{"id":76816,"date":"2026-01-20T08:52:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T15:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=76816"},"modified":"2026-01-20T11:38:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T18:38:02","slug":"ai-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/ai-hub\/","title":{"rendered":"Curious about AI? Learn how to use it as Cline Library\u2019s new AI Hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAU\u2019s\u00a0Cline Library\u00a0opened a new AI Hub this week to help students, faculty,\u00a0staff\u00a0and community members\u00a0learn how to use the\u00a0new technology\u00a0in a practical, welcoming space.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0hub adds new capacity for NAU and gives the campus\u00a0a central place\u00a0to test ideas, compare approaches across\u00a0disciplines\u00a0and get real-time support.\u00a0Library staff and student AI ambassadors will help visitors get comfortable with generative AI, share their\u00a0work\u00a0and try\u00a0new approaches.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Funded\u00a0by a gift from\u00a0NAU\u00a0alumnus\u00a0<\/span>James Owens<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0who graduated from the School of Communication in 1971,\u00a0the AI Hub\u00a0is a way to help\u00a0the\u00a0NAU\u00a0community\u00a0get in on the ground floor of\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>Year of AI\u00a0Empowerment.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBy collaboratively designing and creating the AI Hub as a shared campus and regional resource, Cline Library is providing a space where all members of our community can learn by doing and learn from each other,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Cynthia Childrey<\/span><\/b>, dean and university librarian. \u201cLibrarians\u2019 expertise in information literacy and critical thinking prepares them to be natural guides for exploring AI as well as navigating the challenges presented by AI.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his remarks, President Jos\u00e9 Luis Cruz Rivera<\/strong> shared how his experiences and views about AI have changed as he’s used it and talked with others in various spaces about their questions and concerns.<\/p>\n

“That’s when I began to see AI not just as a toolset, but as a literacy\u2014a kind of modern fluency that determines whether we remain in control of our thinking, of our creativity, of our humanity, or hand it off too easily,” he said. “That shift in posture is why we’re here. This university is not choosing between hype and fear. We are choosing to equip our community with the skills, confidence and discernment needed to engage AI thoughtfully, critically and ethically.”<\/p>\n

Attendees\u00a0at the event had the chance to\u00a0test out\u00a0their AI knowhow.\u00a0One station asked participants to respond to a draft ethics statement and \u201cWrite the Rules of the Hub\u201d by adding questions,\u00a0examples\u00a0and quick reactions. Another station, \u201cRose, Thorn, Bud,\u201d\u00a0invited\u00a0people to name what excites them about\u00a0AI, what concerns them and what possibilities they see. These stations will remain available throughout the\u00a0semester\u00a0so students, faculty and staff can contribute\u00a0ideas,\u00a0opportunities\u00a0and concerns.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of the semester, the library plans to share a \u201cHow NAU Helped Build the AI Hub\u201d feature drawing from community input. Ongoing drop-in support and scheduled sessions with student AI\u00a0ambassadors will continue throughout the semester, with\u00a0additional\u00a0spring programming to be announced.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAU\u2019s\u00a0Cline Library\u00a0opened a new AI Hub this week to help students, faculty,\u00a0staff\u00a0and community members\u00a0learn how to use the\u00a0new technology\u00a0in a practical, welcoming space.\u00a0\u00a0 The\u00a0hub adds new capacity for NAU and gives the campus\u00a0a central place\u00a0to test ideas, compare approaches across\u00a0disciplines\u00a0and get real-time support.\u00a0Library staff and student AI ambassadors will help visitors get comfortable with generative…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":76827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}