The Leatherby Libraries and Information Systems & Technology are pleased to announce Chapman University’s participation in the Advancing AI Governance and Implementation at Emerging Research Institutions project alongside Ithaka S+R and Montclair State University.

Generative AI tools are rapidly transforming and accelerating scientific research and communication. The speed at which AI is changing the research landscape has demonstrated an urgent need for institutions to invest in administrative and technical infrastructure, staffing, and capacity to manage data security, and professional development for staff in units related to research. Due to limited resources, building infrastructure to facilitate AI usage in research is especially challenging for Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs).

Advancing AI Governance and Implementation at ERIs is a planning grant that will identify novel solutions to strengthen ERIs’ ability to govern and utilize generative AI technologies to amplify their growth as research universities. This project is based upon work supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award No. (NSF 2437518).

Administrators and research support staff from Chapman University, Montclair State University, and Ithaka S+R will collaborate to identify and prioritize AI implementation and collaboration opportunities in a series of workshops. In addition to the project collaborators, participants from local ERIs will participate in these workshops. Key topics of discussion will include:

  • Co-funding of software and computing infrastructure, including the possibility of shared development costs to support engineering and maintenance of custom large language models (LLMs) to aid in research administration.
  • Collaborative professional development opportunities for researchers, research administrators, and librarians or other support providers, as well as possible models for shared staffing and services.
  • Development of regional research incubation hubs.

This project will pave the way for a subsequent proposal to implement the items outlined in the original planning grant. Findings and actionable recommendations for research administrators at other emerging research universities, funders, and stakeholder communities will be published.

If you are interested in learning more about the Advancing AI Governance and Implementation at Emerging Research Institutions project, please email the Assistant Dean of Library Research & Data Services, Dr. Doug Dechow, at dechow@chapman.edu, or the Assistant Vice President of Educational Technology, Dr. Jana Remy, at remy@chapman.edu.

The Leatherby Libraries #YearOfAI initiative supports projects that educate the Chapman community on how AI can be used as a tool to support academic and research journeys.