Generative AI is certain to grow and proliferate over the coming years. USC’s recent investments in tools such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot present transformational opportunities along with some risks and concerns. As a learning organization, we are called to adapt, acquire new knowledge, and leverage insights to improve how we work. This interactive session invites university leaders to share ideas on how AI can be used to improve operations – identifying where it could ease bottlenecks, strengthen decision-making, and free up capacity – while also examining the risks and limitations of these tools. Participants will consider the leadership support and resources needed to put AI into practice responsibly. And everyone will leave with one or two clear actions to carry forward.

The session will be facilitated by Tom Terez, Senior Associate, Office of Organizational Excellence

For seventy years, the research partnership between the federal government and universities has made American higher education the envy of the world and an engine of national progress and prosperity.  Throughout 2025, we have seen a serious disruption in this historic partnership.

Our financial future as an institution does not rest on federal funding. Nonetheless, the massive cuts to overall research funding at NEA, NIH and NSF, the executive order to add an unnecessary level of bureaucracy over the merit-based, peer reviewed system of decision-making for grant funding, and the significant cuts to specific areas of research where our faculty have traditionally made major contributions are of deep concern.

As university leaders, what impact does this environment have on your field? The productivity of your faculty? Join your colleagues for a discussion lead by Ron Prinz, Carolina Distinguished Professor in Psychology, who currently leads two NIH-funded grant initiatives: the USC Research Center for Child Well-Being, and the USC (T32) Behavioral-Biomedical Interface Program. During his USC career, Prinz has procured as principal investigator over $55 million in extramural research grants, has served as a co-investigator for several other grants ($11 million), and has coached numerous early-career faculty across several academic units. He has served as a federal grant reviewer on many occasions including chairing several NIH review panels, as recently as July of this year.

In June 2024, the Board of Trustees approved a new faculty manual detailing a number of new titles and guidelines for our professional track faculty. The faculty of each academic unit have been charged with formulating specific written criteria and procedures for the promotion of professional-track faculty that are consistent with the University of South Carolina's commitment to excellence, and with the Faculty Manual and university policy ACAF 1.16 Professional-Track Faculty. A number of academic units have already submitted criteria for review, and three academic units have had criteria already approved.

In this session, Professor Jennifer Ng, vice provost of faculty affairs and dean of the faculty, and Professor Lisa Hammond, associate provost for faculty affairs, will discuss developing criteria and procedures that clearly communicate to faculty members the unit’s expectations concerning performance. They will also provide an overview of the steps in the approval process; the session will conclude with time for questions and answers.