AI in Higher Education - Office of the Provost

Abstract futuristic digital and technology on dark blue color background. AI(Artificial Intelligence) wording with a technology circuit design.

Led by Vice Provost Ozlem Kilic, this effort is designed to provide thoughtful and consistent campus leadership governing the use of generative AI tools across campus.

The AI in Higher Education initiative positions the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as a national leader in the thoughtful, responsible integration of artificial intelligence across teaching, research, and academic leadership. In addition to fostering faculty innovation, the initiative provides campus-wide leadership on policies, best practices, and ethical guidance for AI use in support of UT’s academic mission, ensuring that experimentation is grounded in academic integrity, equity, and student success. By aligning emerging technologies with UT’s academic mission, the initiative empowers faculty and students to lead with curiosity, creativity, and confidence.

Faculty Committees

These committees were established in January 2023 to provide guidance to the Vice Provost regarding the integration of AI technologies across campus.

Steering Committee

Academic Leadership

Suzie Allard
Associate Dean, College of Communication & Information
(Leader: Philosophy)

Brendan McConville
Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
(Leader: Pedagogy, Technology)

Holly Mercer
Associate Dean, UT Libraries
(Leader: Philosophy)

Lynne Parker
Vice Chancellor and Director of the AI Tennessee Initiative
(Leader: Research)

Teaching & Learning Innovation

Chris Lavan
Executive Director of Teaching & Learning
(Leader: Pedagogy, Policy)

AI Faculty

Mehmet Aydeniz
Professor, College of Education, Health & Human Science
(Leader: Pedagogy, Research)

Chuanren Liu
Associate Professor, Haslam College of Business
(Leader: Technology)

Xiaopeng Zhao
Professor, Tickle College of Engineering
(Leader: Technology, Policy)

Student Conduct & Community Standards

Shaun McComas
Associate Director
(Leader: Policy)

Pedagogy

Name	Title	Affiliation	Email
Advincula, Rigoberto	UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair of Advanced and Nanostructured Materials	Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering	[email protected]
Benson, Kirsten	Director	Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center	[email protected]
Bilal, Dania	Professor	School of Information Sciences	[email protected]
Brimer, Adam	Director of Technology Enhanced Education	Haslam College of Business	[email protected]
Clemons, Aris	Assistant Professor	Modern Foreign Languages & Literature	[email protected]
Deshpande, Deepa	Faculty Consultant	Teaching & Learning Innovation	[email protected]
Engel, Annette	Jones Professor of Aqueous Geochemistry	Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences	[email protected]
Fagan, Josh	Lecturer	Engineering Fundamentals	[email protected]
Jacobs, Jackie	Distinguished Lecturer & Director	Management & Entrepreneurship	[email protected]
Johnston. Jason	Director of Online Learning & Course Production	Online Learning & Academic Programs	[email protected]
Kavanagh, Katie	Associate Professor	Nutrition	[email protected]
Kilgore, Chris	Associate Director	Teaching & Learning Innovation	[email protected]
Kirkpatrick, Yolanda	Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies	Theory and Practice in Teacher Education	[email protected]
Kite, Rebecca	Assistant Professor & Reference Librarian	College of Law	[email protected]
Knox, Laurie	Senior Lecturer	Department of English	[email protected]
Langendorfer, Anne	Senior Lecturer	Department of English	[email protected]
Morey, Sean	Director of Composition	Department of English	[email protected]
Odoi, Agricola	Professor & Assistant Dean of Research and Graduate Studies	College of Veterinary Medicine	[email protected]
Philippakos, Zoi Traga	Associate Professor	Literacy Education	[email protected]
Pulte, Andy	Distinguished Lecturer & Director	Plant Sciences	[email protected]
Ring, Jonathan	Lecturer	Political Science	[email protected]
Sobes, Vladimir	Assistant Professor	Nuclear Engineering	[email protected]
Staples, Cary	Professor, Graphic Design	School of Design	[email protected]
Trujillo-Mejia, Laura	Distinguished Lecturer of Hispanic Studies	Modern Foreign Languages & Literature	[email protected]
Whitaker, Erin	Librarian	Library	[email protected]
Zhang, Brian	Student	Economics

Philosophy Committee

Name	Title	Affiliation	Email
Anderson, Misty	Professor	Department of English	[email protected]
Bartolme, Susan	Student	English	[email protected]
Brannen, Michelle	Librarian	Library	[email protected]
Coleman, Dawn	Professor	Department of English	[email protected]
Fagan, Josh	Lecturer	Engineering Fundamentals	[email protected]
Fernandez, Peter	Librarian	Library	[email protected]
Jewel, Lucy			[email protected]
Johnston. Jason	Director	Online Learning & Academic Programs	[email protected]
Kilgore, Chris	Associate Director	Teaching & Learning Innovation	[email protected]
Knox, Laurie	Senior Lecturer	Department of English	[email protected]
Langendorfer, Anne	Senior Lecturer	Department of English	[email protected]
Morey, Sean	Director of Composition	Department of English	[email protected]
Odoi, Agricola	Professor & Assistant Dean of the Office of Research and Graduate Studies	College of Veterinary Medicine	[email protected]
Penchoff, Deborah	Associate Director	UT Innovative Computing Laboratory	[email protected]
Ring, Jonathan	Lecturer	Department of Political Science	[email protected]
Staples, Cary	Professor	School of Design	[email protected]

Technology Committee

Name	Title	Affiliation	Email
Bartolme, Susan	Teaching Associate	Department of English	[email protected]
Bilal, Dania	Professor	School of Information Sciences	[email protected]
Deshpande, Deepa	Faculty Consultant	Teaching & Learning Innovation	[email protected]
Fagan, Joshua	Lecture	Engineering Fundamentals Program	[email protected]
Harris, Sally	Distinguished Lecturer & Director of Undergraduate Studies	Department of English	[email protected]
Harshvardhan	PhD student	BAS	[email protected]
Lighter, Don	Professor	HCB	[email protected]
LittleJohn, Kay	Director of Technology Integration Services	HCB	[email protected]
Luszczek, Piotr	Assistant Professor	EECS	[email protected]
Mierles, Kimberly	Student	Industrial Engineering
Sasso, Rosie	IT Manager	Office of Innovative Technologies	[email protected]
Steele, Josh	Associate Vice Provost	Online Learning & Academic Programs	[email protected]

Research Committee

Name	Title	Affiliation	Email
Advincula, Rigoberto	UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair of Advanced and Nanostructured Materials	Materials Science and Engineering	[email protected]
Baco, Joshua Ortiz	Assistant Professor	Tennessee Libraries	[email protected]
Bilal, Dania	Professor	School of Information Sciences	[email protected]
Burns, Jane	Research Integrity Compliance Director	Office of Research and Engagement	[email protected]
Clemons, Aris	Assistant Professor	Modern Foreign Languages and Literature	[email protected]
Deshpande, Deepa	Faculty Consultant	Teaching and Learning Innovation	[email protected]
Engel, Annette	Professor	Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences	[email protected]
Fagan, Joshua	Lecturer	Engineering Fundamentals	[email protected]
Hayes, Doug	Professor	Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science	[email protected]
Kavanagh, Katie	Associate Professor	College of Education, Heath, and Human Sciences	[email protected]
Kilgore, Chris	Associate Director	Teaching and Learning Innovation	[email protected]
Knox, Laurie	Senior Lecturer	Department of English	[email protected]
Ma, John	Professor	Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering	[email protected]
Odoi, Agricola	Professor and Assistant Dean	Research and Graduate Studies	[email protected]
Philippakos, Zoi Traga	Professor	College of Education	[email protected]
Rius, Agustin	Associate Professor	Department of Animal Science	[email protected]
Staples, Cary	Professor	College of Architecture and Design	[email protected]
Zhong, Qixin	Professor	Department of Food Science	[email protected]

Policy Committee

Name	Title	Affiliation	Email
Advincula, Rigoberto	UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair of Advanced and Nanostructured Materials	Materials Science and Engineering	[email protected]
Baco, Joshua Ortiz	Assistant Professor	Tennessee Libraries	[email protected]
Bilal, Dania	Professor	School of Information Sciences	[email protected]
Burns, Jane	Research Integrity Compliance Director	Office of Research and Engagement	[email protected]
Clemons, Aris	Assistant Professor	Modern Foreign Languages and Literature	[email protected]
Deshpande, Deepa	Faculty Consultant	Teaching and Learning Innovation	[email protected]
Engel, Annette	Professor	Earth and Planetary Sciences	[email protected]
Fagan, Joshua	Lecturer	Engineering Fundamentals	[email protected]
Harshvardhan,	Graduate Research Assistant	Haslam College of Business	[email protected]
Hayes, Doug	Professor	Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science	[email protected]
Kavanagh, Katie	Associate Professor	Education, Heath, and Human Sciences	[email protected]
Kilgore, Chris	Associate Director	Teaching and Learning Innovation	[email protected]
Knox, Laurie	Senior Lecturer	Department of English	[email protected]
Ma, John	Professor	Civil and Environmental Engineering	[email protected]
Odoi, Agricola	Professor and Assistant Dean	Research and Graduate Studies	[email protected]
Philippakos, Zoi Traga	Associate Professor	College of Education	[email protected]
Rius, Agustin	Associate Professor	Animal Science	[email protected]
Staples, Cary	Professor	Architecture and Design	[email protected]
Woods, Cooper	Student	Political Science
Zhong, Qixin	Professor	Food Science	[email protected]

Student Committees

This taskforce was established in January 2024 to advise the Vice Provost

Student Committee

Veda Seay	Haslam College of Business
Sally Grigsby	Tickle College of Engineering
Evan Mainous	Haslam College of Business
Luke McCombs	Tickle College of Engineering
Braden Jones	College of Music
Price LeNoir	Tickle College of Engineering
Morgan Cary	College of Communication & Information
Bobby Lange	College of Education, Health & Human Sciences
Angelica Rose Nepomuceno	Haslam College of Business
Zakary Amen	College of Social Work
Adam Brimer	Haslam College of Business