REGISTER

Captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing is provided by Ai-Media for all Inside Higher Ed webcasts. Transcripts available upon request.

For colleges and universities, the promise and peril of GenAI has given way to an evolving set of expectations, practices and problems that individual instructors must daily confront. And while this new classroom reality is complex, there are already instances of GenAI enhancing learning and teaching—especially where openness and a willingness to adapt are present. 

This webcast, inspired by Inside Higher Ed’s recent special report of the same name, explores GenAI’s potential to enhance learning, as well as the very real risks it poses to the fundamental mission of higher education, the production of authentically skilled and credible graduates. 

Through research, expert insights and a series of institutional case studies, we'll dive deeper into what practitioners and leaders can do to support students and faculty using GenAI in service of higher education’s highest goal: promoting and certifying real learning. 

The webcast will cover the following:

  • How to balance academic innovation with integrity, including implications for assessment 
  • Building institutional trust around generative AI 
  • Faculty- and institutional-level approaches to using generative AI for real learning 
  • What it means to be an authentically skilled graduate today—including how colleges can ensure students continue to develop durable, human-centered skills

Can't attend the webcast? You should still register -- all registrants, including attendees and absentees, will receive a recording of the webcast and a copy of the presentation slides. 

Thursday, November 6, 2025 | 2 p.m. E.T.

The Reckoning: Training Authentically Skilled Graduates in the Age of Generative AI

PANELISTS

Colleen Flaherty
Senior Editor, Special Content at Inside Higher Ed

Colleen Flaherty, senior editor of special content, previously served as Student Voice editor for Inside Higher Ed. Prior to joining the publication in 2012, Colleen was military editor at the Killeen Daily Herald, outside Fort Hood, Texas. Before that, she covered government and land use issues for the Greenwich Time and Hersam Acorn Newspapers in her home state of Connecticut. After graduating from McGill University in Montreal with a degree in English literature, Colleen taught English and English as a second language in public schools in the Bronx, New York. She earned her M.S.Ed. from City University of New York Lehman College as part of the New York City Teaching Fellows program.

Asim Ali, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Biggio Center at Auburn University

Dr. Asim Ali is the executive director of the Biggio Center at Auburn University, where he advances professional development programs and resources to enhance academic innovation and support scholarly and creative activities. Prior to this role, he served as founding director of Auburn Online. Dr. Ali earned a bachelor’s in software engineering, a master’s in information systems management, and a doctorate with research focused on self-directed and technology-enhanced learning from Auburn University. Asim leads work on artificial intelligence to build capacity for understanding and implementing AI, and he has modeled the implementation of generative AI in the introduction to information systems management course he teaches for the Harbert Business School. Asim also co-leads initiatives for micro-credentials and AR/VR. Asim is the president-elect of UPCEA, the online and professional education association. He has been an invited keynote speaker and presenter nationally and internationally at conferences and universities.

Atri Rudra, Ph.D.
Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo (UB)

Dr. Atri Rudra is the Katherine Johnson Chair in AI and the inaugural chair of the AI and Society department at the University at Buffalo (UB). Atri was a co-editor of the (initial version of) Mozilla Teaching Responsible Computing Playbook. Atri's current research interests are in structured linear algebra (with applications in deep learning) and problems at the intersection of society and computing. Atri has received the 2022 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2022 ICML Outstanding Paper Runner Up Award, two ACM PODS Alberto O. Mendelzon Test-of-Time Awards (2022 and 2025), two ACM PODS best paper awards (2016 and 2012) and a 2009 NSF CAREER Award. Atri received his bachelor's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India in 2000 and his Ph.D. from University of Washington in 2007. From 2000-2002, he was a research staff member at IBM India Research Lab, New Delhi, India and has been at UB since 2007.

Ben Upton
Freelance Journalist and Special Report Author

Ben Upton is a freelance journalist based in Washington. He served as Times Higher Education’s Europe reporter between November 2021 and October 2023 and previously covered European research policy for Research Professional News. Before graduating from City, University of London’s journalism school in 2017, he worked in academic publishing and taught at a private university in Wuhan, China.

Kyle Danielson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Teaching Stream and Associate Chair, Undergraduate at the University of Toronto Scarborough

Kyle Danielson is an associate professor, teaching stream and associate chair, undergraduate, in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He teaches courses in introductory and developmental psychology at the first-, third- and fourth-year levels. His first-year courses in introductory psychology, which enroll approximately 2,000 students per term, are among the largest at the University of Toronto and in Canada. Additionally, Professor Danielson’s administrative portfolio includes supervision of the undergraduate programs in psychology, neuroscience and mental health studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough, in which capacity he has the opportunity to observe the pedagogical and technological innovations that his colleagues use in their own courses.