Dear Center for Academic Innovation Community,
Disruptions driven by artificial intelligence are reshaping every sector of the economy — from health care and manufacturing, to finance, education, and public service. Many of these industries are foundational to the state of Michigan and to the vitality of its urban and rural communities. For a public research university with a statewide mission, this moment demands thoughtful leadership.
On March 17, the Center for Academic Innovation will host the AI & the Future of Learning Summit as part of the university’s Campus of the Future initiative and the broader Life-Changing Education theme year. The Summit brings together thought leaders from across higher education and industry — along with Michigan faculty, staff, and students — to engage the profound questions facing teaching, learning, and workforce development in an era of generative AI.
Convening is central to our work at the center. We serve as a gathering point where educators, technologists, researchers, and industry partners come together to examine emerging challenges and opportunities. At the Summit, leaders from organizations such as OpenAI, Microsoft, AWS, Salesforce, Coursera, edX/2U, Noodle, Emeritus, and others will join colleagues from dozens of institutions. These conversations extend beyond a single event; they reflect our commitment to expanding Michigan’s reach — to learners across the state and around the world, to thought leaders shaping the future of education, and to educators seeking new ways to support their students.
As we collectively shape what a campus of the future can be, we are asking how a university of Michigan’s scale and diversity can navigate change in ways that are both ambitious and responsible. How do we prepare students for professions that are evolving in real time? How do we support workforce transitions and upskilling across industries critical to Michigan’s economic resilience? How do we design learning environments that preserve the depth and humanity of a Michigan education while embracing new technological capabilities?
The Summit is one expression of a broader pattern of engagement. Throughout the year, the center convenes Faculty Forums that bring colleagues together around specialized topics and emerging areas of inquiry. Through Innovation Blends, we invite faculty to co-lead conversations at the intersection of academic expertise and industry practice. Across communities of practice and collaborative design initiatives, we create structured opportunities for experimentation, reflection, and shared learning.
Taken together, these efforts reflect a core commitment: the Center for Academic Innovation serves as an innovation engine for a large and complex campus. We help connect people who might not otherwise find one another. We surface ideas that require cross-disciplinary collaboration. We create structured opportunities for experimentation at scale. Innovation is not simply about new tools; it is about building the institutional capacity to use them responsibly and sustainably.
Universities cannot stand apart from the transformations underway. By building the campus of the future, we are also playing our role in building the Michigan of the future. This work requires clarity of purpose, disciplined experimentation, and a willingness to lead in moments of uncertainty. I am grateful to be part of a community willing to engage this work with seriousness, creativity, and shared purpose.
Go blue!
James DeVaney
Associate Vice Provost for Academic Innovation
Founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Innovation