Leading Edge Webinar: Balancing AI and Relationship-Rich Learning
Artificial intelligence is transforming the landscape of higher education, offering unprecedented opportunities and raising complex challenges.
How can academic leaders harness AI to enrich, rather than erode, relationship-rich learning? In this engaging webinar, Dr. Gregor Thuswaldner will moderate a panel of provosts who have successfully navigated the intersection of AI and human-centered education. Panelists will share real-world examples and strategies for integrating AI while maintaining the personal connections that define meaningful learning experiences. Attendees will explore the ethical implications, potential risks, and practical approaches to building a learning culture where AI complements, rather than compromises, relationships among students, faculty, and staff.
Senior Higher Education Leader | Author | Scholar | Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Gregor Thuswaldner is an experienced senior higher education leader, having most recently served as Provost & Executive Vice President at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington (2020-2024). Currently, on sabbatical editing The Provost's Handbook, which will be published by the Johns Hopkins University Press in 2025, he is also working on his tenth book, EDU 2.0: Future-Proofing Higher Education with Integrative Learning.
Prior to joining Whitworth, he was Acting Provost, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Humanities at North Park University in Chicago (2016–2020). Earlier in his career, he was Chair of the Department of Languages and Linguistics (2006–2012) and Professor of German and Linguistics at Gordon College (2003–2016), where he received the Distinguished Junior Faculty Award in 2006.
A Past President of the Association of Chief Academic Officers, he is currently a Special Advisor to the Board. He serves on the Board of the American Association of University Administrators (2024-2027) and was also on the CAO Institute Taskforce of the Council of Independent Colleges (2023–2024). Previously, he served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area (2017–2019), President of the Austrian Studies Association (2018–2020), and a Board Member of ACAD (2018–2023). From 2017–2020, he was a Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), and since 2020, he has been chairing accreditation site visits for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).
Thuswaldner holds degrees in German and English Studies from the University of Vienna and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Ph.D.) and has an additional Master's in Higher Education Administration from North Park University in Chicago. As a committed lifelong learner, he has earned several certificates, including certificates in Fund Raising Management (Lilly School of Philanthropy, Indiana University) and Mediation Skills Training (Northwestern University).
An elected member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Leadership Fellow of the Society of Leadership Fellows at St. George's House, Windsor Castle, Thuswaldner also serve as an advisory board member of the Stefan Zweig Centre at the University of Salzburg, Austria, and as a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Austrian Studies, Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature, and the Journal of Higher Education Management.
Panelists:
Susan Larson is the provost and dean of Concordia College (MN). She previously served Concordia as division chair for the sciences and mathematics and as director of undergraduate research and student scholarship. Larson joined Concordia’s faculty in 1998 and taught psychology and neuroscience courses, many of which engaged students in undergraduate research through course-embedded research experiences. She has served as a counselor in the psychology division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and was CUR president in 2016–2017.
Dr. Gerald D. Griffin, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Hope College obtained his BA from Cornell University in 2003—majoring in biology with a concentration in neurobiology and behavior. During his graduate study, he demonstrated how ovarian hormones rewire neurons in the adult female brain. Next, Dr. Griffin completed postdoctoral research in the area of herpes virology—investigating how herpes simplex impacts neuronal gene expression and behavior in the nervous system. Dr. Griffin served as a faculty member at Tuskegee University (2011-2015) in his native state of Alabama and then at Hope College (2015-Present). He is the recipient of the Janet L. Andersen Excellence in Teaching Award at Hope College, was selected as an Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine, and earned the Janet Andersen Lecture Award in Biology & Psychology from the Midstates Consortium for Math & Science. In his career, Dr. Griffin has served as President of the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience, authored 20 publications (nearly half of his manuscripts had undergraduate co-authors), and earned over $4 million dollars in external grant funds. At Hope, Dr. Griffin has served as Neuroscience program director, Associate Provost, and Interim Provost before his appointment as Provost.
Peter Felten is executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, professor of history, and assistant provost for teaching and learning at Elon University. He has published seven books about undergraduate education, including Connections are Everything: A College Student’s Guide to Relationship-Rich Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023) co-authored by Isis Artze-Vega, Leo Lambert, and Oscar Miranda Tapia – with an open access online version free to all readers.