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AI for U

Brian Piper

AI for U is the go-to podcast for higher ed professionals looking to integrate AI into their daily work. Each episode features interviews with industry leaders, providing insights on implementing and leveraging AI to streamline processes, enhance student experiences, and drive institutional success. Join host Brian Piper every other Thursday for fresh, empowering content that keeps you at the forefront of AI in higher education.

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#53
Thursday · 45 min
Ep. 53: How AI Forces Higher Education Back to Community
As artificial intelligence makes basic knowledge transfer free and instant, higher education institutions must confront a fundamental question: what is the true value of a university degree? Host Brian Piper speaks with Michael Horn, Author of Job Moves and co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, to explore how AI is fundamentally reshaping higher education. Michael explains why simple AI chatbots fail to drive long-term student engagement and why community-cen
#52
August 13 · 39 min
Ep. 52: How AI-Powered Student Enrollment Frees Staff to Focus on Genuine Empathy
Higher education is undergoing rapid technological shifts, but Dr. Courtney Lewis believes AI integration should never mean sacrificing human empathy. Host Brian Piper sits down with the Director of Enrollment Services at Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) to explore how an institution in rural East Texas leveraged AI-powered student enrollment to achieve sustained semester-over-semester growth.
#51
July 30 · 40 min
Ep. 51: Why Higher Ed Must Adopt AI at Scale Before the Tech Passes Them By
AI is changing how we learn, work, lead, and prepare students for the world ahead. So why isn’t higher ed moving faster in adopting this technology at scale? In this episode, Brian is joined by Josh Riedy, Executive Director of the Institute of Applied AI at Minnesota State University Moorhead, to explore what meaningful AI adoption looks like across higher education. Josh shares MSUM’s approach to building AI literacy across academic programs, creating real-world learning opportunities through
#50
July 23 · 35 min
Ep. 50: How 24/7 Student Support AI Drives True Equity in Higher Education
When Massachusetts rolled out free community college, it drove massive equity across the state, but it also created an unprecedented bottleneck at the front door of smaller institutions. Brian sits down with Alex Russo, Director of Enrollment & Recruitment Strategy at Cape Cod Community College, to discuss how a school with limited headcount operationalized 24/7 student support AI to manage a sudden 40% spike in student volume. Alex shares how their frontline AI agent triages hundreds of late-ni
#49
July 2 · 46 min
Ep. 49: More Than Just a Writing Assistant: The Three Layers of Agentic AI
Brian welcomes back Ardis Kadiu, Cofounder and CEO at Andi.ai, to break down the massive shift from simple text generation to true agentic autonomy. Ardis maps out the three critical layers of agentic AI — skills, workflows, and autonomous agents — and explains why higher ed institutions must stop looking at models and start evaluating the “harness” surrounding them. He outlines five essential questions that university presidents and cabinets must ask to expose organizational ambiguity, protect
#48
June 18 · 44 min
Ep. 48: The Messy Middle of AI: How the University of Notre Dame Is Navigating Change
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping higher education, but most institutions are still trying to navigate what responsible adoption actually looks like in real time. In this episode, Brian sits down with Brandon Rich, Director of AI Enablement at the University of Notre Dame, to explore what he calls the “messy middle” of AI adoption in higher ed. Brandon shares how Notre Dame moved from an AI task force to campus-wide implementation in less than a year, launching AI literacy initiatives
#47
June 4 · 33 min
Ep. 47: Governance and Accessibility: How to Build Trust Around AI in Higher Ed
Returning guest Joyce Peralta, Manager of Digital Communications at McGill University, joins Brian for a thoughtful conversation about what higher education institutions are getting right and wrong about AI adoption. From governance and accessibility to localization and structured content, Joyce shares how McGill is navigating the realities of implementing AI inside a large, decentralized institution. She explains why AI readiness is really about trust, shared standards, and human judgment, not
#46
May 21 · 42 min
Ep. 46: From Operators to Orchestrators: How AI Is Reshaping Our Strategic Mindsets
Raj Jha has spent his career working across computer science, technology law, entrepreneurship, and AI systems, giving him a unique perspective on how organizations navigate periods of rapid technological change. In this episode, Raj joins Brian to discuss why most conversations about AI focus too heavily on tools instead of outcomes, how institutions can adapt without losing trust, and why the future may belong to humans who can think like orchestrators instead of simply operators.
#45
May 7 · 37 min
Ep. 45: The Death of the Data Dashboard: What’s Next for AI in Higher Ed
There’s a quiet shift happening in how we work with data. For years, the focus has been on collecting more of it, building better dashboards, and reporting on the right numbers. But as this conversation explores, that approach may be reaching its limit. That’s because having data isn’t the same as having insight. In this episode, Brian talks with Jamie Boggs, Marketing and Engagement Analyst at Eastern Kentucky University, to talk about what’s actually changing as AI becomes part of everyday wor
#44
April 23 · 37 min
Ep. 44: When AI Becomes an Agent: What Work Still Belongs to Human Thinking
AI can already do the easy work, so how do higher ed professionals prove their worth? In this episode, Dan Keating, Clinical Associate Professor of Information Systems and AI at University of Rochester - Simon Business School, explains how AI is changing how we think, learn, and define expertise. The fundamentals still matter, but when AI can produce solid output in seconds, the question shifts to not can you do the work, but what do you add to it? Tune in to hear why the future doesn’t belong t
#43
April 9 · 38 min
Ep. 43: Brute Force Reps: Building AI Literacy and Vibe Coding Intuition
In this episode, host Brian Piper talks with Sean Harrington, Director of AI and Legal Tech Studio at ASU Law, about bridging the gap between risk-averse academia and rapid AI innovation. Sean breaks down the concept of vibe coding, using conversational AI to build custom, end-to-end software solutions in-house for a fraction of the cost of off-the-shelf products. He shares how ASU Law is leading the way by explicitly allowing AI in admissions and providing safe, local “AI Creator” sandboxes to
#42
March 26 · 41 min
Ep. 42: How Designers and Writers Are Using AI
AI can generate content in seconds, but excellent creative work still requires human judgment. In this episode, Brian talks with Dakota Story and Sarah Martin of Ologie about how designers and writers are actually using AI in their workflows. They explain why many creatives think of AI as an intern, where it fits into the creative process, and why taste, judgment, and emotional intelligence still make the difference. They also discuss how AI can speed up brainstorming, research, and production w
#41
March 12 · 33 min
Ep. 41: Moving From AI Pilots to Institutional Production
In this episode of AI for U, Brian sits down with Dr. Manjeet Rege, Chair of the Department of Software Engineering and Data Science at the University of St. Thomas. Dr. Rege shares his journey from medical AI research to institutional strategy, arguing that the “age of piloting” is over. He breaks down what a truly operational AI organization looks like, emphasizing the need for product managers, data engineers, and robust governance frameworks. Dr. Rege also provides a roadmap for sustainable
#40
February 26 · 35 min
Ep. 40: Higher Ed’s AI Earthquake: Preparing Graduates for a Redefined Workforce
In this episode, host Brian Piper speaks with Paul LeBlanc, Visiting Scholar and Special Advisor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Paul explores the profound impact of AI on higher education, arguing that institutions must move beyond traditional knowledge transfer to focus on character formation and a “care economy.” He outlines a three-phase approach for leaders that includes preparing graduates with AI mastery, developing a theory for the future of work, and addressing the existent
#39
February 12 · 36 min
Ep. 39: Why Critical Judgment is the Ultimate AI Differentiator
Brian welcomes Erin Fields, Marketing Director at Ologie, to discuss the critical transition from using AI for mere efficiency to using it for strategic orientation. Erin shares how AI has transformed her workflow by offloading the “invisible work” of reconstructing context and analyzing social data at scale. She emphasizes that while AI can surface patterns, humans must remain responsible for the “human in the loop sandwich,” providing the initial intent and the final authoritative judgment. Er
#38
January 29 · 31 min
Ep. 38: Nobody Has This Figured Out: How to Learn AI Through Curiosity, Not Perfection
Higher ed is stepping into a new era, and Rebecca Stapley is right in the middle of it. The Director of Marketing and Communications at the Rochester Institute of Technology joins Brian to reveal how AI is helping her cut through email chaos, understand new audiences, and create more space for meaningful work. She also talks frankly about feeling hesitant at first, realizing AI literacy was becoming essential, and discovering that experimentation is the key to unlocking its real value.
#37
January 15 · 27 min
Ep. 37: Higher Ed in an Augmented Era: When AI Enhances Human Expertise
In this conversation, Brian talks with Eric Hollenbeck, Communications Manager for Research at Washington State University - Carson College of Business, to explore how generative AI is becoming a genuine partner in the creative and strategic process. Eric shares why he sees the future not as artificial intelligence but as augmented intelligence. He explains how tools like ChatGPT and Copilot help him analyze data, visualize insights, improve workflows, and communicate more persuasively with lead
#36
January 1 · 34 min
Ep. 36: AI, Content Marketing, and the New Rules of Search Discoverability
In this episode, Brian sits down with Ross Simmonds, Founder and CEO of Foundation Marketing, for a sharp and unfiltered look at how AI is rewriting the rules of higher education, content strategy, and the entire student decision journey. They dig into the cultural roadblocks that keep institutions stuck, the game-changing speed of AI-assisted content, and the rise of answer engine optimization. Ross unpacks the new world of discoverability, why Reddit, YouTube, and TikTok now carry real weight
#35
Dec 18, 2025 · 30 min
Ep. 35: AI Is the Medium, Not the Message: How to Stay Authentic in an AI World
How do you stay authentic when AI touches everything you create? In this episode, we talk with Stu Eddins, Chief Digital Strategy Officer at Stamats, about the human side of artificial intelligence and why authenticity matters more than ever. Stu shares how AI has quietly shaped digital marketing for years and why technology alone will never replace genuine connection. The conversation turns to higher education and the growing pressure to sound real in a world of automated tools and machine-writ
#34
Dec 4, 2025 · 31 min
Ep. 34: Guidelines Over Policies: Smarter AI Adoption in Higher Ed
In this episode, Brian talks with Rob McDole, Director for the Center of Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University, about how AI is transforming the way higher education teaches and learns. The conversation explores how AI supports recall-based learning, helping students move beyond cramming for tests to actually retaining and understanding what they study. They also discuss why institutions need to move past fear and start engaging directly with AI, how guidelines work better than rigid po

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