> [!summary]+ Summary > This page describes the background, timeline, purpose, and outcomes of a key community I established while leading genAI activities at GWU Center for Teaching Excellence. # genAI Faculty Advisory Council The central part of my charge when I joined George Washington University (GWU) in July 2020 was to develop new (professional development) programming to upskill faculty digital fluency. Behind this, the university had become an [Adobe Creative Campus](https://www.adobeforeducation.com/higher-ed/creative-campus) in 2019 and wanted to gain value from this. However, in spring 2020 COVID-19 happened and then OpenAI ChatGPT happened in November 2022. I had to adapt the mission and change for the needs. In early 2023, my mission changed to take on the role of creating the strategy and leading the central library response to generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI). (See [[2023, genAI Strategic roadmap]].) It was clear from the beginning that we needed a broad community. Being in the central library was helpful as the perfect location to create community. So over a couple of months in late 2023, I networked and pulled together leaders and faculty from across the university to form a council that could give me feedback for library efforts, openly discuss interests and concerns, and drive connections with peers. ## Establishment timeline I began by holding a series of faculty interviews in spring 2023. Speaking with faculty across campus in-person and over Zoom, I gathered the full range of excitement to fear. Some gave indications of what was to come as they questioned themselves and their chosen profession. While conducting interviews I began drafting our strategic plan. This was completed by late-spring 2023 with a section on **guiding councils**. I wanted to **establish of a faculty genAI innovation council** with a purpose to "*…identify policies and potential methods related to GAI in teaching, research, and productivity. It may also lend to providing guidance on out-of-class administrative workflows*". I developed the pilot teaching and professional development programming over summer 2023 for a fall 2023 launch. This programming was used to gather stakeholder input and gauge faculty interest participating on a genAI community/council. The response was very positive. During November and December 2023 I contacted faculty, directors, and deans to identify 2-3 faculty from each GWU college/school. I sought optimists, skeptics, and those unsure. By January 2024, I had 20 faculty on-board from all but 1 college/school. ## Purpose and objectives The central idea behind the purpose of the council was that ==genAI would only become more established in teaching and learning and thus we should explore together what to make of this across disciplines==. One important note from leadership was that to keep the focus on pedagogy. (This is a general desire in universities for these sorts of groups.) ### Purpose The original purpose of the genAI FAC community was as follows: > *"The purpose of the generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI) Faculty Advisory Council is to **collectively explore and define new human-AI partnered pedagogies**. Through bringing together a diverse group of faculty representative of each college and school at GWU, this group will aim to create starting points for faculty across the university to begin effectively integrating genAI into their teaching practice whereby students can learn effective, appropriate and skillful ways of leveraging GAI in their learning."* ### Working objectives The council had 3 agreed upon initial objectives: 1. Identify and design pedagogies with genAI 2. Provide genAI guidance and awareness 3. Generate community support ## Results We met 5 times during spring 2024. These meetings included a report-out of genAI related work happening in the library, a presentation and conversation around a central topic, and announcements from members what was happening in their departments. Later we met 3 times in fall 2024 before changes new leadership. The group continued and expanded into 2025 and helped the community in a few ways. 1. Bridged faculty/stakeholders and formed new working partnerships. 2. Gathered faculty/stakeholder assistance in AI literacy programmatic efforts. 3. Generated awareness of on-campus genAI events. 4. Brought an increase in consultations requests for pedagogical assistance. 5. Provided input to multiple guidance documents for genAI in teaching. ## Naming and other changes The original name for this community was the **LAI genAI Faculty Advisory Council**. After an article was published about the group in the [GW Hatchet](https://gwhatchet.com/2024/02/15/libraries-academic-innovation-office-forms-ai-advisory-council/) (and [elsewhere](https://iblnews.org/the-george-washington-university-forms-ai-advisory-councils-in-each-school/)), I was asked to change the name to **LAI genAI Faculty Advisory Group** because of concern that the word *council* communicated policy orientation. The latter however had an unfortunate acronym. Later new leadership wanted to change the name again to **Generative AI in Teaching (GAIT)** and focus discussion of genAI as a tool only.