NMSU provost names dean to lead university’s artificial intelligence efforts

Minerva Baumann, New Mexico State University

LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State University’s interim Provost Lakshmi Reddi announced the appointment of Enrico Pontelli, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, as the Special Advisor to the Provost for AI.

“I’m excited to get started immediately. I think it’s good that the university is recognizing the importance of doing this,” Pontelli said. “It’s really a very comprehensive effort. But it’s not going to happen overnight; it’s going to take some time.”

Pontelli, an NMSU Regents professor in computer science who serves as a point of contact for the New Mexico AI Consortium, will advise the provost on strategy and implementation of artificial intelligence initiatives across research, academics and partnerships for the university. He volunteered to take on the role without financial compensation.

“Dean Pontelli will lead efforts to unify and coordinate our AI activities across campus (academic and non-academic), enhance their visibility and foster large-scale collaborations that attract external funding,” Reddi said. “His deep understanding of AI activities at NMSU, and his established connections at state and national levels make him uniquely qualified to guide our institution’s efforts in this critical area.”

Reddi plans to provide Pontelli with some staff support as he implements communication structures, organizes events and activities, plans meetings and develops working groups. Pontelli’s goals include creating a website to reflect NMSU’s artificial intelligence research and education efforts along with a catalog of AI expertise from all NMSU colleges.

“I've already started collecting this information,” Pontelli said. “There is a lot going on across NMSU. Pretty much every college has some kind of AI project going on. We want to create a place for AI at NMSU. I also intend to create an AI council with representation from all different areas to ensure we are all on the same page. I don’t want anyone to be excluded.”

Other universities have similar AI structures in place. Pontelli will review other university-wide AI plans and adopt best practices for NMSU. The cross-campus collaboration will not be limited to research projects but also will train students in the proper use of AI and address the broader issues that faculty face about integrating AI into the curriculum.

“Faculty have questions about how they can deal with AI in their classrooms when students use AI to cheat,” Pontelli said. “We will have workshops to assist faculty in how to utilize AI, implement it into their curriculum, to see how they can change their pedagogy to incorporate AI instead of fighting it. Fighting AI is going to be a losing battle. Students will use it. If we don't train them to use it properly, we’re doing them a disservice.”

NMSU is already involved in educational efforts in the K-12 arena to create professional development for teachers on how to use AI with their students.

“Right now, we have funding from the New Mexico Public Education Department,” Pontelli said. “We are working with them to develop online micro-credentials and other programs for teachers so that they can quickly start getting acquainted with AI and learn how they can use it in their classrooms.”

Pontelli also wants to involve the entire community in AI education by hosting a special public event with a series of speakers discussing different aspects and impacts of artificial intelligence.

Pontelli sees AI as a basic skill required for all future careers. He predicts future employers will expect workers to have basic AI skills and those without them will be at a disadvantage in the job market.

“I’m not even thinking about computer science majors,” Pontelli said. “I’m thinking about anthropologists, those in languages where there are automatic translation systems or those in medical professions. Surgeons are going to become more and more dependent on the use of AI to plan surgeries, to practice surgeries. AI eventually will become part of every profession.”

Minerva Baumann writes for New Mexico State University Marketing and Communications and can be reached at 575-646-7566, or by email at mbauma46@nmsu.edu.