Location: AIC Forum, Bryant University

Tuesday, May 26^th

8:15 – 9:00       Continental Breakfast and Networking

9:00 – 9:20       Opening Remarks: Senator Jack Reed

9:20 – 10:20     Opening Keynote

From Thinking to Acting: Making the Plan to Address AI in Learning
            Dr. Lance Eaton, Senior Associate Director, Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning

through Research, Northeastern University

The opening keynote explores the current landscape in AI with a view towards dispositions, challenges, and opportunities that lie ahead with AI in higher education.  As we look toward the fifth academic year to which AI has been present, we can take stock of what we have done and examine what still needs to be accomplished. The session will encourage faculty to look differently at assessment and explore what might be possible, while still trying to navigate the concerns that AI represents for learning.

10:20 – 10:30    Break

10:30 – 12:00    Facilitated Discussion Based on Keynote Address                     

12:00 – 1:00     Lunch

1:00 – 2:30       Responsible AI in Higher Education: Ethics, Sustainability, and Data Privacy

                        Dr. Gianluca Brero, Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics, Bryant

                        Dr. Geri Dimas, Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics, Bryant

                        David Gannon, Director of Technology and Innovation, Bryant

                        Dr. Tim Henry, Professor, Chair, Computer Science and Information Systems, RIC

                        Allison Papini, Assistant Director/ Manager of Research & Instruction Services, Bryant

                        Jill Rasmussen, International Business Consultant, Adjunct Faculty, Bryant

                        Liz Fisher-Sullivan, Instructional Designer, RIC

                        Moderators:

                        Dr. Suchandra Basu, Associate Professor and Chair of Economics and Finance, RIC

                        Dr. Terri Hasseler, Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Bryant                  

Faculty, staff, and institutional leaders convene in this session to examine what responsible engagement with artificial intelligence looks like in higher education. Moving beyond abstract principles, the discussion focuses on the real‑world implications of AI adoption for colleges and universities, including how tools are selected, governed, and integrated into academic and administrative work.

Panelists will explore how AI’s embedded values and biases shape institutional decisions, how acceptable use is defined, and how innovation can be balanced with care for students, faculty, and staff.

The conversation will also address environmental and human sustainability, long‑term costs and labor demands, and concerns related to data privacy, transparency, surveillance, vendor relationships, and responsible data stewardship.

Rather than offering definitive answers, the session is designed to surface key tensions, tradeoffs, and guiding questions institutions must navigate as AI becomes more embedded in higher education, encouraging thoughtful, values‑driven engagement grounded in campus realities.

2:30 - 3:00        Leadership Panel on Next Steps: Opportunities for the Colleges and State

Dr. Rupendra Paliwal, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Bryant University

Dr. Alex Cole, Executive Director, Graduate and Professional Education, Bryant University