ACUI Members Answer Call to Serve on New AI Task Force

By Posted on ACUI News, Bulletin

Seven ACUI members have taken on the role of examining the impacts of artificial intelligence on the college union, including future opportunities that may be created by the technology and the associated risks.

The ACUI AI Task Force is being established to examine the overall impact of artificial intelligence on community building in higher education and to identify opportunities for its responsible and positive community building use in college unions.

Adam Dunbar from the University of Massachusetts–Lowell and Erin Dayharsh-Farrell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will serve as co-conveners of the task force. Additional members are Dan Abbott (University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point), Khoi Pham (California State University–Dominguez Hills), Katie Knetzer (Webster University), Jaletta Reames (Rutgers University), and Lincoln Walburn (University of North Carolina–Wilmington). ACUI Assistant Director of Online Learning serves as the staff liaison for the task force, and Ian Crone as the Board of Trustees liaison for the task force.

The Task Force will develop a report for the ACUI Board of Trustees by November 15, 2026, that will include:

  • A broad assessment of potential future opportunities and risks associated with AI for college unions.
  • An analysis of how AI is currently impacting student engagement and community building on campuses across the Association. These impacts should include engagement outside the classroom, including engagement related to student organizations, event planning and implementation, leisure time, individual connection and meaning making, etc.
  • Practical strategies and actionable recommendations that student union professionals can implement to ensure AI is used to advance the role of the college union on member campuses.
  • Guidance on how college unions can leverage AI to promote positive impacts and efficiencies related to our work in facility management, auxiliary services and student engagement.
  • Considerations for how AI is impacting discourse and polarization on campuses and recommendations for how college union professionals can employ AI to promote positive communication and civil discourse.
  • Recommendations for union professionals concerning necessary policy adaptations resulting from AI related to Union related codes of conduct, student organization and funding policies, event and facility related policies, etc.
  • Considerations for how AI is impacting student development and inclusive communities related to student unions.

More information about and outcomes from the task force’s work will be shared following the completion of this report.

Author

  • Steve Chaplin

    Steve Chaplin is managing editor of ACUI’s The Bulletin and manager of the ACUI College Union and Student Activities (CUSA) Evaluation Program. A former newspaper writer, editor, and manager, he has volunteered as a student mentor as a member of the National Association of Science Writers, and received awards for his writing and reporting from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Kentucky Education Association, and the Kentucky Press Association.

    View all posts Content Development Manager