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.
