CENTER VALLEY, Pa.— Penn State Lehigh Valley professors, Pedro Robles, assistant teaching professor of cyber analytics, and Subhadra Ganguli, assistant professor of business, spoke to members and guests of the Keystone State Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) on behalf of the campus' professional development series, AI Toolbox.
The ASPA is the leading professional association dedicated to advancing excellence in public service.
“It brings together scholars, practitioners and students to strengthen the study and practice of public and nonprofit administration through research, professional development and networking,” said Michele Tantardini, associate professor of public administration in the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg. Tantardini delivered the first session of the AI Toolbox series.
AI Toolbox, a series of mixed mode presentations led by experts from across Penn State, took place throughout the spring as part of the Faculty Awareness Project sponsored by the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence (SITE). Each session focused on a specific area of artificial intelligence (AI), equipping faculty and staff with practical strategies for integrating AI tools to enhance classroom instruction and improve workflow efficiency. Lecture topics included AI literacy, design, prompts, privacy and more.
“The goal of the workshop series was to equip faculty and staff across Penn State with the tools and confidence to integrate AI into their teaching and learning methods, elevating both student learning outcomes and instructional practices,” Ganguli said.
Following an invitation to join the Keystone State Chapter’s ASPA board of directors — coupled with what Robles called a natural alignment between ASPA's mission and the goals of AI Toolbox — Robles saw an opening to share the Penn State Lehigh Valley series with a broader audience.
“Almost immediately, I viewed this invitation as an opportunity to bring our research efforts to this organization,” Robles said.
The presentation, facilitated by Robles and Ganguli, provided an overview of AI Toolbox including the series structure, content and learning outcomes. Members and guests of the ASPA included representatives from the academic and private sectors who were interested in how the content benefitted those new to using AI.
“We had a wonderful session that lasted over an hour,” Robles said. “The audience suggested we expand this topic into a series of presentations sometime in the future.”
Penn State Lehigh Valley’s spring 2026 AI Toolbox series was the first step in a comprehensive effort to educate faculty on effective use of AI in the classroom.
“Based on a pre- and post-survey analysis on around 90 faculty responses, the results revealed that faculty awareness sessions on AI were not necessarily sufficient on their own to provide faculty with the confidence or the competence to experiment with AI and teaching in our classrooms,” Ganguli said.
Ganguli said the data reinforced a demand for additional AI education and support for faculty and staff, highlighting the importance of building confidence and competence among instructors as they integrate AI into teaching and learning at Penn State.
"Dr. Robles and I are currently working with Penn State Lehigh Valley faculty to explore additional ways of discussing AI for meaningful integration in teaching and learning methodology for this coming fall 2026," Ganguli said.
Penn State Lehigh Valley was established in 1912 and combines over a century of academic excellence with personalized instruction and industry-connected faculty. Students can choose from 11 baccalaureate degrees or begin any of Penn State’s 275+ majors through the 2+2 program. With small class sizes and advanced learning technology, our modern campus prepares students for success in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. For more information, please visit lehighvalley.psu.edu