Butler University has been selected to participate in the 2025–2026 Association of American Colleges & Universities Institute on Pedagogy, AI, and the Curriculum, a nationally competitive faculty development program focused on advancing thoughtful, ethical, and human-centered approaches to artificial intelligence in higher education. 

Butler is one of a select group of institutions chosen to take part in the year-long institute, which brings together interdisciplinary faculty teams to explore how AI is reshaping teaching, learning, assessment, and curriculum design across higher education. 

This marks Butler’s second consecutive year participating in the AAC&U Institute—an acknowledgment of the University’s growing leadership in helping faculty and students engage emerging technologies with intention, curiosity, and care. 

“I am proud of the investment and leadership of Butler University faculty members as we engage in the important work of determining how best to develop students’ responsible, ethical approaches to using AI while at the same time facilitating the growth of human-centered skills which will prepare them to be thoughtful citizens as well as productive employees,” Jay Howard, Interim Provost, said. 

The 2025–2026 Butler cohort is co-led by Meg Grady and James McGrath, with other members of the team representing diverse disciplines across the University. 

2025-2026 IAIPC Cohort 

• Meg Grady – Associate Director of Academic Partnerships, Office of Online Education & Educational Technology 

• James McGrath – Chair, Department Philosophy and Religious Studies 

• Adrian Banning – Associate Professor, Doctor of Medical Science Bridge Program 

• Jaclyn Demeter – Assistant Professor, Physician Assistant Studies Program 

• Lee Farquhar –Director, Eugene S. Pulliam School of Journalism and Creative Media 

• Ankur Gupta – Professor, Computer Science 

Together, the cohort will engage in a structured series of learning experiences, including a two-day kickoff, a mid-institute learning day, weekly webinars, and a national capstone convening. Institute topics range from teaching with and about AI to assessment in AI-inflected learning environments, environmental impacts of AI, AI in the Core Curriculum, and multiple pedagogical stances toward emerging technologies. 

The Butler cohort’s capstone project will focus on the development of a campus-wide AI Resource Hub designed to support students, faculty, and staff as they navigate rapidly evolving technologies. 

Supported by faculty mentor José Bowen, author of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning, the hub is envisioned as a living, evolving resource that balances practical guidance with foundational education and ethical framing. 

At a high level, the Butler AI Resource Hub will: 

• Elevate faculty voices and community culture through testimonials, examples, and peer-to-peer learning 

• Provide practical tools and decision support, including an “AI Compass” to help guide when—and when not—to use AI 

• Support teaching, learning, and assignment design with pedagogically grounded examples, rubrics, and models 

• Center student AI literacy and storytelling through authentic student perspectives 

• Explicitly align AI use with Butler’s institutional values, framing AI as a human force multiplier, not a replacement for judgment or creativity 

Butler’s 2025–2026 participation builds directly on work launched during the 2024–2025 AAC&U Institute, when faculty from counseling, art, biology, and computer science collaborated on a departmental self-evaluation tool to help academic units reflect on whether—and how—to integrate AI into their curricula. 

That earlier cohort included: 

• Chloe Moushey, Lecturer and Program Director for Online Counseling Programs 

• Steve Nyktas, Professor of Art and Department Chair 

• Ashlee Tietje, Lecturer, Biological Sciences 

• Kelly Van Busum, Assistant Professor, Computer Science 

Together, the two cohorts reflect Butler’s broader commitment to encouraging thoughtful, faculty-led engagement with AI—one that foregrounds pedagogy, institutional values, and the human dimensions of learning. 

As institutions nationwide grapple with the implications of artificial intelligence for higher education, Butler’s continued participation in the AAC&U Institute positions the University as a contributor to national conversations about how AI can be integrated responsibly, creatively, and in service of meaningful human learning.