W&M faculty join innovative artificial intelligence network

Two W&M faculty members have been selected for the first-of-its-kind cohort that will use expertise from across the country to drive and disseminate institutional transformation with artificial intelligence.

School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics Chair Daniel Miller Runfola and Raymond A Mason School of Business Clinical Professor Dawn Edmiston aim to use the network's knowledge to advance William & Mary as a top school for careers in AI. Photos by Timothy Sofranko

As part of its leadership in the realm of human-centered artificial intelligence, William & Mary has joined the inaugural cohort of the CAA AI Technologies Champion Network.

The network was implemented by the CAA Academic Alliance to elevate faculty and staff who are creatively and responsibly integrating artificial intelligence in teaching, learning and institutional effectiveness, according to the alliance's announcement.

Two W&M faculty members have been selected for the first-of-its-kind cohort that will use expertise from across the country to drive and disseminate institutional transformation with artificial intelligence.

Only 22 faculty and staff members were selected from nearly 400 applicants. The two W&M members - Raymond A Mason School of Business Clinical Professor Dawn Edmiston, and School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics Chair Daniel Miller Runfola - aim to use the network's knowledge to advance William & Mary as a top school for careers in AI. W&M's dedication to AI career development recently earned the university a repeat designation among Forbes' "New Ivies" list.

The CAA initiative launched in October 2025 and meetings began in early February.

A 'Renaissance perspective'

Edmiston credits the rise of artificial intelligence in the classroom with making her "the most excited" she's ever been in her 25 years as an educator. Serving as the chairperson of the steering committee for AI for the school of business, she has used her role to encourage, motivate and inspire faculty to become engaged with AI in classroom settings.

"I love what I'm doing. I love teaching, and I love sharing new tools and resources and having those new experiences with students in the classroom," she said.

Students in Edmiston's classes are encouraged to think differently on how they approach AI and problem-solving in lectures. Noting that students in her courses use AI, particularly ChatGPT, every day, she sought to expose students to systems they typically wouldn't encounter, such as Co-Pilot, Gemini and Claud, to see how different large language models yield different results.

"If you ask AI to tell you the three most likely competitors for Ben & Jerry starting a new ice cream shop in India, four different AI tools will give you 12 different responses," she said, citing an exercise she did with her class. "I think allowing students to understand that they still have a voice in the process and that they're not going to be replaced anytime soon is really important."

Nominated for the position by Vice Provost for Academic Affairs David Yalof, she's eager to work alongside fellow faculty members to create guidelines for success and better understand how instructors can use AI for syllabi templates, student guides or other day-to-day tasks.

"Ultimately, the nature of who we are in liberal arts just amplifies what we do and how we can do it," she said. "We can bring together all of these different disciplines, which is what we do so well at William & Mary. I'll have a chance to see how other universities are addressing it and bring best practices back to campus so we can continue to take our AI efforts to the next level."

Building a plane in the sky

Leveraging AI has been Runfola's mission for more than a decade. Founding the data science program in 2016, he has been at the forefront of ensuring William & Mary remains a leader in AI innovation, which includes last fall offering a minor in AI as well as developing a new major in applied artificial intelligence within W&M's Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies program. Nominated by Dean Doug Schmidt of the School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics, he became the inaugural chair of the Department of Data Science when it earned departmental status last summer.

"AI has been our life," he said. "We're really fortunate that we are the youngest department on campus by a few decades, so that allowed us to be very nimble. We have redesigned pathways into our curriculum to incorporate more AI at our intro levels all the way up to our graduate level."

Through the first two meetings held in the CAA AI network, Runfola and his colleagues have been sharing best practices and discussing establishing channels to share across institutions. Additionally, they have discussed the extent to which AI should be used in research. That is just one of a litany of scenarios the group has begun exploring, but, for now, building a solid foundation of communication has been the focus.

"All of us in the space have been building a plane as we fly it," said Runfola, alluding to the rapid development of artificial intelligence. "There are planes in the air with missing engines. My plane needs landing gear. I want to build something that more readily resembles a plane rather than a glider. That's where we're all at right now; all of this is so new."

Network meetings will continue online, with the group meeting in person June 2-4 at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Runfola and Edminston will continue to find new ways to expand their knowledge of AI in their professional settings and the novel technology continues to evolve.

"We are already fortunate to be at William & Mary to be focused on creative thinking and critical thinking, and that's especially true with AI," said Edmiston. "It just amplifies what we do and how we can do it."

William Oster, Communications Specialist

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