FAMU is taking an aggressive step to embed artificial intelligence across its academic and operational frameworks, part of a broader strategy to achieve Carnegie R1 research status, improve customer service, and prepare students for a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
At a campus forum on Tuesday, university leaders outlined ambitious plans to integrate AI into teaching, research, and administrative functions.
“The priority for me is really to figure out how to advance a campus-wide sustained engagement level for advancing our integration of artificial intelligence,” said FAMU President Marva Johnson.
FAMU is pursuing a multi-faceted strategy to integrate artificial intelligence into its curriculum, aimed at equipping students with skills for emerging workforce demands, and has established two high-level taskforce to achieve its goal: an Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council and an R1 Task Force, Provost Allyson L. Watson, Ph.D. announced. The dual initiatives reflects FAMU’s aim to combine cutting-edge technological training with elevated research output.
“Innovation at FAMU begins with cultivating a future-ready mindset in our students and supporting groundbreaking research among our faculty,” said Watson. “The AI Council will ensure that our approach to AI is forward-thinking, ethical, and beneficial to society at large.”
The AI Advisory Council, chaired by Desmond Stephens PhD, assistant provost for Faculty Development, Teaching, and Innovation, will include 20 members from across the university community. Its mandate includes identifying opportunities to infuse AI into curricula, support faculty research, and promote equitable and ethical AI applications.
Renata Rawlings-Goss, PhD, a FAMU alumna and executive director of Georgia Tech’s Institute for Data Engineering and Science, delivered the keynote address at Tuesday’s forum. She emphasized the growing necessity of AI in higher education.
“You want to be able to do things faster. You want to be able to serve more students. AI can help with that,” said Rawlings-Goss. “And you want to be able to bring in information and sometimes expertise that is different from what the university currently has.”
Already, students in courses like Professor Tarik Dickens’ engineering lab are gaining hands-on experience with AI technologies. His students recently built a robotic arm using AI programs—an example of the kind of project-based learning the university hopes to scale.
“Robotics and automation and AI are going to be crucial, essential in trying to achieve what we call artificial general intelligence,” said Dr. Dickens.
Students expressed enthusiasm for the university’s direction. “Having a deeper understanding of it not only helps us learn more about the world in general but advances technology further in ways that we can’t even imagine right now,” said Leon Lanier, an engineering student.
Lindsay Charles, who studies psychology, added: “It’s just very important because AI is just very helpful. Everybody thinks of it as a way to get out of doing work, but it’s really a useful way to learn.”
Meanwhile, the R1 Task Force, co-chaired by Provost Watson and Michael Abazinge, PhD, associate provost and dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research, will focus on strengthening FAMU’s research infrastructure, expanding doctoral programs, and increasing external funding—all critical to attaining R1 designation.
“As we work toward achieving R1 status,” said Dr. Abazinge, “we are committed to advancing not only FAMU’s research profile but also ensuring our research enhances our doctoral programs while directly addressing the critical issues facing our communities and society.”
Both the AI Council and the R1 Task Force are expected to deliver preliminary recommendations within the coming year. For a university intent on marrying tradition with transformation, the integration of artificial intelligence may prove a defining chapter in its long history.