By Victoria Williamson, Devin Tapia, and Jacob Clavijo
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Tech giant Google spent two days on University of Lynchburg’s campus sharing their latest advancements in artificial intelligence and helping students and faculty incorporate the technology into their daily lives. Sandra Perez, the University of Lynchburg Director of Academic Initiative, commended the visit and its impact on the university.
“This has been a fantastic opportunity,” said Perez. “AI is so critical, not only to our students, but also to our faculty and our staff.”
Chief Education Finance Officer Charley Butcher added that the visit was intended to emphasize the value of AI as a useful tool.
“This AI movement falls right into critical thinking,” said Butcher. “It’s going to change how our students are able to succeed and move forward.”
Perez and Butcher attended a Google educational summit last year at Virginia Commonwealth University and approached Google leadership with the idea of hosting an event at Lynchburg.
Friday morning, Google employees held two talks at Sydnor Performance Hall to demo their AI technologies, Gemini and NotebookLM. The talks, hosted by Google employees Jillian Yoerges and Leighton Spencer, focused on AI’s role in helping students be more efficient, more organized, and more successful.
“It’s a tool that can help you accomplish things quicker. It can actually give you and prepare you for what you’re actually going to see in the real world and in the job market,” Spencer said.
A workshop for faculty was also held to promote Google’s AI technologies and their potential roles in the classroom.
On Thursday, administrators from higher education institutions, along with local K-12 school districts, gathered on campus to hear from Google employees about their newest AI technologies. Roanoke College, University of Richmond, and William & Mary were among the institutions that attended the summit. Representatives from Nelson County Public Schools, Albemarle County Public Schools, and Bedford County Public Schools were also present.
“It’s also great to work with our sister institutions to find out what they’re doing, what works for them, and how we might implement that,” Perez said.
In the months to come, Butcher and Perez will be hosting additional group sessions for students, faculty, and staff to demonstrate the advantages of using AI. Butcher was adamant that the university welcomes the use of AI as a useful tool to be implemented carefully and responsibly.
“You can see that the buzz is here,” praised Butcher. “They want to learn about this, and we’re going to try to lead that charge to get them through the hurdles of learning it.”
For more information regarding the university’s upcoming AI sessions, email Charley Butcher.
