CAA Academic Alliance Announces Inaugural Allied AI Scholars Awards
Elle Peterson
RICHMOND, VA – The CAA Academic Alliance announces four
Allied AI Scholars Awards to faculty at
Campbell University, Drexel University, Hofstra University and
Towson University for two cross-institutional projects that utilize artificial intelligence technologies to improve teaching and learning. Each cross-institutional awardee team receives the
Allied AI Scholars Award to support dissemination of scholarship efforts of AI approaches already successfully implemented in college classrooms.
"Both projects started in classrooms with significant demonstrated impacts," according to Elle Peterson, executive director of the CAA Academic Alliance. "By combining expertise and working together, based on a framework of collaborating faculty pairs, the
Scholars Awards will accomplish more, and much more rapidly, than any single institution could achieve individually, driving synergistic institutional transformation.”
Each team will present its work to the Alliance’s Allied AI Collaborative, the virtual community of practice with participants from across the Alliance’s 13 institutions, and share teaching and learning artifacts with the consortium’s members. Each faculty pair will also submit a co-authored manuscript by the end of the award period.
Drexel University and
Campbell University
Becka Rich, associate dean for the law library and technology services at Drexel's Thomas R. Kline School of Law, and
Sarah Cansler, assistant legal research and writing professor at Campbell's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, will expand two interactive simulations that teach students when and how to use generative AI. About 50 Drexel law students have completed the tutorials, "How to Talk So GAI Will Listen" and "Judgment Call." The team plans to add data privacy and cybersecurity scenarios, an entry-level path for first-year students and versions for fields beyond law, then will share the tutorials openly across the Alliance.
Michael G. Wagner, professor and head of Drexel's Department of Digital Media, joins as key personnel.
Towson University and
Hofstra University
Miranda Donnelly, assistant professor of occupational therapy and occupational science at Towson, and
Michaela Fraser, assistant professor in Hofstra's occupational therapy program, will prepare “EncounterLab” for wider use. The AI-powered platform lets health care students practice clinical interviews with simulated patients who respond in real time. In a three-semester pilot at Towson, 69 occupational therapy students logged 100 hours of practice and reported greater confidence communicating with patients.
By connecting people, ideas, resources, and opportunities across institutional boundaries, the CAA Academic Alliance provides a scalable consortium model for translating rapidly evolving AI technologies into responsible innovation and measurable impact across higher education, including cross-institutional grant submissions, innovative interdisciplinary curricula, faculty leadership development, student-engaged research mentorship, and AI-informed high-impact practices and policy recommendations. Additional details about the
Allied AI Catalyst Awards and
Allied AI Student Awards will be shared in future releases.
About The CAA Academic Alliance
As a higher education academic consortium that facilitates collaboration and communication across its 13 member institutions, the CAA Academic Alliance was formed in 2002 to academically link the higher education institutions of the CAA (Coastal Athletic Association) conference. The Alliance serves a diverse audience across its member institutions: engaging faculty, staff, and students in meaningful initiatives that enrich the academic environment, advance student success, and drive innovation and best practices in higher education.
www.caa-academics.org