Events

February 12, 2026

A New Academic Paradigm: Teaching, Research, and Scholarship in the Age of AI

On February 11, the College, in partnership with the Center for the Study of Christianity, hosted “A New Academic Paradigm: Teaching, Research, and Scholarship in the Age of AI,” a faculty forum exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping higher education. The event was co-organized by Dr. Jennifer Davis, Associate Professor of History, and Dr. John Choy, Associate Professor of Biology and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. Scholars from across the sciences and humanities demonstrated how AI is transforming teaching, research, and student learning, positioning the College at the forefront of innovation in an evolving academic landscape.

Opening the program, Dr. Choy underscored the growing importance of AI across disciplines and framed the central question facing universities nationwide: How can we harness AI’s power while preserving the human judgment at the heart of academic life?

The answers were as wide-ranging as the disciplines represented.

Dr. Curtis Holliman of Mathematics and Statistics presented research using AI to predict glioblastoma recurrence, work that could improve treatment precision and patient outcomes. In chemistry, Dr. Greg Miller showed how students use AlphaFold to explore protein structures that once seemed out of reach in an undergraduate classroom. He also shared results from a classroom study comparing student-written and AI-generated work. While students appreciated AI’s efficiency and factual accuracy, they ultimately preferred human writing for its authenticity, audience awareness, and clarity.

Innovation was equally evident in the humanities. Dr. Anastasia Stoyneva, professor of Spanish, is developing an AI-powered tool to support heritage Spanish speakers by guiding students through feedback and revision rather than supplying answers. Her work addresses linguistic insecurity and expands academic access, illustrating how technology can strengthen student confidence and success.

Keynote speaker Dr. Yaniv Fox of Bar-Ilan University offered an international perspective on institutional AI leadership. He described how his university launched a campus-wide initiative that integrates AI into teaching while preserving faculty autonomy through an opt-out ethics code. Instead of restricting AI, the emphasis is on helping students use it responsibly through redesigned assessments, interactive historical simulations, custom GPT tools, and frequent low-stakes evaluations focused on genuine understanding.

The presentations stimulated thought about how we can leverage the power of AI technology to enhance our students' critical thinking, help advance our research/scholarship while reducing the time spent on mindless but necessary tasks, and ultimately, how we can maintain our human agency in this new landscape. Please view the entire keynote talk by Dr. Yaniv Fox below.