History

Presidential Advisory Group on AI

PAG-AI operated during the 2025-2026 Academic Year. For the latest information about AI strategy and initiatives at the University of Richmond, please visit the AI Coordinating Council's webpage.

Introduction 

AI has the potential to transform the University of Richmond, including how we learn, study, teach, research, and work. What AI is capable of today will be dwarfed by its capabilities in the near future, even in ways we cannot now imagine. 

To deliver on our academic mission and maintain the University of Richmond’s upward trajectory it is important for us to consider the opportunities (and challenges) that AI presents and set in motion a framework for decision-making going forward. Some areas of focus include:  

1. Student Outcomes: ensure students have access to AI literacy and facility in preparation for internships, jobs, and flourishing careers. 
2. Academics: ensure faculty have access to AI literacy and facility; support faculty across schools and disciplines who wish to leverage AI in their work, whether in pedagogy, advancing research/scholarship/creative work on uses of AI, or advancing research/scholarship/creative work through use of AI; enhance student learning through pedagogical advances with AI (while also reinforcing the importance of critical thinking and other foundational skills of a liberal arts education) 
3. Operations: enhance the administrative and business operations of the University by deploying AI as appropriate; incorporate AI considerations into resource planning. 

Charge 

The Presidential Advisory Group on AI at UR (PAG-AI) was charged with developing an action plan for advancing AI at UR, including identifying areas of priority and potential use cases, implementation strategies, key colleagues to involve, key tools (both existing and new) to utilize, data collection and metrics for assessing progress, resources required, and costs and benefits of possible decisions. The group also discussed data security and privacy considerations and made recommendations to the administration for relevant policy updates.   

The committee made a set of initial recommendations in February 2026 and developed a final set of in the summer of 2026. 

For more information on the latest activites surrounding AI strategy, see the AICC's page here. 

Membership 

• Tom Addonizio, VP for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer 
• Rebecca Crootof, Professor of Law 
• Dara Gocheski, Chief of Staff to the President 
• Keith “Mac” McIntosh, VP and Chief Information Officer, Committee Co-Chair 
• Nicole Maurantonio, Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and Professor of Rhetoric and Communications 
• M. Saif Mehkari, Professor of Economics 
• Joan Saab, Provost and EVP for Academic Affairs, Committee Co-Chair 
• Lori Schuyler, VP for Planning & Policy 
• Geraldine Sullivan, Chief Human Resources Officer 
• Lauren Tilton, E. Claiborne Robins Professor of Liberal Arts

Generative AI Working Group

The Generative AI Working Group was started in January 2024 as a team of people from across the academic and administrative areas of UR to assess the opportunities and challenges posed by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), particularly as it relates to the University's strategic goals and alignment.

Members:

Former Members:

Lauren Tilton
Professor of Digital Humanities

Linda Boland
Professor of Biology