A team at Stony Brook University has received a $55,000 grant from the State University of New York’s Innovative Instruction Technology Grants (IITG) program. The funding will support the creation of an online community for faculty to address issues related to artificial intelligence and academic integrity.
The project involves staff from the Division of Undergraduate Education and the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT). The initiative aims to provide a space where faculty can share ideas, discuss best practices, and receive updates on AI developments affecting academic honesty.
“Artificial intelligence has broken out of computer science research labs and begun to have an impact on all facets of life, including of course education,” said Rachelle Germana, senior associate provost for undergraduate education. “Stony Brook is leading the way, at SUNY and nationally, in developing thoughtful, impactful best practices for generative AI in curriculum and pedagogy, while ensuring that our students continue to develop the skills and understanding that will help them become responsible lifelong learners and live fulfilling lives after graduation.”
Jenny Zhang, a senior instructional designer at CELT, leads the team. The initial rollout will serve Stony Brook faculty with plans to expand access across SUNY’s 63 campuses. Other team members include Yiren Kong (CELT), Lei Song (CELT), Wanda Moore (Division of Undergraduate Education), Richard Tomczak (Division of Undergraduate Education), and Deepa Deshpande (SUNY Alfred).
“In almost every corner of every university, including here at Stony Brook, you hear conversations about how to ensure academic integrity and use generative AI responsibly as a tool for teaching, learning, and research,” said Rose Tirotta-Esposito, assistant provost for educational transformation and CELT director. “We’re finding answers to those questions here, and we’re eager to collaborate with colleagues across SUNY and share what we find more broadly.
“The cross-campus collaborations SUNY’s IITG program creates are a critical part of this work, and I look forward to seeing what the team develops.”
The IITG program was established in 2012 by SUNY with over $5.5 million awarded since its inception. It encourages research into new technologies that support student achievement system-wide: https://innovate.suny.edu/iitg/about/.
Stony Brook instructional designers are also participating as co-principal investigators on other IITG-funded projects. Jenny Zhang is collaborating with Luis Colón from CELT alongside a group led by SUNY Oneonta focused on using AI in assignment design and chatbot development. Lei Song is working with Empire State College on how generative AI can enhance inclusive learning environments.
Over twelve projects at Stony Brook have been supported by IITG grants recently. Awardees include Robert Kukta from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Gary Halada from Materials Science; Hana Fukuto from Clinical Laboratory Sciences; Hants Williams from Applied Health Informatics; and Lawrence Hurst from Orthopaedics.
