Moving Our Institution Forward: Faculty Promotions and UK ADVANCE
Dear Colleagues,
As we move closer to the end of the spring semester, I am reminded of what an exciting season it is for everyone across our campus. Our university continues its momentum to advance Kentucky in many ways across our campus and around the Commonwealth.
First, I would like to recognize those propelling our institution forward in teaching, service, research and care — our faculty.
Nearly 200 promotion letters have been sent to members of our faculty in all 16 degree-granting colleges, along with Libraries and the Lewis Honors College. I appreciate the long hours and hard work that have led each of these deserving faculty members to earn their promotions.
Congratulations to each of you. Thank you for your dedication to the mission of our university.
Second, I want to acknowledge the work of another important group of our campus — working to help the University of Kentucky lead the way in the ever-changing field of artificial intelligence (AI).
In January, we updated you on the faculty guidelines regarding generative AI in instructional settings from UK ADVANCE (Advancing Data utilization for Value in Academics for National and Campus-wide Excellence). The ADVANCE Team has worked diligently to provide these updates to you and the rest of campus so that we can understand how to optimize the use of generative AI in our work while remaining aware of potential cautions.
During the spring semester, the ADVANCE Team created guidelines for use of generative AI in clinical settingsafter seeking input from multiple stakeholders. These guidelines may be updated as the field of generative AI continues to evolve and change.
This week, UK ADVANCE also provided updated guidelines for research, scholarly and creative activity that you can find here. These guidelines represent the ADVANCE Team’s best understanding of the environment at the present time — the field of generative AI evolves quickly, and the guidelines must be similarly flexible.
Additionally, we published Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the ADVANCE website to assist in addressing questions that may arise as you navigate the fluid generative AI landscape and point you to more detailed information in the relevant guidelines.
The resources available on the ADVANCE website will help all campus community members, including faculty, staff and students, learn more about generative AI and its uses and applications in educational, research or clinical settings.
As we continue developing our understanding of generative AI and how it impacts our work at UK, the ADVANCE Team will update the guidelines and recommendations accordingly.
Thank you to both our newly promoted faculty members and the ADVANCE team for their collective efforts to advance our institution and Kentucky.
Robert S. DiPaola, M.D.
Provost