IAAAI organization

Michelle Miller, Executive Director

Michelle Miller is a Professor with the Department of Psychological Sciences in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow. She has been an essential part of NAU’s success in many past institutional initiatives through her leadership, including the First Year Learning Initiative, University College, Persistence Scholars Program, and First Year Together. In addition to innovating in her personal teaching practice through technology, Michelle has established herself as a national leader in higher-education applications of AI and is the author of widely acclaimed books on pedagogy and technology, including Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology and Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology: Teaching, Learning, and the Science of Memory in a Wired World.

Nick McKay, Director

Nick McKay is a Professor in the School of Earth and Sustainability in the College of the Environment, Forestry and Natural Sciences. He is a climate scientist, whose research interests focus on large scale data synthesis, data analysis and data model intercomparison. Nick teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on climate change, earth systems, data analysis and scientific programming. He has been using generative AI in his teaching practice since 2023, exploring and implementing its use in the classroom, lab and field. He is also the chair of the Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability PhD program and serves on the Faculty Senate.

Tim Curry, Director

Tim Curry is a Lecturer and Program Director in the Department of Health Science, College of Health and Human Services. He is a clinical exercise physiologist completing a doctoral degree in Interdisciplinary Health, with research focused on developing artificial intelligence tools to reduce health burdens and inequities. He collaborates with Dr. Jared Duval in the Playful Health Technologies Lab and leads development of the new Applied Health Analytics undergraduate and graduate certificates and a future program of study. Since 2015, he has applied diverse AI methods in teaching, research, and athletic development. He has presented at ACSM and AIITEC conferences on AI in health and education.

Mikhael Star, Operations Director

Mikhael Star is a Director in the Provost’s office who specializes in project leadership and change management. As Operations Director, she will help stand up the necessary infrastructure and business processes for the institute, while also providing project oversight for intermediary and long-term goals.

• Shadow Armfield, Associate Dean and Professor, Department of Educational Specialties, College of Education
• Kara Attrep, Associate Dean and Associate Teaching Professor, Honors College
• Peggy Bradley, Director and Assistant Clinical Professor, College of Nursing
• Michelle Carpenter, Executive Director and Professor, School of Communication, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Charles Chadwell, Dean and Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Construction Management, and Environmental Engineering, Steve Sanghi College of Engineering
• Bettie Coplan, Faculty Senator and Associate Professor, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, College of Health and Human Services
• Kate Ellis, Faculty Senate President and Professor, Department of Theatre, College of Arts and Letters
• Roger Haro, Dean and Professor, School of Earth and Sustainability, College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences
• Joseph Little, Associate Dean and Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Finance, and Accounting, W. A. Franke College of Business
• Jeff Meeks, Interim Chair and Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health and Human Services
• Erik Nielsen, Chief Sustainability Officer and Professor, School of Earth and Sustainability, College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences
• Gioia Woods, Chair and Professor, Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, College of Arts and Letters