As artificial intelligence reshapes how students learn, faculty teach, and researchers work, Gies College of Business is investing in innovative approaches that place human expertise at the center of AI adoption. Gies Business has announced that more than a dozen faculty have been named to the first class of the AI Faculty Fellows program. Through the program, faculty members across disciplines are exploring how artificial intelligence can enhance learning, strengthen research and scholarship, and prepare students for a rapidly evolving professional landscape.
The AI Faculty Fellows program supports our world-class faculty in developing discipline-specific AI curriculum content, and in designing and testing new models for teaching, learning, assessment, and research that reflect both the opportunities and responsible use of emerging AI technologies.
This year's cohort highlights a shared commitment to using AI not simply as a tool for automation, but as a catalyst for deeper learning and better decision-making. Projects span large-enrollment courses, professional programs, and research initiatives, with faculty developing AI-enhanced learning experiences, authentic assessment strategies, and resources that support researchers and fellow educators. Across disciplines such as business, accounting, finance, marketing, and analytics, the fellows are helping students build the judgment, critical thinking, and collaborative skills needed to thrive in an AI-enabled workforce.
AI-Augmented Data Competitions: A Reusable Framework for Experiential Learning
Eren Ahsen
Develops a reusable framework for AI-enabled, industry-sponsored data competitions. Deliverables include a faculty playbook, assessment rubric, adoption toolkit, and case study based on BADM 453: Business Intelligence. The goal is to help students learn effective AI use through authentic analytics competitions rather than unstructured experimentation.
Purposeful AI Learning Experience: Transforming BUS 101
Myoung Kim & Aimee Barbeau
Reimagines BUS 101 with AI-supported reflection, structured AI reasoning (AIEIJ framework), AI-enhanced feedback, new AI-in-business content, and oral assessments. The project is designed to impact approximately 1,000 first-year students annually.
AI Governance: Frameworks, Audit, and Accountability in Practice
Fei Du & Hongyu Wang
Creates a new graduate/advanced undergraduate course focused on AI governance, auditing, controls, risk management, and accountability. The plan includes governance cases, audit exercises, policy analysis, and a capstone AI Governance Audit project.
Critical Thinking and AI for Accounting Professionals
Joshua Herbold
Develops a new course focused on combining AI fluency with professional judgment. Topics include AI foundations, information literacy, ethics, critical thinking, workflow integration, and applied decision-making.
StakeholderSim: AI-Powered Simulation Platform for Experiential Learning and Analytics
Ashish Khandelwal
Expands an AI-driven simulation platform that allows students to practice client interactions, requirements gathering, business communication, and analytics translation. The project includes AI personas, a Socratic mentor, automated assessment, and instructor dashboards.
AI as a Research Partner: Integrating Generative AI into Accounting Scholarship
Oktay Urcan
Creates a curriculum for faculty and PhD students on responsible AI-assisted research. The project covers literature reviews, hypothesis development, textual analysis, research integrity, and AI-enabled scholarly workflows.
The AI Research Workflow Guide: Foundations for Agentic Projects
Julian Reif & David Molitor
Produces a practical guide for researchers to move from AI chat tools to AI agents. The guide will cover coding agents, GitHub, version control, project architecture, and AI-enabled research workflows for faculty, postdocs, and PhD students.
AI in Marketing Education: Developing the Skills AI Can’t Replace
Myoung Kim & Maria Rodas
Uses AI to strengthen communication, storytelling, strategic thinking, and critical reasoning. The project introduces video pitches, AI-guided case analysis, oral assessments, AI-supported discussions, and AI-assisted content creation.
The AI Companion: A Program-in-a-Box Playbook for Gies Faculty and Staff
Vishal Sachdev
Packages the architecture behind the MSBAi AI Companion into a reusable kit. Provides templates, governance tools, setup documentation, and workshops so faculty and staff can rapidly deploy AI assistants for programs and services.
An Integrated AI Learning Ecosystem for FIN 221
Jason Satchell
Scales an existing ecosystem that includes a custom AI tutor, interactive CEO simulation, AI-powered discussion engine, and automated grading. Designed for a high-enrollment core finance course serving roughly 700 students each semester.
Reimagining BADM 544 for the AI Age
Deepak Somaya & Javier Corredor
Redesigns the MBA strategy course around human-AI collaboration. Students use AI for research, feedback, iteration, and strategic analysis while being evaluated on reasoning, judgment, and higher-order thinking.
Beyond the Tool: Embedding Durable AI Workflow Competency in ACCY 575
Wei Zhu
Modernizes analytics education by focusing on AI-assisted professional workflows rather than specific tools. Students learn reproducible development environments, version control, AI-assisted coding, and fraud detection analysis with documented AI collaboration.