Charting Our Course: The Future of AI at Farmingdale State College
Dear Colleagues:
Artificial Intelligence is transforming higher education and our daily lives at a
remarkable pace. AI offers exciting opportunities to personalize learning, support
research, and streamline our daily operations. At the same time, it also brings complexity,
raising important questions about ethics, data privacy, and how we adapt to a rapidly
evolving digital environment.
To benefit from these advancements while managing the risks, it’s important that we
come together to set our own course. Rather than reacting to these changes, we have
the opportunity to lead creatively and thoughtfully.
To that end, I am pleased to announce the launch of FSC’s new AI Strategy groups.
To identify the key opportunities AI presents and provide a practical path to innovation,
we are adopting a "hub-and-spoke" model. This approach organizes our efforts into
a central steering committee supported by specialized task forces, ensuring we draw
upon expertise from every area of the College.
The Hub: Policy Committee
This central group will serve as a forum for developing overarching, principles-based
AI policies, including those on ethics and privacy. It will also utilize expertise
from members of specialized working groups and coordinate their activities, avoid
duplication, and ensure alignment.
The Spokes: Specialized Task Forces
Working in coordination with the Hub, four task forces will focus on specific areas
of impact:
- Education: Exploring the integration of AI into disciplinary curricula, potential new programs,
and faculty and student support for AI use.
- Research: Establishing the essential infrastructure to facilitate research on artificial intelligence
and its application to the research process.
- Administrative and Business Operations: Using AI to streamline operations, freeing up faculty and staff to engage in more
high-impact work.
- Industry, Community Partners, and Alumni: Facilitating conversations with external partners to inform our curriculum and grow
internship and career opportunities.
This document lists the dedicated colleagues serving on these committees. Please feel free to reach
out and share your ideas with them.
The policy committee will regularly share updates on its work. In addition, we'll
offer more opportunities to get involved in the future.
Let’s work together to make FSC a leader in the responsible and innovative use of
artificial intelligence.
Go Rams!
Sean Lane, PhD
Senior Vice President and Provost
