The University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business is taking a leading role in preparing students and faculty for an AI-driven future. What started as a small initiative to explore responsible uses of generative AI in education has quickly evolved into a full-fledged effort to transform how business is taught and learned.

This month, the Eccles School launched The AI Faculty Workshop, a new program designed to help instructors integrate artificial intelligence tools into their teaching in ways that are both effective and ethical.

“We are embracing the opportunities created by artificial intelligence to prepare our students to be both AI-fluent and fundamentals-strong,” said Kurt Dirks, dean of the Eccles School. “Our faculty are leading the way, exploring how AI can elevate student success and make a positive impact on the Utah business community.”

Under Dirks’ leadership, the school has positioned itself as an early mover in higher education’s AI adoption. Faculty members, program directors, and the Career Services team have collaborated to identify how AI and generative AI can enhance student learning, problem-solving, and career readiness.

In partnership with the University’s Responsible AI Initiative and the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Eccles School curated AI resources for faculty and students, reviewed institutional and ethical guidelines, and studied best practices from peer universities. The work informed a set of internal recommendations for using AI responsibly in the classroom.

As part of the pilot phase, faculty with clear plans for AI integration were given access to OpenAI tools for instruction and student use. Generative AI is now being used in courses enrolling more than 900 students across the school.

To further advance these efforts, the Eccles School hosted its first AI Faculty Workshop on Oct. 17, drawing 95 faculty participants. The event featured sessions on large language models (Promothesh Chatterjee, Marketing), designing assignments with GenAI (Jason Snyder, Entrepreneurship & Strategy), and understanding student demand for GenAI skills in MBA programs (Brad Vierig, Associate Dean, and Jason Sloan, Executive Education).

Other presenters included Chong Oh (Operations & Information Systems) on university-supported AI tools, Rita Schwisow (Marketing) on effective prompting techniques, and Denise DeCoite (U Career Success) on AI’s growing influence in early-career roles.

“We want to model what responsible AI adoption looks like in higher education: practical, ethical, and focused on improving outcomes for both faculty and students.” said Himanshu Mishra, Professor of Marketing and Business Analytics who is implementing the AI initiative at the David Eccles School of Business.

The initiative continues this semester with additional AI-focused events bridging academia and industry. Scheduled talks include one by Professor Rohit Agarwal (Information Systems) on AI’s impact across business disciplines and another by Warren Barkley, Vice President of Product Management at NVIDIA, on AI-driven innovation in the workplace.

Next steps include expanding faculty training, extending AI integration into the Online MBA and Executive Education programs, and working with Career Services to ensure students are prepared for an AI-influenced job market.