To drive innovation and impact, better prepare our students for the future workplace, and foster professional development amongst interested faculty and staff, Furman will leverage the benefits AI has to offer, consistent with the mission, vision, and values of the university. At the same time, the University remains committed to protecting the privacy of our community members and their information. Accordingly, we have established an AI Strategy Task Force (AISTF) to help guide our institution into the future. 

Integration and engagement with AI will be grounded in our mission and values as a liberal arts university dedicated to cultivating a thriving community that fosters deep, reflective learning. As we seek to ethically integrate AI into our community, we are guided by our commitment to preparing students to be capable, confident learners who are ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century. 

Because our priorities focus on providing our students with transformative learning experiences, cultivating a thriving community, and building a strong, sustainable future, engagement with AI at Furman is guided by the following principles: 

• AI is a tool that has appropriate and inappropriate uses; we will use AI to support our community and its flourishing.   

• AI should be used to augment or enhance human endeavors and relationships, not replace human intelligence. 

• AI should be used ethically and with transparency; we are accountable for our use of AI technologies. 

• All members of the Furman community should have opportunities to learn about, access, and experiment with AI tools.  

With the rapid proliferation and evolution of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) technologies, Furman University recommends these ethical guidelines to ensure that the University Community’s implementation and use of AI is consistent with the University’s Vision, Mission, Values and Free Inquiry & Expression and aligns with the aspirational goals in Furman’s AI Literacies and Competencies document. Accordingly, when developing new policies, protocols, or guidance, the users of AI must consider the following four questions:  

• Does the proposed policy, protocol, or guidance predictably introduce or mitigate any harms not found in the absence of this policy, or in any competing policy proposal?  
• Does the proposed policy, protocol, or guidance violate any rights, legal or otherwise, of anyone inside or outside the Furman community? Does it create any new rights?  
• Would the proposed policy serve to augment or diminish the autonomy, or its expression, of any members of the Furman community? Does any augmented autonomy come at the expense of diminished autonomy of other parties?  
• Would the proposed policy model, if enacted, align with what we would consider the attitude and behavior of an ideal virtuous user of technology?  

The goal of Furman’s AI Strategy Task Force is to provide strategic recommendations on AI use at Furman, and broadly within a liberal arts setting, in alignment with FUture Focused Priority 1, Objective 3: Drive a Culture of Innovation. The AI Strategy Task Force will operate to advance AI policy, learning, and capacity while setting priorities and coordinating efforts across units and departments. The AI Strategy Task Force will be led by a Chairperson and Steering Committee and will begin with three Subcommittees with focuses on different campus needs: AI in Academic and Institutional Enhancement, AI for Operational and Student Support, and AI Ethics and Communication.

Co-Chairs

Mike Gifford, Associate Vice President for Technology

Magdelyn Helwig, Writing Programs Director

Subcommittee 1: AI in Academic and Institutional Enhancement

• IT Representative, Susan Dunnavant, Learning Technology Services Director
• Steering Committee Liaison: John Quinn, Henry Keith and Ellen Hard Townes Professor of
• Biology and Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Science
• Chris Alvin, Associate Professor of Computer Science
• Brian Augustine, Chair of Chemistry
• Mike Gifford, Associate Vice President for Technology
• Gary Guillet, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
• Magdelyn Helwig, Writing Programs Director
• Todd Janssen, Instructional Technologist
• John Kaup, Director of Science Education
• Christopher Marcum, Associate Director for Instruction and Research Services
• Caroline Mills, Director of Libraries
• Lauren Payne, Assistant Vice President of Career and Professional Development.
• Scott Salzman, Web Discovery Librarian
• Jean Schwab, Director, Peer Assisted Learning and Writing & Media Lab
• Mai Nou Xiong Gum, Assistant Professor, Communication Studies

Subcommittee 2: AI for Operational and Student Support

• IT Representative: JJ Fowler, Instructional Technologist
• Steering Committee Liaison: Curtis Nash, Associate Director for Housing and Residence Life
• Steering Committee Liaison: Garrett Stern, Executive Director, Leadership & Professional Education
• Mel Armstrong, Mentoring Coordinator
• Katlyn Bagley-Sepsey, Associate Director, Institutional Research and Reporting
• Julie Birello, Workday HCM and Retirement Plan Manager
• Bryan Davis, Executive Director, The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Ryan Fisher, Senior Director of Web Marketing
• Mike Gifford, Associate Vice President for Technology
• Robyn Lee, Academic Coach, Center for Academic Success
• James Patton, Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs and University Registrar
• Alexa Potter, Associate Director of Development Systems & Business Intelligence
• Rick Presnell, Senior Workday FDM and Financial Systems Manager
• Tripp Scott, Director, Classification and Compensation

Subcommittee 3: AI Ethics and Communication

• IT Representative: Dexter Caldwell, Director of Information Security
• Steering Committee Liaison: Don Kaade, Associate General Counsel
• Allyson Brathwaite, Director of the Trone Center for Mental Fitness
• Jack Buehner, GIS Analyst, Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities
• Franklin Ellis, Associate Dean and Director of the Center for Interpersonal Connections
• Ryan Fisher, Senior Director of Web Marketing
• Darren Hick, Associate Professor, Philosophy
• Jason Jones, Associate Academic Dean and Professor of Economics
• Cynthia King, Associate Academic Dean and Professor of Communication Studies
• Tom Lewis, Chair of Mathematics
• Maria Rippon, Associate Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures