Provost’s Office announces new AI initiatives

The Office of the Provost has announced the creation of the Provost’s AI Committee and the AI Acceleration Program. These initiatives aim to enhance Carolina’s engagement with and understanding of artificial intelligence.

Together, the committee and program are designed to help Carolina leverage AI’s potential while ensuring the campus community stays informed and prepared for the future. The goals of these two efforts, which include faculty, staff and students, are to better explore how AI can be integrated into the University’s academic and operational frameworks.

The specific assignments and purposes of the two groups are:

Provost’s AI Committee:

• Understand and increase AI usage and literacy among faculty, staff and students.
• Recommend AI initiatives to promote adoption.
• Promote and support the AI Acceleration Program, by providing recommendations to the provost for funding of fellowships and projects for faculty, staff, students and campus units.
• Develop a website that offers AI resources across learning, teaching, research and operations.
• Provide simpler AI usage guidance for students that instructors can put in their syllabi.

The committee is chaired by Mark McNeilly, professor in the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. For questions regarding the committee, please email aiacceleration@unc.edu.

AI Acceleration Program

The AI Acceleration Program aims to provide pathways and incentives for campus units, faculty and students to explore, adopt and advance generative AI technologies and practices in their respective domains, while also fostering cross-unit and cross-disciplinary collaboration and innovation. The program seeks to provide opportunities, resources and support for the Carolina community, including:

• Cloud-Related Funds: Includes cloud resource grants, Research cyberinfrastructure funds and cloud infrastructure start-up funds for faculty recruitment. These programs encourage the development of generative AI projects for instruction, research and operational goals using cloud-based resources.
• Institutionally Scoped Projects: Funds projects that address institution-wide strategic priorities enabled by AI.
• Major Campus Unit Matching Funds: Provides matching funds to academic/research units to accelerate AI projects within their unit.
• Faculty, Staff and Student Fellowships: Recognize and support excellence in AI research and operations among faculty, staff and students.

The AI Acceleration Program initiative officers are Andy John, senior associate vice chancellor for research; Andrew Lang, associate dean of IT and data analytics; and Tim McGuire, director of Campus Infrastructure Services. For questions regarding the program, please email aiacceleration@unc.edu

Those interested can learn more about the program at the AI Acceleration Program website and attend an overview and Zoom Q&A session on Sept. 30 at either 9 a.m. or 1 p.m.

9 a.m. Zoom Session on Sept. 30:

Meeting ID: 966 7053 4905

Passcode: 522401

1 p.m. Zoom Session on Sept. 30:

Meeting ID: 941 8898 4449

Passcode: 285352