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Faculty Technology Day 2025
Wed, May 21 @ 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Discernment in the Age of AI
Faculty Technology Day 2025
Wednesday, May 21, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Starting in the McNally Auditorium (Business School)
140 W 62nd St, Lincoln Center campus
Discernment is a fundamental and distinguishing element of Jesuit education, rooted in the Spiritual Exercises and integral to Ignatian Pedagogy. It is a holistic, ongoing process of spiritual and intellectual reflection that guides individuals and institutions like Fordham in making choices that contribute to the well-being of the human community, and helps us form “men and women for others.” The process involves not only intellectual analysis but also engaging the heart, carefully reflecting on motives and values, and considering the impact of decisions.
With that in mind, as we find ourselves in the age of AI, what happens if we confront the concerns and the opportunities of AI with that Ignatian tradition of discernment?
Through this perspective, we are called neither to uncritically embrace nor reflexively reject AI, but to thoughtfully evaluate – with heart and mind – how these tools might serve our commitment to human dignity and the common good. Ignatian discernment invites us to consider:
- How can AI enhance rather than replace the transformative human relationships at the heart of education?
- How might these technologies help us better fulfill our mission of cura personalis – caring for the whole person – while remaining vigilant against their potential to reduce human complexity to algorithms?
The Jesuit tradition of finding meaning in all aspects of our experience challenges us to discern value even in these new technologies while maintaining critical awareness of how they shape our communities and institutions.
Faculty Technology Day 2025 invites our community to explore these questions together through engaging discussions with a diverse array of thought leaders and educators. We hope you’ll join us in this important conversation.
Keynote
This year’s keynote is:
Visions of a Revolution: Futures for Academia and AI
Presented by:
An award–winning, internationally known futurist, researcher, writer, speaker, consultant, and Georgetown educator, working in the field of higher education’s future. Author of Universities on Fire (2023) and Academia Next: The Futures of Higher Education (2022), as well as the creator of The Future of Higher Education Observatory. (Full bio)
In this keynote address, Dr. Alexander asks:
What is AI doing to higher education, and how are academics responding?
This session offers several possible futures for academic AI, grounded in the present. We begin by noting the differences between generative AI and other technologies in the education space, then set the stage by exploring several macro-level trends and possibilities: the fragility of AI; the open source world; impacts on the labor market; the geopolitical dimension. Next, we survey leading trends in college and university engagement, from operational use to teaching and research. We conclude by offering several scenarios for higher education in the medium-term future, based on how AI develops and what actions we take.
Breakout Sessions
In addition to our exciting keynote, this year’s FTD will also offer our largest variety of breakout sessions ever. So far, we are pleased to announce:
Leaning-In to Ignatian Discernment: Our Only Hope In Addressing Ethics in the Age of AI
Jude Jones, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University and Special Advisor to the Provost For Teaching and Learning
Responsible AI
Mary Strain, who leads on AI strategy for US education at Amazon Web Services (and is also a Fordham alum!).
Faculty Perspectives on AI: Results from the Faculty AI Interest Group Survey
Members of the Faculty AI Interest Group
Student Perspectives on AI: Research
Skylar S. Brown of Liberty University
Harnessing AI and Emerging Technologies in Higher Education
Su Je Cho, Ph.D., Professor of Childhood Special Education at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education
Bridging the Expert-Novice Divide: AI-Enhanced Approaches to STEM Learning
John Craven, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education and Principal Investigator for the Fordham University / Wildlife Conservation Society Robert Noyce Scholarship Program
Accessibility and AI
Amy Lomellini, Ed.D., the Director of Accessibility at Blackboard’s parent company, Anthology, and adjunct professor at Boise State University
What Problem is Blockchain Solving?
Benjamin M. Cole, Ph.D., Fordham’s William J. Loschert Endowed Chair of Technology Entrepreneurship, Professor of Strategy & Statistics, and Fellow in the British Blockchain Association
Creating a Sustainable Relationship Between AI Provider and Customer Through Contractual Governance
Kenneth N. Rashbaum, Esq., Partner at Barton LLM, and Adjunct Professor at Fordham’s School of Law
Level Up! Hands-On Gamification in Action
Chris Vicari, Educational Technologist for Communication & Media Studies, Jordan Burkland, Instructional Designer for Gabelli Learn, and Kristen Treglia, Senior Instructional Technologist for Educational Technology
Ignatian Pedagogy & AI: Magis and Cura Personalis in the Classroom
Veronica Szczygiel, Ph.D., Director of Online Learning at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education, Eugeniu Grigorescu, Assistant Director of Online Learning at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education, and Robert J. Parmach, Ph.D., Fordham’s Director of Ignatian Mission Initiatives in the Office of the Vice President for Mission Integration and Ministry
Open Educational Resources (OER) & Discernment: Making Better Choices with the Library
Grace Noone (Philips), Science and Technology Librarian at Fordham University Libraries and Mike Magilligan, Business Reference Librarian
Leveraging Blackboard’s AI Design Assistant to Enhance Faculty Efficiency
Lisa Clark, Ed.D., Associate Vice President, Academic Transformation, Anthology
Elizabeth Gleason, Principal User Experience Designer, Anthology
To Click or Not To Click: Email Discernment in the Age of AI
Marc Herzog, IT Security Engineer, Office of Information Technology
Closing the Digital Divide: Tech Fluency, Digital Citizenship, and Digital Identity
Kristen Treglia, Senior Instructional Technologist for Educational Technology
Exploring Google’s AI Research Assistant: NotebookLM
Alan Cafferkey, Ph.D., Fordham’s Director of Education Technologies
Even more speakers and our full agenda will be announced soon!
We will post more information about our speakers, tracks, and sessions soon!
