Faculty-driven approach to artificial intelligence in higher education.
The AI-Aware Faculty Leaders program is a co-sponsored initiative of the AI Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. The faculty-driven program is designed to help departments, colleges and campuses respond thoughtfully and effectively to the opportunities and challenges artificial intelligence presents for teaching and learning.
This program supports local cultures of exploration and experimentation while keeping instructional decisions grounded in disciplinary expertise, academic values and student learning.
Faculty Leader objectives and expectations
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Identify and respond to needs within their academic units.
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Inform unit-wide committees and colleagues serving in unit-level administrative roles about Penn State policies and guidelines related to artificial intelligence.
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Identify opportunities to discuss AI with colleagues in ways that help units determine what they need to do next and move forward.
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Deepen their own professional networks and connect their units with relevant University resources and offices.
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Participate in leadership development through the Center for Faculty Development and Advancement.
2026-2027 AI Aware Faculty Leaders
The 16 faculty leaders represent a broad range of disciplines and Penn State locations:
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
- Steven J. Greybush, professor, meteorology
- Kevin Haworth, assistant teaching professor, undergraduate education; Giles Writer-in-Residence
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
- Stephanie Swindle Thomas, assistant teaching professor, communications, director of Emerging Media
Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing
- Andrea Yevchak Sillner, assistant teaching professor, nursing
- Jennifer Wissemann, associate teaching professor, nursing
Penn State College of Education
- Priya Sharma, associate professor, education (learning, design and technology); faculty director for AI Literacy and Innovation
Penn State College of Medicine
- Guodong Liu, professor, public health sciences, with joint appointments in neurology, pediatrics, psychiatry and behavioral health; director of the Center for Applied Studies in Health Economics
Smeal College of Business
- Nan Zhu, associate professor of risk management and William Elliott Chaired Professor of Insurance and Risk Management
Penn State Abington
- Gina Mejia Madrid, assistant teaching professor, computer science
Penn State Altoona
- John P. Eicher, associate professor, history
Penn State Beaver
- Nima Khodakarami, assistant professor, health policy and administration
Penn State Berks
- Abdullah Konak, distinguished professor, information sciences and technology
Penn State Greater Allegheny
- Kuei-Nuan Lin, professor, mathematics
Penn State Great Valley
- Nathalia Moraes do Nascimento, assistant professor, software engineering
Penn State Harrisburg
- Laura Feibush, assistant professor, rhetoric; and director of the Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies
Penn State Hazleton
- Karen Stylianides, associate teaching professor, kinesiology, health and human development
The breadth of the group reflects the program's emphasis on developing AI-aware teaching practices across the university rather than within a single academic field.
Past AI Aware Faculty Leaders
Nominations
The AI Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence will solicit nominations for the next cohort of Faculty Leaders for AI-Aware Instruction in early spring 2027. Academic unit leaders will be encouraged to nominate educators who are exploring responsible uses of artificial intelligence in teaching, developing resources for colleagues or helping their communities respond to changes in learning and assessment.