As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes how students learn, how faculty teach, and how campuses deliver advising and support, Indiana University has launched a coordinated effort to define how AI will be used across academic and administrative areas.

Supported by a $300,000 planning grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education initiative, IU will bring faculty and staff together from across the state to develop a shared, institution-wide roadmap for responsibly integrating AI into curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, student services, workforce alignment and organizational culture.

The planning effort will critically assess where and how generative AI adds real value for teaching, learning, research and university operations — and where it does not — while developing shared principles and decision frameworks to guide thoughtful, responsible and consistent use across IU’s nine campuses.

The effort also will be grounded in IU’s leadership in working with government and industry partners to build a human-centered AI model that strengthens distinctly human skills such as critical thinking, ethical reasoning, empathy and communication, alongside foundational AI literacy.

IU’s initiative is designed to achieve four goals:

• Equip all IU students with core AI literacy and enduring human skills that support responsible participation in an AI-enabled economy and civic life.
• Reinvent pedagogy and assessment with AI‑responsive instructional models that ensure authentic human learning.
• Expand applied AI experiential learning by embedding students in real‑world projects across industries, government, nonprofits and education partners.
• Transform student‑service ecosystems — including advising, career services, tutoring and registrar functions — into AI‑enhanced support structures that are secure, ethical and student‑centered.

The co-principal investigators for the grant are Rahul Shrivastav, provost and executive vice chancellor of IU Bloomington, and Anne Leftwich, associate vice president for UITS. The planning process will be carried out through four workstreams comprising more than 100 faculty, staff and students from across the university.

The workstreams and their co-chairs are:

• Change management: Pat Hopkins, dean of the Kelley School of Business, and Isak Nti Asare, assistant dean for undergraduate education and student affairs at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at IU Bloomington.
• Faculty practices and assessment: Jerry Wilde, dean of the School of Education at IU East, and Maggie Gilchrist, distance learning specialist and instructional consultant at IU Bloomington.
• Student AI literacy and curriculum: Justin Hodgson, associate professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington, and Philip Goff, professor of American studies in the School of Liberal Arts at IU Indianapolis.
• AI-enhanced student success ecosystem: Logan Paul, senior lecturer in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering at IU Bloomington, and Matt Rust, associate vice president for student navigation and support in the Office of the Vice President of Student Success, Enrollment and Institutional Effectiveness.

Workstream members were selected based on disciplinary expertise and operational experience. Each workstream will produce concise, decision-ready recommendations based on a narrowly defined scope and clear deliverables focused on identifying priorities, risks and practical next steps. Faculty, staff and student input will be gathered through workstream outreach to units and governance groups, with additional opportunities shared as draft recommendations are developed.

By May 1, IU expects to submit a proposal to Lilly Endowment for a potential implementation grant, along with potential concepts for collaboration with other Indiana colleges and universities. Future activities would be guided by the findings and recommendations developed under this planning grant.