Education Guide 7.26.26 - Flipbook - Page 7
| Sunday, July 26, 2026 7
look at big questions and get people
talking.
With funding through the Generative
Artificial Intelligence Fellowship at
Stevenson University, this summer
faculty across campus will be developing and improving their course work
to utilize the latest in generative AI
technology. “We have always been
a career focused institution,” says
Merrie C. Durmowicz, Ph.D., executive vice president, academic affairs
and provost. “We offer an education
that prepares students for their future
careers in the context of the liberal
arts.”
But the proliferation of generative AI
throughout most careers has brought
about this more focused approach to
upgrade their course work. For years
many faculty have introduced aspects
of generative AI into their classes on
an ad hoc basis. Now integrating artificial intelligence into their courses,
really starting to teach students about
it, how to use it, and how to interpret
it is the goal.
The Fellowship is funding 21 projects by 48 of the faculty and staff. The
goal is to have every student introduced to generative AI in their classes,
from the academic integrity course
that every student takes when they
come to Stevenson, through major
specific and program specific courses,
all the way up to graduate programs.
A chemistry professor is redesigning a foundational chemistry lab
course for nursing majors, so they will
be better prepared as health care professionals. A film and moving image
professor is revising a sequence of
production and editing courses, so
students looking to go into the film
industry will have the skills they need.
A professional minor in artificial
intelligence applications is in development that will be open to any undergraduate. There will be a graduate certificate program in artificial intelligence
for educators.
Since the artificial intelligence
industry is changing so rapidly and
the tools themselves are still evolving,
what Durmowicz would like the students to gain from their exposure to AI
is the ability to adapt. They will need
to quickly learn to use a new tool and
interpret the results.
The new course content being
developed this summer will be used
beginning this fall. Students are excit-
ed about this opportunity because it
will position them for success in whatever their career path may be.
The
Community
College
of
Baltimore County (CCBC) has the only
press on a community college campus: Compass Press. The program is
run on an entirely voluntary basis by
faculty. Submissions to the press are
15 pages. Faculty who are interested
in being part of this project then assign
their students to read the manuscripts
and give a score.
All the submissions get at least two
readings. The scores will narrow the
list down to about 12 manuscripts,
and those will be reviewed and winnowed down to six. The final six will be
invited to submit their full manuscript
for consideration. Usually only a handful of students volunteer to read and
score a full manuscript on top of their
other classwork.
The response to this activity has
been tremendous. “The students seem
to overwhelmingly love it,” says Evan
Balkan, professor of English and director, writing and literacy centers, Mark
McColloch Endowed Teaching Chair,
and the catalyst for starting the press.
“It is so vastly different from anything
else they have done.”
Students who have claimed they
don’t read books are asked to read
these submissions. If they are bored
on page one, or if they love it, they
must say why. The author deserves
constructive comments about their
writing. Students are being entrusted
with this manuscript and their opinion
about it matters. Their input is of as
much value as their professors.
Since the whole process can take
eight months or more, students who
want to be involved beyond the initial
manuscript reading can help as part
of an informal internship. Graphic arts
students also get the chance to design
cover art for the book. The student
whose work is chosen gets credit for
it as well as a free class at the college.
Compass Press has just published
its first book, a novel. The next book
is in the works. It is a series of prose
poems. Submissions have come from
all over the United States, and the
world. They include novels, short stories, collections of essays, and poetry.
The manuscripts are submitted online
through the Compass Press website.
