WSSU alumna, national AI leader Siobahn Day Grady to headline university’s inaugural AI Summit
WSSU alumna Dr. Siobahn Day Grady, director of the nation’s first dedicated artificial intelligence institute at a historically Black college or university, will return to her alma mater Sept. 10 to deliver the keynote address at Winston-Salem State University’s inaugural AI Summit at the Benton Convention Center.
Themed “Rising with Intelligence: Advancing Innovation and Human Possibility,” the summit is free and open to the public; however, registration is required and closes Sept. 8. On-site registration will be allowed space permitting.
AI is already changing how people work. WSSU is bringing together educators, students and industry to ensure its community isn’t merely reacting to that change but helping to shape it.
Grady, who will speak at the event’s luncheon, promises an interactive address.
“I will share about how we can be more present and ready for the AI-enabled future, because that’s where we are,” Grady said of her speech, titled “Rise with Intelligence: Who Will Shape the AI Future?” “It’s going to be practical and something that everyone can understand and see themselves in. My goal is for everyone to feel a part of the conversation.”
Grady was the principal investigator on the grant that led to funding from Google that helped establish North Carolina Central University’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Research. The 5,000-square-foot facility opened last month and is intended to create an AI workforce, not just AI researchers.
“Now that AI is here, it’s clearly changed the way everyone does their day-to-day activities,” Grady said. “I think a lot of us are trying to better understand how to use AI in the correct way. AI has been around for years. In 2023, generative AI became more visible and widely adopted by the public. What’s new now is Agentic AI.”
Agentic AI is a system that doesn’t just answer questions but can also plan, decide and take actions to achieve a goal.
Dr. Jack S. Monell, interim director of WSSU’s Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction, has been instrumental in bringing the AI Summit to life. He said the AI Summit Committee has worked tirelessly to put together the best conference for the WSSU Ramily and its community partners.
“One of the major reasons this AI Summit is important not only to WSSU but also to our extended community is to ensure we stay consistent with the four pillars of our university’s strategic plan, ‘We Are Rising,’” Monell said. Those pillars are Foster Student Success, Inspiring Academics, Embrace Excellence and We Are Winston-Salem.
“It’s important to prepare our students for what is to be expected as they transition into their workplace career tracks,” Monell continued. “When we speak to industry members, they convey AI is a key part of their integration and they’re using it in whatever capacity is appropriate for their field. We need to ensure our students have that fundamental training and competitiveness to be able to compete globally. We need our faculty to be equally as well versed.”
The summit will feature oral presentations and panel discussions. Attendees will hear from faculty and student participants, recent alums and industry partners, Monell said.
For example, WSSU assistant math professor Dr. Katie Johnston will present “Student Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in Undergraduate Mathematics: Implications for Instruction and Policy.” Other summit proposal topics include “Bringing AI Home: What HBCUs Can Learn from the Front Lines of Enterprise AI”; “Old School Meets New School: AI Aware Course Design in Clinical Medicine”; and “From AI Faculty Fellows to Campus Capacity: A Peer-Led Model for Responsible AI Teaching.”
Johnston said she considers AI an “increasingly important part of higher education,” particularly in math.
“As educators, we have an opportunity to move beyond simply asking whether students are using AI and instead understand how they are using these tools, how they perceive their impact on learning and how we can thoughtfully incorporate AI into instruction while maintaining the integrity of the learning process,” Johnston said.
She added that she hopes her presentation helps attendees gain a better understanding of students’ perspectives and experiences with AI in undergraduate math.
“I also hope the findings will encourage meaningful conversations about how faculty and institutions can develop thoughtful instructional practices and policies that acknowledge the realities of AI, while continuing to support student learning, critical thinking and mathematical reasoning,” she said.
Johnston’s hope for meaningful conversations about AI reflects the larger purpose of the summit: bringing the community together to think critically about a technology that is reshaping education, careers and everyday life. Few people are better positioned to help lead that conversation than a WSSU alumna who has made AI education and workforce preparation a central part of her work.
Grady, an associate professor in NCCU’s School of Library and Information Sciences, is a recipient of the Simon Green Atkins Distinguished Alumnus Award, the highest honor given to WSSU alumni. She also has two endowed scholarships at WSSU.
For her, returning to Winston-Salem for the summit is more than a professional engagement. It is coming back to a place that remains deeply meaningful to her.
“I’m a proud 2005 graduate of WSSU and a WSSU Foundation Board member,” Grady said. “I really love WSSU and our motto, ‘Enter to Learn. Depart to Serve,’ and I take that seriously.”
Click here to learn more about the AI summit.
