Rio Salado College President Kate Smith was recently featured on two podcasts to talk about the transformative impact of online learning and the role artificial intelligence will play in the future of education. Smith was featured on The EdUp Experience in October and the Presidents Forum in November. Read on below for more information about her podcast appearances and check out the links to watch the interviews on YouTube.
EdUp: Transforming Lives Through Access - with Dr. Kate Smith
Interviewed by hosts Dr. Joe Sallustio and Dr. Jodi Blinco for this higher education podcast, Smith was asked to speak on a variety of subjects related to how Rio Salado engages students. She shared the school’s work supporting incarcerated students and reducing recidivism; the college’s recent incorporation of bachelor’s degrees into Rio’s program offerings; the role data plays in making informed leadership decisions; and how the college is helping to address food insecurity through partnerships.
“We’re relentless in continuous improvement and we’re relentless in our pursuit of learning and understanding what are the barriers that keep people from going to school,” said Smith, reflecting on Rio Salado’s mission to “support learners where they are” while serving 40,000+ students from all over the country.
Presidents Forum: AI in Higher Ed: Personalization Promise and Pitfalls
Speaking with host Wesley Smith last month, Smith discussed the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in education and how Rio Salado has been handling this emergent technology.
"It's the Jetsons coming to life today," Smith said, remarking on the tremendous advances large language models (LLMs) and Generative AI have made over the last few years. "This is happening now and happening fast... all those things I used to read about in science fiction are beginning. We're in this moment and we want to embrace it and be at the forefront.”
“We want to be shaping how we use AI; not let it shape us."
Article by Austin Brietta