Penn State Smeal launches comprehensive artificial intelligence initiative

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Smeal College of Business has announced a comprehensive, college-wide artificial intelligence (AI) initiative. Smeal is integrating AI across its teaching, research and operations — ensuring students, faculty and staff are equipped to lead responsibly in an AI-driven economy.

“AI isn’t a future possibility — it’s here, now,” said Corey Phelps, John and Karen Arnold Dean of Smeal. “As a leading business school, we have a responsibility to prepare our students not just to use AI, but to lead with it — with purpose, responsibility and integrity. The future success of our graduates depends on how well we rise to this moment.”

A call to lead responsibly in a time of transformation

Smeal’s AI initiative is more than a technology upgrade — it’s a strategic response to a fundamental shift reshaping higher education and the business world. As employers increasingly demand AI literacy and as students adopt AI tools on their own, Smeal is acting decisively to integrate AI fluency, ethical awareness and critical thinking into the foundation of its programs.

From Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School and USC Marshall to Wharton and Smeal, leading institutions are defining their place in an AI-driven world. For Smeal, the vision is clear: to build AI capability across every dimension of the college while keeping the Smeal Honor Code at the center.

Building AI capability across teaching, research and operations

The college’s comprehensive AI initiative brings together several interconnected programs designed to accelerate learning, experimentation and responsible innovation:

• Curriculum innovation: The AI Innovation in Business Education program is redesigning courses across departments to embed AI applications relevant to each discipline. Every Smeal graduate will develop practical AI skills alongside the ethical judgment to use them well.

• Faculty and staff development: Through the Smeal Academy, faculty and staff are gaining hands-on experience with tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot via the GenAI Series and AI@Work programs. Participants who complete AI@Work training earn dean-sponsored Copilot licenses, enabling them to apply AI directly to teaching, research and administrative work.

• Research and experimentation: The forthcoming AI Resource Hub and AI Exploration Microgrants will provide funding, tools and community support for faculty-led projects that explore AI’s potential to enhance learning, improve research productivity and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration.

• Secure and compliant access: Smeal has become the first Penn State college authorized to pilot BoodleBox, a secure, enterprise-grade platform providing access to premium AI models — including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity — within a University-compliant environment. This platform ensures responsible experimentation while maintaining Penn State’s standards for privacy, accessibility and data protection.

From momentum to movement

The initiative builds on strong existing momentum. By fall 2024, more than three-quarters of the college’s faculty and staff were already using AI tools. The Smeal e-Learning Design and Innovation Group’s (eLDIG) Smeal Academy sessions, the Dan and Robyn Ives AI Innovation Day, and the Smeal Ad Hoc GenAI Committee have laid a solid foundation for the college’s next phase — scaling these efforts into a cohesive, college-wide strategy.

Over the next 12 months, Smeal will:

• Pilot AI across undergraduate and graduate programs.

• Develop responsible AI policies and guidelines.

• Launch a college-wide AI literacy initiative.

• Expand faculty and staff access to leading AI platforms.

“These are just the building blocks,” Phelps said. “We’re not just implementing a set of tools, but a culture — one where AI enhances learning, fuels research and strengthens our operations, all while remaining true to our values.”

A model for responsible AI leadership

Guided by the Smeal Honor Code and aligned with the college’s strategic priorities, the AI initiative reflects Smeal’s enduring mission: to prepare principled, innovative leaders who can navigate technological disruption with both confidence and conscience.

“AI will reshape business, and our graduates must be ready to help lead that transformation responsibly,” Phelps said. “At Smeal, we’re not just preparing students to adapt to the future — we’re empowering them to help shape it.”