Video Sessions: Navigating the GenAI Landscape: A UMN forum for exploration and discovery.

“Navigating the GenAI Landscape: A UMN Forum for exploration” was a digital showcase of the University of Minnesota growing knowledge of Generative AI. The event took place on Friday, October 24, 2025. The day’s objective was to foster discourse and promote the responsible adoption of AI tools within the University system. 

Special thanks to sponsors 

• Center for Educational Innovation (CEI),
• Data Science and AI Hub (DSAI Hub), and
• Office of Information Technology (OIT) 

The program featured a keynote address, alongside opportunities to attend panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and high-energy, “lightning round” 15-minute presentations. The forum explored four tracks: 

• Teaching and Learning
• Research
• Administrative and University Operations
• Getting Started with AI

Readers will find captioned videos of all presentations in all four tracks below.

Keynote Address

• Inviting Tomorrow In Purposeful AI Use in the Classroom and Workplace by:
  • Speaker: Dr. Wes Fondren, Associate Provost for Artificial Intelligence, Professional Development, and Academic Technology, Coastal Carolina University.

Getting Started Track

• Panel Discussion: Real World Applications of Generative AI
  • Lyric Sage - Endpoint Engineer, Athletic Tech Services, UMN Twin Cities
  • Colin McFadden - Technology Architect, LATIS, College of Liberal Arts, UMTC
  • Cherie Lemer - Digital Experience and Technology Program Manager, University of Minnesota, HSRM Administration, UMN Twin Cities
  • Adam Brisk, Academic Technologist, ITSS, University of Minnesota Duluth
• Lightning Rounds
  • Teaching students the uses and abuses of generative AI: Exploring AI’s role in public health communication and miscommunication
    • Rebecca Wurtz, MD, MPH; Professor, School of Public Health, UMN Twin Cities
  • Unlocking Google Apps Script With AI
    • Alisa Dean, Senior Academic Advisor, College of Liberal Arts, UMN Twin Cities
  • S.M.Ai.R.T.E.R with AI tools: A literacy framework to help students critically reflect on the usage of AI
    • Claire M. Segijn, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Mithun Fellow in Advertising, Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UMTC
• Hands-on Workshop, Get Started with Approved GenAI Tools
  • Michael Beckstrand, College of Liberal Arts, UMTC
  • Christopher Mechell, Academic Technologist, Academic Technology Support Services
  • August Schoen, Instructional Designer, Academic Technology Support Services

Teaching & Learning Track

• Panel Discussion: Generative AI in practice Students, Instructor, and Librarian Perspectives
• Steve Sharkey, Director of the Consumer Insights & Analytics (CIA) Program and Instructor of Marketing, UMD LSBE
• David Atterberry, Director of MN English Language Program, UMTC
• Lindsay Matts-Benson, Teaching and Learning Program Lead, UMN Libraries
• Ryan Hyers, Philosophy Student, University of Minnesota Morris (confirmation
• Lightning Rounds
  • Beyond the Prompt: Using Generative AI to Deepen Student Learning and Engagement
    • Carl Bevelhymer, Lecturer, Humanities/Soc Sci/Education, UMN Crookston
  • Designing Futures with AI: Ethical Integration in Course Curriculum
    • Lisa Novack, Career Development, CSOM Undergraduate Admin, UMN Twin Cities
  • More Than a Statement: Using Your GenAI Policy to Spark Classroom Dialogue:
    • Emily Ronning, IT Manager, LATIS, UMN Twin Cities &
    • Laura Scroggs, IT Pro 3-Academic Technology, LATIS, UMN Twin Cities
  • Learning with AI: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Student Perception and Quiz Performance
    • Leann Shore, Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy, CAHP, 

UMN Twin Cities

• Hands-on Workshop A: The Hard Problem for Education; Can we incorporate GenAI into the writing process without undermining students’ cognitive skills?
  • John Teschner, Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota Duluth
• Hands-on Workshop B: Goodbye Answering Machines, Hello Critical Thinking
  • Mark Collier, Professor of Philosophy, University of Minnesota Morris

Research

• Research Track - Panel Discussion “GenAI in Research: Exploring Tools, Challenges, and Opportunities”
  • Faciliator: Ben Lynch (MSI), Rsch Dir 1-Research Ops/Admin, RIO Research Computing, UMN Twin Cities
  • Claire Halpert, Associate Professor, Institute of Linguistics, UMN Twin Cities
  • Christophe Lenglet, Associate Professor, Magnetic Resonance Res, UMN Twin Cities
  • Molly McCue, Professor, Veterinary Population Medicine, UMN Twin Cities
• Research Track - Lightning Rounds
  • Qualitative Research in the Age of GenAI: Human Judgment, Machine Support, and Methodological Shifts
    • Al Fattal Anas, Assistant Professor, Business Department, UMN Crookston
  • Learning to code with GenAI: a Data Analytics classroom case study
    • Rob Erdmann, IT Mgr 1-IT Multidiscipline, Center for Learning Innovation, UMN Rochester
  • Feeling Machines: How Emotional Expression in GenAI Chatbots Shapes Consumer Decisions
    • Wenwen Cao, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, UMN Twin Cities
  • Hallucinated Citations Generated by Gen AI Chatbots
    • Amy Riegelman, Social Sciences & Evidence Synthesis Librarian, UMN Libraries
• Research Track - Hands-on Workshop, Public Policy for All Applying AI to the 2050 Comprehensive Plan. Engagement, Challenges and Opportunities
  • Fernando Burga, Assistant Professor, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs

Administrative Track

• Administrative Track - Panel Discussion, AI in HR Perspectives on Policy, Practice, and People
  • Facilitator: Nicole Perkins Director of HRMS, HR Management Systems, UMN Twin Cities
  • Kendric Moore, Human Resources Director, IT, OIT Finance & HR, UMN Twin Cities
  • Chris Boldon, HR Mgr 3, Educ/Hum Dev, UMN Twin Cities
  • Brandon Sullivan, Sr Director of Talent Strategy, Talent Strategy, UMN Twin Cities
  • Andrea Yanego, Director of Talent Acquisition, Talent Acquisition, UMN Twin Cities
• Administrative Track - Lightning Rounds
  • Your HR Team Just Got Smarter (and Faster) with AI - Nicole Perkins, Director of HRMS, HR Management Systems, UMN Twin Cities
  • Automate, Standardize, Scale: The Gemini Gems Advantage
    • Mike Benton, IT Audit Director, UMN Office of Internal Audit
  • Using Google Gemini for Accessibility Document Review and Remediation
    • DM Lavoie, Academic Technologist, University of Minnesota
  • A Picture is Worth a Thousand Characters: A Case Study on AI-Generated Alt Text in Archival Collections
    • Theresa Berger, Digital Library Services Librarian, University of Minnesota Libraries
• Administrative Track - Hands-on Workshop, Streamline Productivity with Google Workspace AI Tools
  • Jay Strumwasser, Higher Education Consultant, CDW
  • Alexis Reed, K12 Consultant, CDW