PoliciesWSU AI Council

AI Strategy and Policy Taskforce

In June 2023, the Provost established a system-wide AI Strategy and Policy Task Force, co-chaired by Karen Metzner, Deputy Associate Dean of Students and Director, Center for Community Standards, and Bill Davis, Interim Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement. The charge of the task force was to chart an institutional strategy for addressing the impact of AI in four main areas: academic policies, pedagogy (including faculty training), intellectual property and research policy, and data security. Subgroups were established to make recommendations in each of these four areas.

The task force issued their report to Provost Chilton on August 1st and included the following Recommendations:

1. Improve Communication.  WSU should provide system wide communication to all its community members regarding existing policies and how they are applicable to generative AI platforms.
2. Establish a new AI Website.  WSU should establish an AI website and populate it with resources and communication to university stakeholders.
3. Expand Faculty Training.  Through workshops and communities of practice, WSU should continue to support instructors as they modify their course designs to account for the impacts of generative AI on classroom assessment tools.
4. Expand Training for Research-Active faculty. Through workshops, guides, and smaller focused working groups, WSU should support researchers across disciplines to account for the varied impacts of generative AI on research data collection, analysis, reporting, and publications.
5. Establish a continuing AI Council.  WSU should establish an AI Council to continue to review and establish best practices within instruction and research, as well as continuously monitor the global trends and developments of AI.

WSU’s AI Council

As recommended by the Taskforce, a WSU AI Council has been established to continue to advise on the implementation of the recommendations in the Task Force’s report and provide overall guidance and policy recommendations for engagement with AI at WSU. The Council has been asked to continue to develop material and monitor the development of generative AI.

The membership of this Council has been appointed by the Provost and may evolve over time. Term appointments for the AI Council are for one year.

• Bill Davis (Interim Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement), Co-Chair
• Karen Metzner (Associate Dean of Students & Director of the Center for Community Standards), Co-Chair
• Kim Christen (Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Advancement and Partnerships)
• Greg Crouch (Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Academic Programs)
• Erika Offerdahl (Director, Transformational Change Initiative)
• Levi O’Loughlin (Research Safety Program Associate Director & University Biosafety Officer)
• Kristina Peterson-Wilson (Vice Provost for Academic Administration & Chief of Staff)
• Eric Shelden (Chair, Faculty Senate)
• Jacqueline Southwick (Director, Systems Communication & Customer Experience)
• Michael Walters (Interim CISO/Information Security Services)

If you would like to provide information for the AI Council to review or discussion, please contact Bill Davis, Interim Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement.