Connecticut College AI and the Liberal Arts Symposium: Full Schedule

9:30am EDT

Opening Plenary — The Year of an Awakening in the Liberal Arts

Friday October 16, 2026 9:30am - 10:30am EDT

Crozier-Williams 1962 Room

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.

Speakers

George Cusack

Director of Academic AI Initiatives, Carleton College

Eric Chown

Jaya Kannan

Director of Technology for Curriculum and Research, Amherst College

Jaya Kannan is Director of Technology for Curriculum and Research at Amherst College, where she leads the Academic Technology Services unit. She holds a PhD in Computer Assisted Language Learning and her higher education background spans international teaching, faculty development... Read More →

Susan Purrington

Harold F. Wiley Generative AI Teaching and Learning Fellow, Connecticut College

Lori Robbins

Head of AI Strategy, Denison University

Lori Robbins is Denison University's Head of AI Strategy, where she leads campus-wide initiatives focused on AI literacy and professional development. With a background in international education and educational technology, she creates programs that help students, faculty, and staff... Read More →

Friday October 16, 2026 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Crozier-Williams 1962 Room

Plenary, AI, the Liberal Arts, and the Future of Work