The Penn State Smeal College of Business announced on Nov. 5 a comprehensive, college-wide artificial intelligence (AI) initiative to prepare students, faculty, and staff to “lead responsibly in an AI-driven economy,” the university said in a press release.
Over the next year, Smeal plans to pilot AI across undergraduate and graduate programs, craft responsible AI policies and guidelines, launch a college-wide AI literacy initiative, and expand faculty and staff access to AI platforms.
“AI isn’t a future possibility — it’s here, now,” said Corey Phelps, the John and Karen Arnold Dean of Penn State’s Smeal College of Business.
“As a leading business school, we have a responsibility to prepare our students not just to use AI, but to lead with it — with purpose, responsibility and integrity,” Phelps said. “The future success of our graduates depends on how well we rise to this moment.”
As part of the initiative, faculty and staff will gain hands-on experience with AI tools, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, through the GenAI Series and AI@Work programs. The employees who complete the AI@Work training will earn dean-sponsored Copilot licenses.
Notably, Smeal has become the first Penn State college authorized to pilot “BoodleBox,” which is an enterprise-grade platform giving access to premium AI models (including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity) within a safe environment.
“AI will reshape business, and our graduates must be ready to help lead that transformation responsibly,” Phelps said. “At Smeal, we’re not just preparing students to adapt to the future — we’re empowering them to help shape it.”
