timeline

AI Task Force Timeline

Below is a timeline of the work completed by UARK Leaders, the Provost's Office, the AI Task Force, the AI Executive Steering Committee and AI Working Groups from September 2023 to the present.

September 2023 - April 2024:

UARK Leaders Team (Lee Shoultz, Assistant Director of Data Science; Sandy Sturgeon, Director of Financial Management, Analysis and Compliance; Rachel Glade, Program Director of Communication Sciences and Disorders) completes project on Igniting Minds with AI.

June 2024:  

Former Provost Terry Martin creates AI Task Force consisting of the following members:

  • Lindsey Susan Aloia, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication 
  • Robert Anderson, Professor of Law at the School of Law 
  • Chris Bryson, Executive Director of the Office of Academic Initiatives and Integrity 
  • Jeremy J. Burns, Associate Dean for Enrollment Services 
  • Cory Caldwell, Chief Technology Officer 
  • Rachel Glade, Clinical Associate Professor, Program Director for the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program, Honors Program Director for the College of Education and Health Professions 
  • Ashley Ingram, HR Director of Talent Development, Talent Management, Engagement & Experience 
  • Donald M. Johnson, University Professor in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications & Technology 
  • Dennis Beck, Associate Professor of Educational Technology in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction 
  • Jessica Morales, Associate Dean for Collections and Open Initiatives at the University Libraries 
  • Ken Muessig, Instructional Design Manager at Global Campus 
  • Jennie Popp, Associate Dean of the Honors College 
  • Chase E. Rainwater, Professor & Department Head of Industrial Engineering (Task Force Chair) 
  • Lee Shoultz, Data Science Program Manager 
  • Zach Steelman, Associate Professor of Information Systems in the Sam M. Walton College of Business 
  • Sandy Sturgeon, Director of Financial Management, Analysis, and Compliance at the University of Arkansas 
  • Kaleb A. Turner, Chief of Staff, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences 
  • Pedro Luis Alves Veloso, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design

August 2024 - February 2025:

Task force completes campus survey, employee interviews, external benchmarks, and report findings.

March 2025:

AI Task Force presents findings to Provost Martin.

May 2025:

Chase Rainwater, Professor and Department Head of Industrial Engineering, is named the 2025-2026 Provost Fellow for AI.  He is tasked to establish and implement specified recommendations from the AI Task Force report at the direction of the Provost’s Office.

June 2025:

AI Executive Steering Committee is created and holds the initial meeting.

July 2025:

Upon the recommendation of AI Executive Steering Committee, AI working groups are created that focus on teaching/learning, research, data security, and ethics and training.

August 2025:

Based on input from the AI working groups, the AI Executive Steering Committee reviews and approves initial AI Acceptable Usage Guidance and launches ai.uark.edu.