Wake Forest appoints William Fleeson to lead university-wide AI initiative

The North Carolina university will involve faculty, staff and students in developing its approach to AI across teaching, research and administrative work.

Wake Forest University has launched three cross-school pilots to inform its long-term approach to artificial intelligence

Wake Forest University has launched a university-wide artificial intelligence initiative and appointed Hultquist Family Professor of Psychology William Fleeson as Associate Provost for AI Initiatives to lead its implementation.

He will coordinate AI for Human Flourishing, oversee campus AI priorities and support faculty and staff leaders across the university’s schools and divisions.

His remit also includes working with partners across Wake Forest to develop a long-term academic strategy for AI. The first phase will combine institutional planning with three cross-school pilots covering AI ethics and research, teaching and learning, and applied projects with partner organizations.

The initiative extends beyond the classroom. Wake Forest says it will guide the integration of AI across teaching, learning, research and administrative work, with an AI Task Force helping to shape the university’s longer-term strategy.

“Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping higher education, and Wake Forest has both an opportunity and a responsibility to approach it thoughtfully,” says Interim Provost Nell Jessup Newton.

“Through AI for Human Flourishing, we are bringing together faculty expertise from across the University to explore how AI can strengthen teaching, learning and research while remaining grounded in the values that define a Wake Forest education.”

Wake Forest is a private university based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It reports total enrollment of 9,633 students, comprising 5,595 undergraduates and 4,038 graduate students, across its undergraduate college and graduate schools covering areas including arts and sciences, business, divinity, law, medicine and professional studies.

Three pilots cover ethics, teaching and applied AI

AI Compass, the first of the three pilots, will examine the ethical, societal and health implications of artificial intelligence. It is led by Ana Iltis, Carlson Professor in University Studies.

Alongside its examination of AI’s implications, the pilot is intended to strengthen Wake Forest’s capacity for interdisciplinary research and scholarship around the technology.

Fleeson will lead the AI Teaching Studio, which will focus more directly on the opportunities and challenges AI presents for teaching and learning. Its stated priorities include strengthening critical thinking, maintaining curiosity and developing students’ ability to navigate ambiguity and complexity.

The third pilot, AI Impact Clinic, will connect faculty and students with internal and external partners. Participants will work on practical AI solutions through applied learning and real-world projects.

The clinic is led by Shannon McKeen, Professor of the Practice in the School of Business, alongside Computer Science professors Paul Pauca and Errin Fulp.

Wake Forest says the pilots emerged from its strategic framework visioning process, proposals submitted by faculty and feedback gathered across the university. The announcement does not identify the external partners that may participate in the AI Impact Clinic or set out how faculty and students will be selected for its projects.

The university plans to operate all three programs during the 2026–27 academic year. Their findings will contribute to the wider institutional strategy rather than serving as separate, permanent programs at this stage.

Strategy tied to Wake Forest’s institutional values

AI for Human Flourishing is being developed around Wake Forest’s motto, Pro Humanitate, translated as “For Humanity.” The university describes the initiative as an attempt to determine where AI can support its work without displacing human judgment, creativity or relationships.

Five commitments will guide the program:

• Putting AI in the service of humanity

• Protecting the elements of education and human flourishing that Wake Forest values

• Using AI to strengthen those values

• Supporting the work of faculty and staff

• Preparing students to use AI thoughtfully and responsibly where the skills will benefit them

“Artificial intelligence presents extraordinary possibilities, but it also challenges us to think carefully about what we value most in education,” Fleeson says.

“Our goal is not simply to adopt new technology. It’s to develop an approach that reflects Wake Forest’s mission—using AI where it enhances teaching, learning, research and our daily work, while ensuring that human judgment, curiosity, creativity and meaningful relationships remain at the center of the Wake Forest experience.”

Recent campus surveys identified demand for greater clarity about the place of AI in teaching, learning and scholarship, according to the university.

Faculty, staff and students will have opportunities to contribute to the strategy through town halls, discussions within university units and other campus conversations over the coming year. Their feedback, together with evidence from AI Compass, the AI Teaching Studio and the AI Impact Clinic, will shape the university’s next phase of work.