Building an AI-Ready University: A Holistic Strategy for Higher Education Leaders

Building an AI-Ready University offers step-by-step guidance for higher education leaders and administrators throughout the entire artificial intelligence (AI) adoption cycle—from initial readiness checks and stakeholder interviews to long-term governance, scenario planning, and continuous improvement. Grounded in design thinking, bottom-up engagement, and scenario-based strategy, this book provides the roadmaps, pilot toolkits, and decision templates necessary to deploy AI responsibly, address real campus challenges, and safeguard institutional integrity. Readers learn to set clear objectives, such as improving student retention, expanding research capacity, or advancing equity, and then select, pilot, evaluate, and refine AI solutions that address these needs without losing sight of academic freedom or ethical standards. Presidents, provosts, deans, faculty champions, senior administrators, and others will be better prepared to rally stakeholders, mitigate risks, measure impact, and adapt as conditions change.