College leaders know from experience that success comes from a balance of responding skillfully to what we cannot control and being proactive in shaping the outcomes we can. For our team at Florida SouthWestern State College, the challenge of adapting to generative AI, with this healthy balance at play, has relied on four leadership pillars: inclusive strategy, thoughtful influence, innovation, and inter-institutional collaboration.

Inclusive Strategy

Provide information and opportunities to engage. The more informed people are, the more their perspectives contribute to a productive conversation.

Like many institutions, we convened a collegewide committee to respond to the challenges we encountered after the release of ChatGPT. Largely focused, at the time, on academic integrity, these conversations were spirited and even difficult; our leadership challenge was to include various perspectives while keeping the dialogue productive. We launched a skillful response, leveraging several teams to create robust resources, including a student toolkit on our LMS, faculty development opportunities, and weekly AI Open Forums to allow all to engage with and consider various perspectives on the implications of the technology.

Thoughtful Influence

Proactively shape the way AI influences both culture and workflows at the college. AI is a powerful lever, and our use of it should be thoughtful and strategic.

As we crafted our initial response, we prioritized a trauma-informed approach that recognized how technological change can affect different populations uniquely. We emphasized supportive conversations over punitive measures and developed specific guidance for faculty on having productive dialogues with students about AI use. Mindful of a desire to strengthen collegiality and support in a time of change, we also developed a framework to assist people in understanding others’ perspectives and responses to AI.

As our efforts have evolved, we are also endeavoring to shape the way AI gets used across the college, providing training for all faculty and staff that focuses on impact over productivity and asks participants to consider how using AI can strengthen bonds between people rather than leading to isolation. Importantly, these trainings include participation from every leadership level at the college, ensuring that our use of AI and other emerging technologies supports our institutional values.

Innovation

Create space for innovation and be patient. AI will require authentic transformation in teaching and learning, and your people can lead it with the right support.

Innovation, particularly at the faculty level, will be a crucial part of both ensuring learning and helping students prepare for workforce roles that will require AI literacy, both of which are central to the value of the degrees we grant. After our initial response—providing resources and upskilling—we turned to setting the stage for innovation. We chose to focus on efforts that centered on play, experimentation, and community building rather than looking for immediately employable solutions. Initiatives included an AI Playground weekly challenge, an experiential retreat for instructional designers, and a self-guided tour of AI-assisted pedagogical experiments for faculty. We’re beginning to see some emerging innovations in classes, but we know this approach will require patience. Ultimately, we believe the most transformative innovations in teaching and learning will emerge organically from those closest to students.

Inter-Institutional Collaboration

Leverage inter-institutional connections to enhance impact. The fast-moving pace and complexity of AI warrants cooperation and perspective sharing.

Our ongoing initiatives, both responsive and proactive, have been strengthened by a strong emphasis on inter-institutional collaboration. Early in 2024, we were both leaders in establishing the Florida AI Learning Consortium (FALCON), a grassroots effort of higher education professionals in Florida aiming to foster ethical, responsible, and innovative integration of AI. Participating in and lending our own voices to the consortium has allowed us to maintain a big-picture perspective relative to multiple aspects of AI, including ethics, workforce preparation, faculty development, research, and data privacy and security.

Regularly interacting with colleagues who share our challenges and sense of possibility has been informational and motivating not only for our leadership team but also for the staff and faculty at the college who participate in FALCON. As this collaboration matures, it provides a resource to stay abreast of how emerging issues and developments in AI are aligned with our state’s challenges and unique economic landscape, including relevant industries, workforce needs, and statewide economic priorities.

We know that as technologies evolve and the pace of change accelerates, balanced and thoughtful leadership has the potential to help our colleges leverage change and continue to ensure student success and vibrant futures for our communities. When it comes to generative AI, there are likely to be more surprises, but we can meet them from the foundation of solid leadership principles and the lessons we learn and share with one another along the way.