Preparing our students to meet tomorrow’s challenges today
If you ask an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool why you should attend Beloit College (yes, we tried it), it will provide a reasonable synthesis of what we are known for: Our innovative approach to the liberal arts, our supportive student-centered faculty and staff, our focus on career-readiness to prepare a diverse student body for a rapidly changing world, and the relationships that begin at Beloit and last a lifetime. But you won’t know who we really are.
This is why Beloit is exactly the sort of place to appreciate what the philosopher Hannah Arendt meant when she said, “For excellence, the presence of others is always required.” As we prepare students for a future that sometimes feels as if it has already arrived, AI offers us an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the proposition that what students learn here at Beloit will prepare them for a world that will change as quickly as these new technologies.
We can engage students’ curiosity about AI as we help them examine its ethical, social, environmental, and economic impact. We can explore how AI has the potential to enhance or stifle creativity, problem-solving, and informed decision-making. We can address how AI is already shaping their careers, and provide them with the skills they will need, and prepare them for how those careers will evolve in ways none of us can yet imagine.
Our faculty are exploring how AI can support their research and classroom practices, while also carefully considering its implications. Professor of English and Director of the Writing Program Chuck Lewis was recently quoted in Inside Higher Ed, a trade publication, about how our faculty are looking at AI.
“Faculty need to develop an informed, transparent, and clear policy regarding their own classes and their own pedagogies. AI is an opportunity for us to revisit and maybe rethink or reinforce, but at least to rearticulate, all kinds of things that we think we know or believe about, for instance, learning and writing.”
We recognize that today’s education must adapt to meet tomorrow’s challenges today. AI has already become an important tool in this effort, improving campus operations and enhancing student learning experiences. Behind the scenes, AI is streamlining some administrative tasks, extending capacities, and allowing faculty and staff to focus more on building meaningful connections with students.
Inside this edition you’ll learn more about the renovated Morse Library, which has been reimagined as a hub for both quiet study and collaborative work. The library now features dedicated spaces for innovation and technology exploration, allowing students to engage with the latest tools, including AI, in a hands-on environment.
Look closely at the cover and you’ll notice the green grass and fall foliage around the recently completed construction. Our magazine team used AI technology to create an image of how the grounds would look after construction. It’s a small but significant example of how AI is enhancing our creative work.
What is not generated by AI is the enthusiasm on campus for the newly transformed spaces. We’ve revitalized Whitney Hall, the first of several residence hall improvements. We’ve introduced a “new” DKs in Pearsons, bringing food back to the academic side of campus. And we’ve begun creating signature spaces for the Schools of Business in Pearsons, Environment and Sustainability, and Health Sciences in the Sanger Center for the Sciences, and for the Media and the Arts in the Hendricks Center.
These upgrades will enhance teaching, advising, and curriculum development while providing new resources to fuel academic and creative pursuits. Our partnerships with Blackhawk Technical College and Edgewood College continue to expand opportunities in nursing, EMT training, and more.
Thank you for your continued support of Beloit College. Together, we are ensuring that our students are ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.
From the President’s Nook,
Eric Boynton
presidentsoffice@joyerianicaragua.com
