge and confidence to facilitate meaningful classroom conversations. In its first year (AY 2025–2026)\, 250 people engaged with the Canvas course and we partnered with 11 FYS faculty to build tailored workshops for their courses. This lightning talk outlines our development process\, faculty partnership strategy\, and preliminary student outcome data. CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:8395bb6c66b9d732d0a38906b28601e6 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/8395bb6c66b9d732d0a38906b28601e6 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T173000Z DTEND:20261016T174000Z SUMMARY:What Should Students Learn? Navigating the Paradox of AI in Liberal Arts Education DESCRIPTION:What should students learn when the skills cultivated through higher education increasingly intersect with technologies capable of performing some of those same tasks? Students find themselves at the center of a paradox. Liberal arts institutions continue to emphasize critical thinking\, communication\, writing\, ethical reasoning\, creativity\, and problem-solving\, while employers increasingly seek graduates who can work effectively with AI.Drawing on conversations with over fifty Amherst College students during planning for a student-led AI Summit\, this presentation explores how students are making sense of these expectations. Many recognize AI as important yet remain uncertain about what AI literacy and fluency mean in practice\, as well as how AI should be integrated into learning.Rather than resolving the paradox of AI\, this presentation explores how liberal arts education can use this moment to rethink learning for a future in which human and artificial intelligence work together to communicate\, collaborate\, and create effectively. CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:111a8b42e21de8c916d722255caa7db5 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/111a8b42e21de8c916d722255caa7db5 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T173000Z DTEND:20261016T180000Z SUMMARY:Building the AI Ready Campus DESCRIPTION:Higher education is entering a new era where AI is reshaping how institutions engage students\, support staff\, and operate at scale. Yet many campuses are still struggling to determine what true AI readiness actually looks like.This session explores how institutions can move beyond experimentation to build an AI-ready campus grounded in strategy\, governance\, and practical implementation. Attendees will learn how colleges are using AI to improve student engagement\, streamline operations\, and expand institutional capacity while maintaining a human-centered student experience.Through real examples and an interactive readiness framework\, participants will examine common barriers to adoption\, assess their institution’s current level of AI readiness\, and identify practical next steps for moving forward. The session will also explore how AI agents and AI-supported workflows are changing expectations around responsiveness\, personalization\, and operational scalability across higher education. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:2950b90ea44c86fb6a56d75734cae3cf URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/2950b90ea44c86fb6a56d75734cae3cf END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T173000Z DTEND:20261016T180000Z SUMMARY:Is this AI?: Fostering Critical AI Media Literacy DESCRIPTION:"Is this AI?" is a question vexing even the most media-savvy users today\, as synthetic images and videos grow exponentially more convincing\, with widespread circulation. But are there reliable "tells" and transferable frameworks for critical AI media literacy\, even in this rapidly shifting landscape?  This interactive presentation invites participants to examine a curated selection of images and videos and discuss: Is this AI? How do you know? Rather than offering easy answers\, this session will use guided exercises and discussion to consider critical media AI literacy\, inviting participants to think about visual artifacts & physics (is the hair texture right?)\; anatomy & proportions (are the joints strangely elongated?)\; and context & coherence (what is the file provenance or source?).  Along the way\, participants will consider deeper questions of authenticity\, consent\, and responsibility in an era of increasingly convincing synthetic media\, and how critical AI media literacy has relevance in a liberal arts curriculum. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein 210\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:7dffa6565cfec52de1d9f0d54a124f62 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/7dffa6565cfec52de1d9f0d54a124f62 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T181500Z DTEND:20261016T191500Z SUMMARY:Element451 AI Play Lab DESCRIPTION:This is the dedicated Element451 AI Tool demo and exploration space. CATEGORIES:AI PLAY LAB LOCATION:Shain Library Visualization Wall (Lower level)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:e794d5a40028a4d8ba8f530accd6a09a URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/e794d5a40028a4d8ba8f530accd6a09a END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T181500Z DTEND:20261016T191500Z SUMMARY:Academic Integrity and the Honor Code DESCRIPTION:Discussion on academic integrity and the honor code in the age of AI. \; CATEGORIES:ROUND TABLE LOCATION:Blaustein 208\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:0b14bdedbeadcd16da8aad9a39a7e916 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/0b14bdedbeadcd16da8aad9a39a7e916 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T181500Z DTEND:20261016T191500Z SUMMARY:From Experimentation to Governance: How AI Communities of Practice Shape Institutional AI Adoption DESCRIPTION:Artificial intelligence adoption in higher education is often discussed through policy or technology strategy\, but much of the real work is happening informally through experimentation\, peer learning\, and day-to-day problem solving across institutions. This session explores how AI Communities of Practice can help universities move from fragmented experimentation toward more thoughtful and coordinated approaches to AI governance. Drawing from experiences supporting AI initiatives in higher education\, the session examines how faculty\, staff\, and administrators make decisions about AI use while institutional guidance and norms are still evolving. The conversation will focus on professional judgment\, trust\, ethical uncertainty\, institutional culture\, and the hidden labor involved in helping colleagues make sense of rapidly changing technologies. Rather than viewing governance only as a top-down policy process\, this session considers how governance also develops socially through conversation\, collaboration\, and shared institutional learning. CATEGORIES:ROUND TABLE LOCATION:Blaustein 203\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:ec4948031cdcb844585b57f922474227 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/ec4948031cdcb844585b57f922474227 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T181500Z DTEND:20261016T184500Z SUMMARY:AI and Ethics: Two Ideas\, One Course DESCRIPTION:What can AI do\, and what should it do? My approach to AI and Ethics builds a single inquiry from two disciplines that rarely share a room: computer science\, where students implement a neural network from first principles without libraries\, and serious philosophy\, where they reason about how one ought to act. The pairing exposes a tension at the heart of the liberal arts in the age of AI. If a machine ties your shoes\, do you ever learn to tie them yourself—or to do your arithmetic\, your writing\, your deciding? The liberal arts exist to cultivate precisely the capacities AI now offers to outsource: judgment\, reflection\, moral agency\, the power to be more than a child of one’s time. This talk asks whether teaching AI must mean defending those capacities\, and how one course might do both at once. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:30b294bc51121b05c6f60b2c16d269bc URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/30b294bc51121b05c6f60b2c16d269bc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T181500Z DTEND:20261016T184500Z SUMMARY:Say “Yes” to the Mess: Critical Writing Process Reflection in the Age of GenAI DESCRIPTION:A common solution for wide-spread genAI use in writing courses is to incorporate tools like track changes and version histories. Ideally\, these tools help students chart their writing process while working on an assignment. In practice\, these tools can reinforce ideas of writing as complete and “perfectable” products with tracking changes acting as “proof” that students’ writing is their own. In this presentation\, the speaker will share his development of an assignment sequence that encourages students to embrace the mess of the writing process. In this sequence\, students color-code and annotate a “Writer’s Version” of their drafts as they iterate and tinker with their compositions. Students are not assessed on their final products but rather the critical reflections they perform with the assistance of these “messy drafts” that make explicit the writing process behind their projects. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:76d8ae21370cb25c4a00cb94e049c92a URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/76d8ae21370cb25c4a00cb94e049c92a END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T181500Z DTEND:20261016T191500Z SUMMARY:Redefining the Honor Code for the Generative Era DESCRIPTION:The rise of generative AI has disrupted the "finished essay" as a proxy for critical thinking\, creating a profound paradox: tools that mimic analysis threaten to hollow out the very processes they simulate. This session proposes a shift from "policing output" to "partnering in process." Moving beyond surveillance-based integrity models\, we explore how to evolve the Honor Code into a proactive pedagogical contract. By emphasizing "Process-Oriented Pedagogy"—including the use of prompt logs\, iterative drafting\, and reflective AI-critique—we can restore the human element to the center of the curriculum. This session explores a "tiered transparency" model that allows for varying levels of AI integration\, encouraging students to navigate the generative era with agency and intellectual honesty. Participants will leave with a framework to move their classrooms from a state of suspicion toward a "covenant of transparency" that preserves the core values of a liberal arts education. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Hood Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:d9791ec75a239d3894a831cd6e04a7c8 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/d9791ec75a239d3894a831cd6e04a7c8 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T184500Z DTEND:20261016T191500Z SUMMARY:Reducing LLM Drift Using Explicit Ethical and Policy-Based Principles DESCRIPTION:Large language models (LLM) are being used in educational settings to provide guidance\, feedback\, and policy-related \;judgments. However\, these systems produce inconsistent responses to similar \;cases\, raising concerns about fairness\, transparency\, and trust. \;Rather than \;relying on probabilistic model output\, our approach represents cases in terms \;of salient features and applies principles derived from institutional academic policies \;to guide decisions. The LLM remains responsible for interpreting cases\, while a \;separate layer using principles ensures similar cases are treated consistently. \;This approach \;offers a middle ground between unrestricted generative AI and rule-based \;systems.  \;By making the basis for \;decisions explicit and inspectable\, it provides greater transparency\, supports accountability\,and allows policies to be operationalized in a consistent form.  \;We illustrate the approach using examples \;drawn from our college policies concerning student use of AI and discuss the implications \;for responsible deployment within the liberal arts. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:f897d0169ec9e9a61f88932d8e7dfa61 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/f897d0169ec9e9a61f88932d8e7dfa61 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T184500Z DTEND:20261016T191500Z SUMMARY:The Imagined Author in the Age of AI DESCRIPTION:This presentation examines how generative and agentic AI systems reshape traditional understandings of authorship\, rhetorical agency\, and literacy within contemporary writing practices. Drawing on Walter Ong’s fictionalized audience\, Wayne Booth’s implied author\, Michel Foucault’s author-function\, Roland Barthes’ “death of the author\,” and Eefje Claassen’s work on author representation\, the session argues that AI-mediated writing produces an “imagined author” distributed across human writers\, machine systems\, institutions\, and algorithmic discourse. The presentation explores how students increasingly write with\, for\, and against AI systems while negotiating questions of authenticity\, authority\, labor\, and technological literacy. Situating AI writing within broader rhetorical and digital literacy ecologies\, the session challenges crisis-based narratives surrounding AI and composition. Participants will leave with a theoretical framework for understanding AI-mediated authorship and practical approaches for teaching rhetorical awareness\, ethical AI engagement\, and critical AI literacy within liberal arts education. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:b8a7a4ecbd96c8f213b72499c918753a URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/b8a7a4ecbd96c8f213b72499c918753a END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T192500Z DTEND:20261016T193500Z SUMMARY:From Initiative to Institutional Collaborative DESCRIPTION:Like many small liberal arts colleges\, we at Davidson College set out in the spring of 2024 to explore generative AI and its impacts on teaching and learning for our campus. Our initial approaches were thoughtful\, intentional\, and ultimately inadequate due in large part to the perennial challenges of communication and coordination. Fast-forwarding to this spring (2026)\, we have embarked upon a more inclusive\, more institutional model — the Davidson AI Collaborative — with the goal of honoring domain specificity across campus while staying connected vis-à-vis our approaches to generative AI. My lightning talk will offer a brief recap of our journey\, connect our past to our present\, and\, most importantly\, offer arguments as to how the Collaborative’s model thoughtfully and intentionally addresses our challenges\, even as it\, too\, may not be permanent. (And why that is okay.) CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:e025d7c36ea33b673d0b468770646ab2 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/e025d7c36ea33b673d0b468770646ab2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T192500Z DTEND:20261016T202500Z SUMMARY:Lightning Talks - Institutional Programs and Equity DESCRIPTION:This session includes the following four talks:\n10 minutes each with 20 minutes of Q&A for the group\n1. From Initiative to Institutional Collaborative\n \;  \; Jacob Heil | Davidson College\n2. Developing an “AI and the Liberal Arts” Academic Certificate\n \;  \; Willie Wilson | Franklin & Marshall College\n3. AI and the Digital Divide: A New Era of Educational Inequity\n \;  \; Atousa Kaviani* | Binghamton University\n4. \;The Other Side of the Desk: Student Perceptions of Faculty AI Use in the Liberal Arts \;  \; Lauren Howard & Willie Wilson | Franklin & Marshall College CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:782fd5ed64e4c3fb1bcbf3628a6b5859 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/782fd5ed64e4c3fb1bcbf3628a6b5859 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T192500Z DTEND:20261016T195500Z SUMMARY:From Shortcut to Thought Partner: Training Liberal Arts Students to Collaborate With AI DESCRIPTION:This session introduces Colgate University’s Innovation Fellows and their use of AI\, and its evolution into a new undergraduate consulting program that pairs human-centered design (Design Thinking) with intentional\, responsible AI use to solve real campus problems. Rather than viewing AI as a shortcut\, this program trains liberal arts students to leverage it as an active collaborative thought partner for synthesizing research\, stress-testing prototypes\, and generating ideas.The session highlights their inaugural pilot success: a partnership with Colgate’s ITS Service Desk to rethink and revise intern training. Using empathy-gathering interviews\, observations\, and surveys\, as well as a design sprint\, the student team produced a training program that includes AI-generated instructional content\, a role-playing simulation game\, and a skills progression rubric. The proposal was accepted by ITS for implementation beginning summer 2026. Presenters will detail the program's design\, AI learning outcomes\, and pilot results\, while examining why liberal arts institutions are uniquely positioned to model this work. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein 210\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:16949a71485a90160dc4de06442f62c4 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/16949a71485a90160dc4de06442f62c4 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T192500Z DTEND:20261016T202500Z SUMMARY:Designing the Future of AI: Using Design Thinking to Engage Students as Co-Creators of Institutional AI Strategy DESCRIPTION:As colleges and universities grapple with the opportunities and tensions surrounding artificial intelligence\, many institutional conversations occur without substantial student input. At Gettysburg College\, we sought to address this gap by inviting students to become co-designers of our emerging AI initiatives through a series of design thinking workshops titled Designing the Future of AI at Gettysburg College. These sessions guided students through empathy-building\, problem framing\, ideation\, and rapid prototyping activities designed to surface their experiences\, concerns\, hopes\, and ideas regarding AI's role in teaching and learning.In this interactive workshop\, participants will experience an adapted version of the process used with Gettysburg students while examining insights generated through these sessions. Attendees will leave with practical facilitation strategies\, adaptable activity structures\, and a replicable model for engaging students as partners in shaping institutional responses to AI. Rather than designing for students\, participants will explore what becomes possible when institutions design with them. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Hood Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:e0a82288fb9027ca16b3c723d3e248e7 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/e0a82288fb9027ca16b3c723d3e248e7 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T192500Z DTEND:20261016T202500Z SUMMARY:The AI-Native Classroom: Early Lessons from a Pilot in my Class at Carnegie Mellon DESCRIPTION:Title:The AI-Native Classroom: Early Lessons from a Carnegie Mellon PilotAbstract:For the past year\, debates about AI in higher education have largely focused on student access to tools such as ChatGPT. Yet access to AI and learning in an AI-native environment are not the same thing. This session examines what happened when AI was integrated directly into course materials\, learning activities\, and student study workflows in a graduate-level Carnegie Mellon course. Drawing on observations\, usage data\, student feedback\, and faculty reflections\, the presentation explores how students actually engage with AI when it becomes part of the learning environment itself. Participants will discuss implications for pedagogy\, academic integrity\, faculty roles\, and the future of liberal arts education in an increasingly AI-mediated world. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:b534bcfbc95ee8a374ed06063e58f6b3 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/b534bcfbc95ee8a374ed06063e58f6b3 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T193000Z DTEND:20261016T210000Z SUMMARY:AI Play Lab DESCRIPTION:This is the dedicated AI Tool demo and exploration space with our Symposium Friends and/or each other. \; CATEGORIES:AI PLAY LAB LOCATION:Shain Library Visualization Wall (Lower level)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:b884174e686dd18ed33298d990546f43 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/b884174e686dd18ed33298d990546f43 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T193500Z DTEND:20261016T194500Z SUMMARY:Developing an “AI and the Liberal Arts” Academic Certificate DESCRIPTION:Students and parents are increasingly eager for academic validation of AI proficiency that will be viable in the modern marketplace. As a liberal arts institution\, our objective is to cultivate competencies that transcend technical utility\, fostering a holistic framework for engaging with these technologies. To equip students with both technical foundations and the capacity to critically evaluate ethical\, social\, and cultural impacts\, we have established the "AI and the Liberal Arts" certificate. \;This certificate is structured as an interdisciplinary program comprising 4 courses or learning experiences. By design\, it requires fewer credits than a minor and intentionally integrates perspectives from multiple academic disciplines. \;Most importantly\, the program emphasizes a liberal arts approach that leverages critical thinking\, synthesizes diverse perspectives\, and looks beyond the technological surface to build something truly important. \;It prepares our students to pose the challenging\, timely\, and vital questions necessary for success in this new era. CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:2e9d78e6939e3ad0a4c0bdc9afa91168 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/2e9d78e6939e3ad0a4c0bdc9afa91168 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T194500Z DTEND:20261016T195500Z SUMMARY:AI and the Digital Divide: A New Era of Educational Inequity DESCRIPTION:Since the rise of AI in recent years has become an unavoidable issue in educational systems\, its widespread use and accessibility need to be studied. Before addressing the complex question of whether using AI for writing assignments in the classroom is ethical\, as well as questions of authorship\, there is another issue that remains understudied. The digital divide and inaccessibility of free and reliable internet connections continue to be factors of discrimination across many communities and countries.Unstable\, unreliable\, and unaffordable internet access raises another important question that this presentation seeks to address: how accessible is AI in the Global South\, and what impact will this have on educational equity? By showcasing three months of digital blackout \;and internet censorship in Iran and examining their effects on the educational system\, this paper explores the relationship between the digital divide and AI within the global educational environment. CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:06105f09de76319b7f818466cad1aac6 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/06105f09de76319b7f818466cad1aac6 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T195500Z DTEND:20261016T200500Z SUMMARY:The Other Side of the Desk: Student Perceptions of Faculty AI Use in the Liberal Arts DESCRIPTION:While considerable research has examined how students use generative AI\, and how faculty feel about that use\, no study to date has reversed the lens. This mixed-methods campus survey of ~400 liberal arts students and 100 faculty investigates how these populations perceive and evaluate each others' AI practices. Our findings reveal striking convergences and divergences. Students and faculty share similar fears (cognitive offloading\, accuracy\, environmental impact) and similar hopes (more training\, experience\, and institutional guidance). Yet students express significant dissatisfaction with specific faculty practices. For example\, students are particularly against using AI to generate letters of recommendation\, significant course content\, and grading of written work\, despite some faculty reports of using AI to do these tasks. These findings raise urgent questions about the ethical standards we apply to ourselves versus others. We discuss implications for institutional policy\, pedagogical transparency\, and the equitable development of AI norms in the liberal arts. CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:be221e97516c5a7fdc515cf15376abf2 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/be221e97516c5a7fdc515cf15376abf2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T195500Z DTEND:20261016T202500Z SUMMARY:Cultivating Judgment Through Guided Experience: A Human-Centered Approach to AI Literacy DESCRIPTION:This session proposes how to define and teach “AI literacy” in liberal arts classrooms for the increasingly AI-integrated world. Unguided AI use does not automatically produce literacy\; instructions focused solely on a technical capacity will become outdated at every major model change. Instead\, AI literacy must be captured as a disposition\, or a durable habit of the mind\, that emphasizes the value of human judgment in ever-changing technological landscape. The pedagogical task is to cultivate this disposition through intentional hands-on engagement that turns AI use into an object of guided critical inquiry: observing\, iterating\, and evaluating human-AI interaction and developing sound judgment for responsible human-AI collaboration. Participants will experience a short AI literacy activity that reveals a commonly held misconception about AI and debrief how guided encounters can help students examine AI behavior\, their own assumptions\, and the ethical choices involved in learning with AI. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein 210\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:668dbde1aa2a5a6cb3d4483909f4abf3 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/668dbde1aa2a5a6cb3d4483909f4abf3 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T204000Z DTEND:20261016T211000Z SUMMARY:Pop-up Book Club — Academic Integrity in the Age of AI (Session 1 of 2) DESCRIPTION:Pop-up Book Club (30 min)\, Session 1 of 2. Facilitators: Sarah Lohnes Watulak & Amy Collier (Middlebury College). CATEGORIES:BOOK CLUB LOCATION:Blaustein 203\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:252416c5785fb233b6e4d5f43e2a0432 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/252416c5785fb233b6e4d5f43e2a0432 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T204000Z DTEND:20261016T211000Z SUMMARY:Student Experiences: DavisAI Summer Research DESCRIPTION:Teach the Room session featuring student experiences from DavisAI Summer Research. Presenters: Connecticut College students. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:43d4156466ef57faa09339ad1445db31 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/43d4156466ef57faa09339ad1445db31 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T204000Z DTEND:20261016T211000Z SUMMARY:Can AI Play? Teaching French Video Games and Critical AI Literacy in the Language Classroom DESCRIPTION:Can an AI play a video game? This workshop uses that deceptively simple question to explore one of the deepest paradoxes AI poses to liberal arts education: the difference between knowing about an experience and living it. Drawing on a Francophone video game course taught at UMass Amherst featuring Valiant Hearts\, Life is Strange True Colors\, and Under the Waves\, this session demonstrates how AI tools become most pedagogically powerful not when they succeed\, but when they fail. Participants will experience firsthand how ChatGPT\, Gemini\, Mistral AI\, and Copilot generate fluent yet experientially hollow analyses of games they have never played and how students\, as actual players\, are uniquely positioned to identify\, contest\, and surpass those analyses. This "player vs. machine" dynamic transforms AI from a threat to academic integrity into a catalyst for embodied critical thinking\, intercultural analysis\, and genuine French language engagement. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Hood Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:3284b8470c281f8b58f27d52522e40fe URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/3284b8470c281f8b58f27d52522e40fe END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T204000Z DTEND:20261016T211000Z SUMMARY:The Sacred and The Synthetic: Cultivating Higher-Order Thinking and Explorative Inquiry in the AI-Era Liberal Arts Classroom DESCRIPTION:Artificial intelligence presents liberal arts educators with a profound contradiction: AI can automate portions of research\, analysis\, and writing while simultaneously creating new opportunities for inquiry\, interdisciplinary thinking\, and human-centered learning. This interactive session explores how liberal arts classrooms can utilize AI not to replace student thought\, but to deepen interpretation\, synthesis\, ethical reasoning\, and creativity. Moving beyond routine comprehension\, this presentation demonstrates how educators can leverage AI as an analytical partner to heighten critical thinking\, expand explorative skills\, and preserve student intellectual agency. Participants will engage with interdisciplinary classroom activities that combine history\, sociology\, philosophy\, geography\, economics\, and the arts. Special attention will be given to pedagogical models that emphasize critical consciousness\, adaptability\, and the synthesis of complex data during periods of technological change. Attendees will leave with practical\, scalable frameworks that empower students to bridge the gap between the synthetic capabilities of AI and the sacred\, original human capacity for insight\, interpretation\, and meaning-making. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:a47a415e76d92d6a317bb144645ec526 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/a47a415e76d92d6a317bb144645ec526 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T211500Z DTEND:20261016T221500Z SUMMARY:Welcome Cocktail Reception DESCRIPTION:\n CATEGORIES:MEAL LOCATION:Humphrey's (Crozier-Williams\, Second floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:b0519931bbed6877c944af881d4f70fb URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/b0519931bbed6877c944af881d4f70fb END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261016T221500Z DTEND:20261017T003000Z SUMMARY:Welcome Dinner DESCRIPTION:Supported by our Symposium Patron\, Element451 CATEGORIES: LOCATION:Crozier-Williams 1962 Room\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:5928d71538ee155391c3b6e87ff8e03f URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/5928d71538ee155391c3b6e87ff8e03f END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T113000Z DTEND:20261017T130000Z SUMMARY:Breakfast at Harris DESCRIPTION:\n CATEGORIES:MEAL LOCATION:Harris Dining Hall\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:61927ccac6d14530e9140ec6cadee2d8 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/61927ccac6d14530e9140ec6cadee2d8 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T130000Z DTEND:20261017T140000Z SUMMARY:The Great AI Debate DESCRIPTION:Oxford-style debate supported by ScholarStack AI. House Motion: This House believes that wisdom cannot be synthesized by AI. Patrick Dempsey (Proposition) vs. Anand Rao (Opposition). Floor vote before & after\; moderated Q&A. CATEGORIES:DEBATE LOCATION:Crozier-Williams 1962 Room\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:ed83865247956ceb46c21ec8724027d6 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/ed83865247956ceb46c21ec8724027d6 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T142000Z DTEND:20261017T152000Z SUMMARY:How Can We Thoughtfully Respond to AI? Cultivating a Critical AI Literacy in the Writing Classroom DESCRIPTION:As many campuses begin adding AI tools into their classrooms\, there is immense pressure to figure out how to quickly implements these technologies in order to avoid being left behind. As digital humanists\, though\, we also emphasize incorporating new technology carefully and critically which often contrasts with the ways these technologies flood bland\, AI generated text into our classrooms. To this end\, the presenter will offer his approach and lessons learned from implementing an assignment sequence that required students to “audit” the outputs of generative AI platforms. Students worked in small groups to develop a report that assessed the accuracy and effectiveness of the genAI platforms’ source use. In treating AI technologies as a site for critical inquiry\, students acquired a more nuanced understanding of AI hallucinations and a greater appreciation for how academic sources support arguments. CATEGORIES:ROUND TABLE LOCATION:Blaustein 203\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:64261f4dbd097147fddeb70381fd4b63 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/64261f4dbd097147fddeb70381fd4b63 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T142000Z DTEND:20261017T152000Z SUMMARY:The Engineer's Paradox: Why Building AI Systems Made Me Argue Harder for the Liberal Arts DESCRIPTION:I build the AI systems that liberal arts educators worry about. Seven years of designing enterprise cloud and AI platforms for higher education and healthcare has produced an unexpected conviction: the more capable these systems become\, the more indispensable the liberal arts skills they cannot replicate. This session names the paradox directly. The same tools that automate writing also raise the bar on judgment about what should be written. The same models that summarize at scale make source criticism a survival skill\, not a humanities luxury. Drawing on three production case studies advising\, hiring\, and public communication .I will trace where AI fails\, why it fails in those specific places\, and how that maps onto the disciplinary strengths of a liberal arts curriculum. Participants leave with a shared vocabulary for talking to students and employers about the work AI cannot do and the work it makes more valuable. CATEGORIES:ROUND TABLE LOCATION:Blaustein 208\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:369c84fb61b04c83b86b66aafb85def9 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/369c84fb61b04c83b86b66aafb85def9 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T142000Z DTEND:20261017T145000Z SUMMARY:Beyond Summaries: Reclaiming Reading in an AI-mediated world DESCRIPTION:Global decline in  \;reading motivation \;has coincided with educators \;assigning fewer whole books. Moreover\, teaching reading has become challenging as AI offers automated-summaries\, allowing students to skip deep reading. Drawing on research from the neuroscience of reading\, this interactive session will address questions from both the instructors’ and students’ perspectives:What is the purpose of reading? If AI can summarize a text\, what are the pedagogical implications for reading instruction?How is reading interconnected with writing and other multimodal ways of learning? What cognitive capacities are lost when reading becomes optional?What teaching practices in Liberal Arts colleges can be advantageous to make reading meaningful? \;Using concrete pedagogical approaches from Amherst\, we will investigate how AI is reshaping students’ relationship with reading. These examples will help us together probe the ways that reading functions not an isolated skill but rather as a multimodal\, social\, and intellectually resilient experience. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:b4bb4d9b65cb920f9967787acb1b996b URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/b4bb4d9b65cb920f9967787acb1b996b END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T142000Z DTEND:20261017T152000Z SUMMARY:“Under Review – Liberal Arts Edition”: Using a Table Top Role-Playing Game for AI Literacy DESCRIPTION:This hands-on workshop uses a tabletop role-playing game format to build practical AI literacy in an engaging\, low-stakes environment. Participants take on characters facing real-world scenarios\, such as drafting a research paper\, responding to a workplace email\, evaluating a suspicious source\, and must decide how\, when\, and whether to use AI tools to help. Dice rolls and simple game mechanics introduce chance and consequence (a "critical fail" might mean an AI hallucination slips into a report\; a "success" might mean catching a bias in a generated summary)\, turning abstract concepts like ethical decision-making\, verification\, bias\, and academic integrity into lived experience rather than lecture material. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Hood Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:4b6cf5d0104f03233a81dd9b96d4f8ba URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/4b6cf5d0104f03233a81dd9b96d4f8ba END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T142000Z DTEND:20261017T152000Z SUMMARY:When the Product Is No Longer Proof: Ungrading\, AI\, and the Human Future of Learning DESCRIPTION:Artificial intelligence has intensified a question many educators were already beginning to ask: What evidence truly demonstrates learning? \;For decades\, higher education has relied on products—papers\, exams\, presentations\, and projects—as proxies for student understanding. Generative AI challenges this assumption by making it increasingly difficult to determine whether a finished product reflects a student's own thinking. While many institutional responses have focused on detection\, surveillance\, or restrictions\, this workshop explores a different possibility: What if AI is not simply creating an assessment problem\, but revealing one that has existed all along? \;Drawing on experiences redesigning undergraduate and graduate courses through ungrading\, authentic assessment\, and AI-integrated pedagogy\, participants will examine how process-centered approaches can make learning more visible while preserving student agency. Through examples of self-assessment\, reflective learning narratives\, revision cycles\, and AI transparency practices\, attendees will explore ways to shift attention from evaluating products to cultivating evidence of growth\, judgment\, and engagement. \;Participants are encouraged to bring an existing assignment or assessment practice to the workshop. Using a guided redesign framework\, they will identify opportunities to incorporate reflection\, process documentation\, feedback loops\, and authentic engagement in ways that center human learning in AI-rich environments. \;Situated within the liberal arts tradition\, this workshop embraces the paradox that AI simultaneously challenges and clarifies the value of education. As machines become increasingly capable of generating polished outputs\, the most meaningful aspects of learning may be those that are difficult to automate: curiosity\, ethical reasoning\, self-awareness\, intellectual risk-taking\, and the ability to make meaning from experience. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:caeb8deea9f957eaaa925a65fc2e00b0 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/caeb8deea9f957eaaa925a65fc2e00b0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T143000Z DTEND:20261017T203000Z SUMMARY:AI Play Lab DESCRIPTION:This is the dedicated AI Tool demo and exploration space with our Symposium Friends and/or each other. \; CATEGORIES:AI PLAY LAB LOCATION:Shain Library Visualization Wall (Lower level)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:6903f269e6999230e6f1a9d770fc35ef URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/6903f269e6999230e6f1a9d770fc35ef END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T145000Z DTEND:20261017T152000Z SUMMARY:Literature as Information Control: How Understanding Narrative Increases AI Literacy DESCRIPTION:Narrative is deeply embedded in everything from our personal habits to socioeconomic guidelines and the operation of digital systems. This presentation introduces how—by connecting the study of literature to daily interactions with these systems—we can increase the value students discover in their literature courses\, and better communicate how they apply that value to their personal and professional goals. Through this process\, systems like social media\, algorithms\, and AI become organic topics of discussion in context of story structure and narrative form. By articulating how the study of narrative unlocks the tools and techniques of systems designed to gain our attention and stir emotion\, students learn to use those same tools and techniques to take greater agency in the control of information and their own meaning-making. Practical uses of AI will be explored that supplement and augment this process\, without diminishing practice of critical skills. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:21a9e1059c8c2d28e29740b0f83cd842 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/21a9e1059c8c2d28e29740b0f83cd842 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T153000Z DTEND:20261017T160000Z SUMMARY:Pop-up Book Club — Academic Integrity in the Age of AI (Session 2 of 2) DESCRIPTION:Academic Integrity in the Age of AI \;(Bertram Gallant\, Davis\, & Khan\, 2026) includes a speculative fiction story imagining a university in 2045\, a future in which institutions layer AI onto outdated teaching and assessment models instead of rethinking academic integrity for this new era. This pop-up book club uses that story to spark conversation across two 30-minute sessions. No advance reading required - we'll hand out short quotes to react to on the spot. In the first session\, we'll dig into where our own institutions already feel like they're drifting toward that imagined future. In the second session\, we turn toward alternatives: what could a better path actually look like? Each session stands on its own\, so come to one or both. CATEGORIES:BOOK CLUB LOCATION:Blaustein 203\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:26b0c9b6c866bfc4fd3892b2d6780f11 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/26b0c9b6c866bfc4fd3892b2d6780f11 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T153000Z DTEND:20261017T160000Z SUMMARY:Publishing at the Speed of AI DESCRIPTION:AI is compressing the timeline from idea to publication—but faster doesn't have to mean sloppier. In this 30-minute session\, Second Draft Labs\, a new publishing company\, walks through their publishing process\, showing how AI tools can accelerate drafting\, editing\, and production without sacrificing the judgment and craft that good publishing depends on. Attendees will leave with a clear picture of what a modern\, AI-assisted publishing workflow actually looks like in practice\, where human editorial decisions still matter most\, and a roadmap for getting published. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:d93ec61373a083377de390c9e5cfb12a URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/d93ec61373a083377de390c9e5cfb12a END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T153000Z DTEND:20261017T160000Z SUMMARY:Beyond “AI Police”: Equitable Oral Assessment Design DESCRIPTION:Oral assessments are often proposed as an “AI-resistant” alternative to written assignments that foster cognitive skills that are especially important in an AI-infused world\, such as empathy\, conversational communication\, and situated-decision making. The unique opportunities offered by oral assessments\, however\, also come with unique equity challenges that require creative and potentially unfamiliar solutions. Students’ lack of practice with the format\, anxiety and performance stress\, language and cultural barriers\, and neurodiversity (including differences in processing time\, speech\, and social fluency) all constitute hurdles for equitable assessment\, particularly for instructors who have never designed an oral examination. In this session\, we will explore these risks\, identify strategies for designing and implementing assignments that reduce their impact\, and apply those strategies to participants’ specific instructional contexts. Participants will leave the session with a clearer understanding of the equity challenges associated with oral assessment\, knowledge of concrete techniques for addressing them\, and at least one new or reformed assignment that incorporates inclusive oral assessment components ready to be implemented into their existing courses. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:5edbfc0b1c0f711eb328d5f697e9e5b0 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/5edbfc0b1c0f711eb328d5f697e9e5b0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T153000Z DTEND:20261017T160000Z SUMMARY:Take My Hand and Tell Me What You See: AI and Museum Accessibility DESCRIPTION:At Amherst College\, Mead Art Museum and Academic Technology Services work to apply innovative applications of technology including enhancement of digital accessibility. Emerging AI technology has recently brought us together in collaboration focused on making the Mead’s digital collection more searchable\, discoverable and accessible through the production of multimodal collection descriptions.In this workshop\, we share an activity we have developed with relevance to art pedagogy in the classroom: inviting community members to critically evaluate the technology’s potential for good when responsibly applied to a specific context\, and to lend  \;their voices to make a direct impact. Participants may bring their own device to try the activities themselves.Our larger project centers student engagement and participation in developing the project’s workflow and evaluation. We will discuss how to further trustworthy museum metadata\, how to facilitate critical evaluation of the potential benefits from AI applications\, and propose models for peer institutions. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Hood Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:02192709a4f1c23dd672fc07107ad872 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/02192709a4f1c23dd672fc07107ad872 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T160000Z DTEND:20261017T170000Z SUMMARY:Lunch at Harris DESCRIPTION:\n CATEGORIES:MEAL LOCATION:Harris Dining Hall\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:9953bdd076a72e4eea6c7bf2ce5cdf3a URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/9953bdd076a72e4eea6c7bf2ce5cdf3a END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T170000Z DTEND:20261017T180000Z SUMMARY:Lightning Talks - Critical & Rhetorical Perspectives DESCRIPTION:This session includes the following four talks:\n10 minutes for each presenter with 20 minutes of Q&A for the group.\n1. Hegel\, Mastery and Servitude\, and the Pathologies of AI\n \;  \; Michael Reno | University of Mary Washington\n2. Scaffolding Rhetorical Authority through Intentional Failure\n \;  \; Jeffrey L. Jackson | State University of New York Cortland\n3. Tools of One's Own: Portable Prompting and the Iterative Craft of Professional Identity\n \;  \; Ben Harwood | Skidmore College\n4. Adding Nuance to Student AI Refusal\n \;  \; Annabel Rothschild & Theresa Law | Bard College\n\n CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:381e9838954f6131b1523a1b13418254 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/381e9838954f6131b1523a1b13418254 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T170000Z DTEND:20261017T173000Z SUMMARY:A Practical Framework for Assessing AI Risk and Readiness in Divisions\, Centers\, Programs\, and Departments DESCRIPTION:Colleges and universities have barely begun to evaluate the risks and rewards of ubiquitous AI use on their campuses. This session introduces a framework for assessing AI readiness and risk in divisions\, departments\, centers\, and programs. This presentation will highlight key research\, legal precedents\, and strategies for identifying gaps between policy and pedagogy. Using an experiential approach\, attendees will have space to reflect on the profound AI-related changes taking place and consider which roles or areas are most exposed to AI-driven change. Organized into six readiness domains\, the session aims to help participants develop a practical\, data-driven approach that supports student learning and academic integrity while managing the changing landscape of faculty and staff work. Participants will also have the opportunity to complete a brief AI readiness and risk survey\, which offers a diagnostic starting point for administrative or department heads\, program or staff leaders\, and task force members. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:cb16d55d1da3c9ba7ff57dea549b739b URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/cb16d55d1da3c9ba7ff57dea549b739b END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T170000Z DTEND:20261017T173000Z SUMMARY:Beyond the Blue Book: AI Simulations and the New Measure of Liberal Arts Learning DESCRIPTION:From the ancient Greeks forward\, liberal arts education has never been only about storing information. It has been about forming judgment through practice: rhetoric in the agora\, philosophical dialogue\, ethical deliberation\, and the disciplined use of language in public life. Oratory\, dialectic\, and disputation were not simply ways of displaying knowledge\, but of testing whether a person could think\, respond\, persuade\, and act wisely in context. As generative AI unsettles traditional assessments\, this older tradition becomes newly relevant. This presentation argues that AI-powered simulations can recover something essential to liberal arts learning by shifting assessment from static recall to situated performance. Using GENESIS as a case example\, this talk will explore how conversational\, competency-based simulations can make visible the capacities the liberal arts have long aimed to cultivate: judgment\, communication\, ethical reasoning\, interpretive agility\, and the ability to use language as action. Rather than abandoning the humanistic tradition\, simulations may help us reclaim it in a new form. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein 210\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:7e8d11898d742d2e389e5de15278bc34 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/7e8d11898d742d2e389e5de15278bc34 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T170000Z DTEND:20261017T180000Z SUMMARY:Grappling with Pedagogical Practice that Centers the Human Element — in the Context of AI DESCRIPTION:This workshop is designed for educators who want to help students learn how to formulate meaningful questions as researchers and thinkers in the liberal arts while creating classroom spaces where critical engagement with AI can occur.First we will share artifacts from Pratt Institute classrooms that highlight faculty and student exploration of new forms of inquiry. Second\, we will introduce conceptual maps created within our faculty learning community as tools for “charting new courses” in an AI-infused educational landscape. Together\, these artifacts model an open\, experimental\, and collaborative approach to learning that prioritizes process over product and illuminates the power of the human dimension of education in response to the current technological shift. \;After discussing these materials\, participants will engage in a conceptual mapping activity adapted from our faculty learning community\, followed by reflection and assessment exercises that can be applied in their own teaching contexts. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Hood Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:db7807bc81bb8df7d24f10b66b588990 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/db7807bc81bb8df7d24f10b66b588990 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T171000Z DTEND:20261017T172000Z SUMMARY:Scaffolding Rhetorical Authority through Intentional Failure DESCRIPTION:This lightning talk introduces Iterative Failure Tracing (IFT)\, a framework that reframes generative AI errors as catalysts for critical inquiry. While Large Language Models threaten to replace student effort\, their propensity for noun-heavy syntax and factual hallucinations creates a productive validation burden (Sanz-Tejeda et al.\, 2026). By identifying these critical incidents\, students transition from the success trap of passive acceptance to genuine rhetorical authority (Colby\, 2025). \;My presentation demonstrates how prompting as writing functions as a rigorous rhetorical act. Drawing on sabbatical findings from 42 student artifacts\, I illustrate the metacognitive shift that occurs when students perform linguistic repair on AI output (Graham\, 2023). Finally\, I will examine how to scaffold assignments that require students to locate and correct AI failures\, ensuring the human writer remains the primary agent of meaning-making in the liberal arts tradition. CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:f8d6e6ad2ba437157c42d9d936c75930 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/f8d6e6ad2ba437157c42d9d936c75930 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T172000Z DTEND:20261017T173000Z SUMMARY:Tools of One's Own: Portable Prompting and the Iterative Craft of Professional Identity DESCRIPTION:Many students use AI passively\, and AI literacy is often taught apart from disciplinary work\, so students graduate owning neither their nascent professional identity\, their digital presence\, nor their AI workflows. Crafting Digital Identity answers that gap by teaching tools of one's own. Because its real content is the students themselves\, the course is interdisciplinary by design. Students build a Creative Thought Journey\, a story-driven digital narrative of their learning on Skidmore Domains\, and design custom AI bots they can keep. The lesson is portability: once you learn to prompt\, on BoodleBox or any platform\, the skill travels with you. Professional identity develops the same way\, through iteration and revision across text\, audio\, and video. Run as a platform pilot\, the course treats AI as a liberal arts question of identity\, authorship\, and reflection\, and shows how ownership turns AI from a force that flattens voice into one that amplifies it. CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:80af448e4e72a4ad095703aea22dcc2c URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/80af448e4e72a4ad095703aea22dcc2c END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T173000Z DTEND:20261017T174000Z SUMMARY:Adding Nuance to Student AI Refusal DESCRIPTION:Bard College students often have an unusually steadfast position of AI refusal\, resulting\, for example\, in campus protests against a planned generative AI promotional event and reticence to engage in assignments that necessitate thinking with AI. We are both heartened and concerned by this stance. While students are finding their voices\, their standpoint is based on a limited understanding of AI as a technology and sociotechnical phenomenon. Here\, we describe our efforts to help students better understand how generative AI works so that they can communicate their position to various stakeholders\, including post-graduate colleagues and managers. As students graduate into a working world which increasingly demands the use of generative AI systems\, they will be confronted with pushback on their stance\; our intention is not to dissuade them\, but to help equip them with the critical AI understanding and literacy that they will need to explain and justify their position. CATEGORIES:LIGHTNING LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:cb2b6ad18467f34136843efa83f9ccb2 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/cb2b6ad18467f34136843efa83f9ccb2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T173000Z DTEND:20261017T180000Z SUMMARY:Awaken the Liberal Arts: Responsible AI Ecosystem by Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence DESCRIPTION:"The sleep of liberal arts produces AI." At the opening of the previous symposium\, the keynote speaker shrewdly put forward this statement\, proposing the liberal arts education to stay awake in the age of AI. At Colby College\, the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence endeavors to integrate the two\, interrogating and experimenting a liberal arts education organically intertwined with AI. In collaboration with academic and administrative departments across campus\, Colby has initiated a responsible AI ecosystem for research\, learning\, and entrepreneurship. We are developing a multitude of AI programming by situating faculty\, students\, and staff at the center\, while piloting privacy preserving and cost-effective technical infrastructure for campus use. During this session\, we will share our approach to a responsible AI ecosystem\, attempting to carve out a space and time for the audience to think through a practical AI integration in the context of their home institution. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:f7c6e419db113b7756faa94d69863345 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/f7c6e419db113b7756faa94d69863345 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T173000Z DTEND:20261017T180000Z SUMMARY:Vibe Coding the Liberal Arts: From Plain Language to Playable Simulation DESCRIPTION:Vibe coding — building working software through natural-language conversation with AI rather than traditional programming — has quietly removed the technical barrier that once kept faculty and students from creating their own interactive learning tools. This session embodies the symposium's central paradox: the same capability that lets a student generate code without understanding it can let a humanities professor build a simulation that finally makes an abstract concept click. In thirty minutes\, participants watch a fully playable classroom simulation emerge live from a plain-language prompt\, then interrogate what that means for learning. When a literature\, economics\, or government instructor can prototype a simulation in minutes\, who is doing the thinking — and is that a problem or a breakthrough? Participants leave with a shared\, honest framework for deciding when vibe-coded simulations deepen understanding and when they short-circuit it. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein 210\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:48ad0c51dfd4489934b02c581bd514b5 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/48ad0c51dfd4489934b02c581bd514b5 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T181500Z DTEND:20261017T191500Z SUMMARY:For the Record\, How Do We Record (Using AI)? Ethical Questions Regarding the Use of AI Technology to Retain Information DESCRIPTION:Academic Integrity in the Age of AI (Bertram Gallant\, Davis\, & Khan\, 2026) includes a speculative fiction story imagining a university in 2045\, a future in which institutions layer AI onto outdated teaching and assessment models instead of rethinking academic integrity for this new era. This pop-up book club uses that story to spark conversation across two 30-minute sessions. No advance reading required - we'll hand out short quotes to react to on the spot. In the first session\, we'll dig into where our own institutions already feel like they're drifting toward that imagined future. In the second session\, we turn toward alternatives: what could a better path actually look like? Each session stands on its own\, so come to one or both. CATEGORIES:ROUND TABLE LOCATION:Blaustein 203\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:644722375817423102cd6ae7180c4743 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/644722375817423102cd6ae7180c4743 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T181500Z DTEND:20261017T184500Z SUMMARY:A Scalable AI Course Redesign Protocol DESCRIPTION:The rapid integration of artificial intelligence into higher education has created an urgent and widespread need for course redesign\, yet most institutions lack the time\, funding\, and staffing to support faculty at scale. This presentation introduces a structured\, AI-assisted course redesign protocol developed at the Yale School of Public Health to address this gap. Designed to be completed in a single two-hour sitting\, the protocol guides faculty through a ten-step process that audits learning objectives\, assesses AI substitution risk at the assessment level\, redesigns for process visibility\, authentic student thinking\, optional AI integration\, and generates ready-to-use syllabus language — all without altering the fundamental nature or intent of the course. Early piloting with YSPH faculty has yielded consistently positive responses\, with participants reporting renewed confidence and inspiration around assessment redesign. Attendees will leave with a replicable framework they can adapt and deploy at their own institutions. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:80347b485c9fb9ea33831f5a968d18bb URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/80347b485c9fb9ea33831f5a968d18bb END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T181500Z DTEND:20261017T184500Z SUMMARY:Plot Twist: Unexpected Findings from Student AI Use at Denison DESCRIPTION:At a time when headlines suggest AI use among students is rapidly accelerating\, Denison University’s second How I GenAI survey revealed a more complicated (and surprising) story. This session explores unexpected findings about how students are actually engaging with generative AI\, including shifts in usage patterns\, student concerns\, trust\, academic integration\, and evolving attitudes toward AI tools.Alongside survey insights\, we’ll highlight initiatives from Denison’s AI Student Ambassador program\, where students are helping shape campus conversations around AI literacy\, responsible use\, creativity\, and career readiness. Through peer-led programming and collaborative experimentation\, students are playing an active role in defining what thoughtful AI engagement can look like at a liberal arts institution.Participants will leave with practical ideas for gathering student input\, designing student-centered AI initiatives\, and creating spaces where students can critically and creatively engage with emerging technologies in meaningful and values-driven ways. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:bd743328eedba8df9bed0e9a43c58a22 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/bd743328eedba8df9bed0e9a43c58a22 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T181500Z DTEND:20261017T191500Z SUMMARY:The Evidence I Wish I Had: Reframing the Detection Spiral DESCRIPTION:This workshop is for any instructor who has sat in front of a paper wondering whether the words on the page truly represent the work of the student who submitted it. How do we preserve the valuable intellectual work fostered by extended writing projects while maintaining confidence that the submissions we receive reflect what students can actually do? \;Some instructors seek certainty by moving most writing into the classroom\; this workshop explores another approach: building confidence in out-of-class work through low-stakes in-class activities that provide meaningful checkpoints for student capabilities. Starting from the question “What evidence would help me determine whether this student wrote this paper?\,” participants will identify the evidence they wish they had and work backward to design activities that generate it. Participants will leave with a collaboratively developed collection of activities that offer snapshots of current student abilities while doubling as scaffolding for learning. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Hood Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:2a6c1820812ba68ecc9375262b7e5293 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/2a6c1820812ba68ecc9375262b7e5293 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T184500Z DTEND:20261017T191500Z SUMMARY:A Capabilities-Based Approach to Figuring Out Teaching and Learning in the Age of AI DESCRIPTION:AI provides an unmatched opportunity for both accelerating and degrading high quality learning. Institutions of higher education must adapt by providing guidance to faculty and students across all departments\; integrating AI literacy into the larger curricula rather than only covering it in specific computer science courses. In order to most effectively plan and evaluate these actions\, we argue institutions implement a capabilities-based framework that understands faculty and students in terms of their capacities and functions in relation to existing college missions to produce socially and intellectually responsible graduates. The four capabilities—Access\, Association\, Involvement\, and Literacy—give faculty\, staff\, and students a shared scaffolding and vocabulary for preserving the cognitive work genuine learning requires. We illustrate this recommendation through concrete examples across disciplines and work with the audience to brainstorm how they can apply this framework to their own classrooms and institutions. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:48bc5d9c3ea00da28dfe12320bbb8aec URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/48bc5d9c3ea00da28dfe12320bbb8aec END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T184500Z DTEND:20261017T191500Z SUMMARY:Understanding and Leveraging Student Ambivalence to AI DESCRIPTION:In this presentation\, I'll review the recent data on student attitudes towards AI\, which show consistent negative trends in students optimism that AI will make their lives better and their belief that AI itself is ultimately a positive force in the world. I'll then discuss the challenges and opportunities that these trends present for liberal arts faculty and institutions. I'll argue that\, within a curriculum that prioritizes critical thinking and open discussion\, students' growing antipathy towards AI can be a strength\, because it makes them more resilient the totalizing narratives around AI promoted by technology companies and the media\, and it makes them more likely to scrutinize their own AI use. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:711a80bdf9cf5264e50a285bee3a6fe5 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/711a80bdf9cf5264e50a285bee3a6fe5 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T193000Z DTEND:20261017T200000Z SUMMARY:Developing an AI-Focused Faculty Learning Community (FLC) DESCRIPTION:What is a faculty learning community (FLC)? Why is this model so relevant for the topic of AI and the Liberal Arts? This session proposes to answer these questions by introducing the FLC model\, which brings together faculty and staff in a community of practice\, and to argue for its relevance as a means of fostering interdisciplinary and collaborative connections\, debates\, and discussions\, as well as practical outputs\, in relation to the role of AI in higher education and more specifically in the Liberal Arts. Through a demonstration of how to form an AI-focused FLC\, interactive activities\, and shared resources\, this session will leave the audience with the means of forming their own AI-focused FLCs at their home institutions\, as well as giving audience members the opportunity to connect with colleagues from a variety of institutions who plan to undertake this same goal. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein 210\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:f3987f33d318574fa971e5caa063e1ac URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/f3987f33d318574fa971e5caa063e1ac END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T193000Z DTEND:20261017T200000Z SUMMARY:The Student Voice: Creating an AI Student Council DESCRIPTION:As noted at last year’s conference\, liberal arts colleges are in a unique and important position to tackle AI and its effect on higher education. A key facet of this position is our ability to encourage critical thinking in our students across a variety of courses\, research\, and leadership positions on campus. To that end\, and as my institutions continues to grapple with its response to generative AI\, I formed an AI student council. The AI student council helps develop programming for students\, serves as a sounding board for policies and procedures\, and helps with communication. The council serves a complement to the AI Community Council\, which brings in professionals\, alumni\, and other friends of the college\, into conversation with Eckerd faculty and staff. This presentation talks about why and how to form the student council\, setting goals and objectives for the council\, and key takeaways. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:75dcc4632818c6e498e78e9ce82a9971 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/75dcc4632818c6e498e78e9ce82a9971 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T193000Z DTEND:20261017T200000Z SUMMARY:What If We Trusted Them? Student-Led AI Research as Liberal Arts Pedagogy — Lessons from the LAB DESCRIPTION:What if we trusted them? As institutions scramble to regulate AI\, students are positioned as potential cheaters rather than intellectual partners. But Gen Z sentiment toward AI has shifted—many students arrive determined to protect learning\, effort\, and authentic thinking. \;This presentation shares what happened when we took that seriously. Over three semesters\, we transformed our Language Center into The LAB—a student-led research hub where multilingual students investigate AI's impact on language and meaning-making. Students led every stage: interviewing and hiring peer researchers\, organizing our Active Language Forum\, shaping research agendas. The results exceeded expectations. \;LAB students presented research rivaling graduate work. In my Literature and Media Transformation course—which emerged from LAB conversations—students wrote media autobiographies of stunning honesty. When we opened new LAB applications\, we received unprecedented\, and  \;ambitious proposals revealing how hungry this generation is for these conversations. This presentation offers a replicable model for \; \;institutions willing to trust students as co-creators of knowledge. When we give students agency\, they lead. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:4f79585aff8080bcc83fe0b2a3a70c5a URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/4f79585aff8080bcc83fe0b2a3a70c5a END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T193000Z DTEND:20261017T203000Z SUMMARY:Designing Cross-Departmental AI Initiatives for Your Campus DESCRIPTION:Navigating generative AI in a liberal arts context requires breaking traditional silos to foster campus-wide dialogue. In this interactive workshop\, leaders from Smith College share a collaborative framework developed with the Student Government Association and the Sherrerd Center for Teaching and Learning. This partnership bridges the faculty-student divide through an automated syllabus AI policy generator\, student-led residential and classroom discussions\, and a faculty learning cohort. After a brief showcase of these initiatives\, participants will transition into an active session. Working in small groups\, attendees will analyze their own institutional ecosystems\, identify cross-departmental partnership opportunities and co-design a low-stakes AI literacy project tailored to their home campuses. CATEGORIES:WORKSHOP LOCATION:Blaustein Hood Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:8388667bf7bdc30ef4a4c342764cdf93 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/8388667bf7bdc30ef4a4c342764cdf93 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T200000Z DTEND:20261017T203000Z SUMMARY:ChatGBC: An All-Campus\, Secure\, Affordable(?) OpenWebUI/OpenRouter-Based AI Hub DESCRIPTION:In a world where students are increasingly expected to graduate with AI experience\, providing equitable\, affordable and safe access to AI models is becoming a tricky problem for colleges and universities.  \;This session will cover the creation of ChatGBC\, Gettysburg College's OpenWebUI/OpenRouter based AI hub.  \;ChatGBC gives all campus members access to multiple AI models plus a built in RAG knowledge base\, maintains control of the data submitted to AI models and is reasonably affordable and supportable for a small liberal arts college.  \; We'll cover initial setup\, beta testing\, scaling for the entire campus\, initial faculty and student feedback and data on costs and support requirements. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:7da9c23075f20ea372722c6e9e41b440 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/7da9c23075f20ea372722c6e9e41b440 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T200000Z DTEND:20261017T203000Z SUMMARY:Student Involvement in AI Curriculum Development DESCRIPTION:As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves\, liberal arts institutions face a pressing challenge: how do we swiftly update our curricula to meet the demands of students\, parents\, and employers across nearly all academic domains? Traditional curriculum development can be slow\, but the pace of AI requires agility. A solution is an underutilized resource: our students. They bring unique expertise and lived experiences that can drive curricular innovation.This presentation explores three distinct collaborative structures we implemented to partner students with faculty to develop and revise AI-related curricula.  \;We have successfully used these models to co-create curricular materials across disciplines\, including creative writing\, economics\, sociology\, cognitive science\, and ethics. By leveraging these partnerships\, institutions can design course materials that are deeply engaging to students\, while allowing faculty to gain vital insights into how students actually interact with AI. When using this approach\, both sides of the partnership benefit.  \;Faculty evolve their approach to AI\, and students' involvement in curriculum development changes how they approach learning. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein Ernst Room (First floor)\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:b5d9c4a6f7d2c8bbb6adbf3f2a0bfc92 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/b5d9c4a6f7d2c8bbb6adbf3f2a0bfc92 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T200000Z DTEND:20261017T203000Z SUMMARY:The AI Culture Question: What Happens When One Department Decides to Lead? DESCRIPTION:When AI arrived on campus\, most institutions responded the same way: individual faculty experimenting in isolation\, policy committees deliberating\, and a general sense of productive chaos. At Hobart and William Smith Colleges\, the Digital Learning Center took a different path: restructuring one role to make AI integration its central focus\, then building outward from there. \;In this interactive session\, participants will explore how a single department can catalyze institution-wide AI culture change without a massive budget or a dedicated AI office. Drawing on initiatives including a faculty Community of Practice\, a BoodleBox pilot\, and intentional strategies for amplifying student voice\, this session offers a replicable framework for moving from scattered experimentation to coordinated community effort. Participants will leave with concrete strategies they can adapt to their own institutional contexts and the conviction that meaningful\, human-centered AI integration is within reach\, regardless of institutional size or resources. CATEGORIES:TEACH THE ROOM LOCATION:Blaustein 210\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:d9d28df7db2945d7cb2135dec7908c1b URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/d9d28df7db2945d7cb2135dec7908c1b END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260820T032752Z DTSTART:20261017T203000Z DTEND:20261017T210000Z SUMMARY:Closing Session DESCRIPTION:Closing reflection and Synthesis CATEGORIES: LOCATION:Crozier-Williams 1962 Room\, Connecticut College SEQUENCE:0 UID:fd6dd1761e1d9e4f474a16bfaef4bda6 URL:http://aiandtheliberalarts.sched.com/event/fd6dd1761e1d9e4f474a16bfaef4bda6 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR