In February, Grand Valley State University leaders announced the school is set to receive more than $1 million in federal support to establish the University’s West Michigan Trustworthy AI Consortium. The announcement garnered mixed reactions among faculty.
The AI Consortium will operate in the College of Computing as part of the University’s Blue Dot ecosystem. The initiative is meant to unite faculty experts, partners in the industry and the public sector to create responsible AI systems. The project is backed by Representative Hillary Scholten. Scholten helped secure the $1.03 million as part of more than $11 million in federal funding for projects across West Michigan.
The Blue Dot initiative has a three-level approach to digital literacy, which is designed to enhance computer science majors by integrating advanced AI tools and frameworks into the curriculum. This allows for research opportunities and access to consortium-funded projects, industry partnerships and upcoming Blue Dot facilities.
The Blue Dot and AI consortium will also create collaboration opportunities with other departments on engineering, healthcare, business, art, science and education-related projects.
Cybersecurity Graduate Program Director Samah Mansour, who is leading the AI Consortium, says the College of Computing recognizes that AI is transforming every industry. To ensure students have access to the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in an AI-driven world, the college maintains a webpage that highlights AI resources, courses and learning opportunities available.
“Through shared resources, faculty collaborations and co-curricular activities, students in non-computing majors are able to develop core technical and AI-related skills,” Mansour said.
There is also growing momentum around discipline-specific integration through a “Computing + X” initiative. The consortium claims to enable collaborative research and curriculum development, allowing programs to embed AI tools in ways that align with their disciplinary goals, whether in healthcare, public policy and criminal justice, education or business and logistics.
“These efforts position the Trustworthy AI Consortium and Blue Dot as catalysts for meaningful curriculum transformation, ensuring that all students graduate with the technical fluency, ethical grounding and applied digital skills needed in an AI-driven society,” Mansour said.
The College of Computing also offers an AI minor that is available to students from all majors, along with multiple introductory courses to establish a common baseline of technological fluency to support learning, innovation and responsible AI use across every field.
Assistant Professor in the College of Computing Teihang Duan said computer science faculty are excited for the consortium, and that colleagues are “energized” by the potential launch of multiple research projects, plus the educational resources to build support for students and faculty.
“Here at the College of Computing, we are genuinely excited,” said Duan. “ I feel this demonstrates GVSU’s leading role in Michigan’s growing tech scene.”
However, some faculty are hesitant to be as excited about the new AI Consortium.
English Professor Robert Rozema expressed concern that necessary conversations around the ethical use of AI are not being had at the University. He pointed out major concerns, such as AI being built on appropriated language, vast energy use, its use to assist ICE and that it isn’t globally accessible.
“So far, that critical conversation around the ethical use of AI has been mostly missing at GVSU, so if the AI Consortium rights this imbalance, I’m all for it,” Rozema said. “But, the discussion can’t start with AI being beneficial by default.”
Rozema said that as the adoption of AI occurs, he believes it should be guided by a vetting process that determines if it is harmful to students and the environment. Rozema also stated the English Department is currently drafting a statement regarding AI usage.
Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors Director Patrick Johnson expressed concerns about the potential for cognitive offloading due to AI and insufficient transparency. With the development of the AI Consortium, he worries about the future of the center and the student body.
Johnson said the Writing Center is designed for “human-to-human support.” Meeting with writing consultants allows students to improve their skills while learning to express themselves through writing. Using AI for feedback is fast, but the advice is less about the writer and more about what is standard for the type of writing.
“If those qualities meet the needs of students and if GVSU encourages students to use AI for as much of their work as possible, then the number of students seeking in-person support could change, which might lead to a reduction of consulting staff in the long term,” Johnson said.
Johnson understands reasonable uses for AI but struggles to call many of them ethical. He does appreciate the University for being transparent about its practices when it comes to using AI.
“History will define ‘ethical use’ better than I can,” Johnson stated. “I do want to commend GVSU’s effort to make AI systems more trustworthy and transparent.”
Mansour says GVSU will ensure the Trustworthy AI Consortium is ethical by embedding responsibility, accountability and public interest into its core design.
“The consortium is aligned with national frameworks for trustworthy and responsible AI,” Mansour said. “This approach explicitly addresses environmental impact, energy use, data privacy, long-term sustainability, as well as safety, transparency and risk management.”
