AI, AI, Everywhere: Reflections from EDUCAUSE

Header photo of Kate Miffitt, Chief Digital & Experience Officer, UCOP (right) and Kristin Cordova, Chief of Staff to the UC Vice President and Chief Information Officer (left) at 2026 EDUCAUSE

By Kate Miffitt

I recently got to attend the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, which brought higher education IT professionals together in Denver to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping higher ed. Artificial intelligence dominated the conversation, but underlying many discussions was a bigger question: How do we navigate rapid technological change while keeping people and institutional purpose at the center?

AI Was Everywhere. People Were the Point.

There wasn’t a session I attended that didn’t mention AI. But rather than start at the beginning, I’ll start at the end. In the closing fireside chat, Reimagining the University for the Age of AI, Paul LeBlanc offered an inspiring call to action. LeBlanc, former President of Southern New Hampshire University and coauthor of “Reclaiming Purpose: The University in an AI World,” challenged universities to reclaim their role in answering a fundamental question: What does a good life look like?

“What does a good life look like? And how do we want to answer that question? And I think that is an exhilarating opportunity, and there’s only one institution in America that can answer that question adequately: universities. We have been beaten up. We’ve been in a defensive crouch. We’ve shot ourselves in the foot in some instances. …
[But] Who has the philosophers, the ethicists, the theologians, the technologists, the computer scientists, the sociologists, psychologists? Universities. And I’d love to see us get our mojo back.” – Paul LeBlanc

After years of higher education being on the defensive, LeBlanc’s call for universities to “get our mojo back” was an energizing reminder that we have an important role to play in shaping the future of AI, not just responding to it.

A few standout sessions and experiences:

Building Data-Informed Accessibility Checklists: A hands-on workshop exploring how to use AI and a Section 508 risk matrix to develop more systematic, risk-informed approaches to digital accessibility.

AI, Pressure, and People: I presented an interactive poster examining the pressures AI creates for higher education IT professionals, and how we can balance the push for innovation with responsible practices and employee well-being.

Built It. Now What? The Communications Strategy Behind Campus-Wide AI Adoption: UC Irvine colleagues explored an often-overlooked challenge of technology adoption: how communication and engagement help turn a technical implementation into meaningful organizational change.

2027 EDUCAUSE Top 10: A look at the priorities shaping higher education IT under the theme The Age of Perpetual Change, with AI leading the list and institutional adaptability emerging as a central concern.

Higher Education and IT Policy, 2026: A timely examination of the federal policy environment and its implications for higher education technology leaders. I attended to hear updates on digital accessibility policy, but there were more updates in cybersecurity.

As valuable as the sessions were, EDUCAUSE was also a welcome opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, exchange ideas, and step away from the demands of day-to-day work to reflect on the bigger picture. I’ll close with another thought from Paul LeBlanc that captures the responsibility and opportunity ahead:

“In technology, the work you do is going to be critically important, and it needs your ethical, moral, creative, and imaginative compass to lead us down the right road.”