Artificial intelligence is transforming how we live, work, and learn. From workplaces to classrooms, it’s shaping nearly every aspect of modern life, and higher education is no exception. Recently, Grace Christian University’s Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Matthew Loverin, sat down with Julia Gorman from WZZM13 On Your Side to discuss how AI is impacting universities nationwide and how Grace is helping lead the conversation.
As one of more than 70 institutions represented on the Center for Digital Education’s Higher Education AI Council, Dr. Loverin is bringing a unique faith-based perspective to a national dialogue about technology, ethics, and the future of learning.
Talking AI in Higher Education
Julia: We’re talking about AI, artificial intelligence, all the time now. Maybe you’re experimenting with it at your workplace, maybe at home for, you know, fun things, serious topics. It’s really just very ever-present in society right now, and that includes in the sphere of higher education.
I’m joined here in studio by Dr. Matthew Loverin. He is provost and chief academic officer at Grace Christian University right here in our area. Dr. Loverin, thanks so much for being here.
We’re talking about AI because you are going to be a part of this large national council, kind of figuring out piece by piece how AI is going to fit into the higher education world, what that’s going to look like, what the regulations are going to be, and then also kind of pioneering that right here in our community.
The National AI Council
Julia: So let’s first talk about this council. You were appointed to the Center for Digital Education’s Higher Education AI Council, quite a title there. Tell us a little bit more about that and what that looks like.
Dr. Loverin: Yeah, that council is a national council made up of 70-plus universities, big-name universities like Florida State, Cal State, Grand Valley State University, and so as Grace Christian University, we’re really happy to be representing a faith-based perspective on that council. That council will be working to look at how AI affects student success, how it affects research, how it affects ethics as universities try to keep abreast of what AI is doing in higher ed.
Navigating a New Frontier
Julia: Yeah, and we’re in such an interesting time right now because I know even in the journalism world, in so many different industries and fields, it’s so new, you know, and it’s growing so rapidly that so many of us are trying to figure out, okay, how does this fit in what we’ve been doing for so long? What are we okay with? What are we not okay with?
I know this is very new, your appointment to this council. What are you thinking some of the topics of conversation will be in kind of drafting this outline for schools?
Dr. Loverin: Yeah, the council plans to meet three times in the coming year with an in-person conference later in 2026, and so they’ll be focused on everything from responsible implementation of AI in student learning in the classroom, how that affects college students and professors, to how do we support students? How do we plan education infused with AI? Students might have AI tutors built in the future.
Shaping Policies and Best Practices
Dr. Loverin: Yeah. How that affects university policies and really how university administrations and boards are trying to implement the best practices for this emerging technology.
Julia: Yeah, it’s really, you know, it’s not brand new. AI has actually been around for quite a while, but it’s really taken on this new light, if you will, of just how frequent and often we’re all using it in our everyday lives, including at schools, including at the workplace.
What would you say, you know, you personally, I guess, are most excited for in kind of taking on this new role?
Dr. Loverin: Well, I’m really excited to bring this home to our university. We’re excited to see what our biblical perspective on Christian higher education can bring to the use of this technology, what that means for our students and trying to stay as current as possible.
Bringing a Biblical Perspective
Dr. Loverin: AI is everywhere. Students are being taught to use it in high school and middle school. And so the students that are coming to us are going to be already swimming in that water of AI. And so we need to be prepared to serve them as best we can.
Julia: Yeah. So it’s neat that you will be, you know, sort of collaborating on this national level, but then able to pull this in because you guys are forming your own AI guidance council at Grace Christian. As far as, you know, I’m sure you’ll bring so much of that knowledge back, what would you say you’re most motivated to bring to our community specifically?
Dr. Loverin: Again, we’re excited to be a leader and serve on this national council and blend the cutting edge of whatever these, you know, top tier universities are doing with our own unique faith-based perspective, and then bring that to our students.
Preparing Students for the Future
Dr. Loverin: We’re just excited to graduate more courageous ambassadors for Christ as a local higher ed university committed to faith-based education. So I think the exciting thing is to see how this can work in a small Christian college in a way that’s really unique, but maintains the best of what we have to offer in terms of an environment where students can grow in their faith and in their capacity to serve, and to experience transformational relationships with their faculty members, with their professors in the classroom, and to have this happen in a world where AI is so dominant.
Julia: Yeah, and I think it’ll be interesting to see what pieces from this national council larger schools might use versus smaller schools versus public universities, more faith-based schools.
What’s Next
Julia: I think it’ll be really interesting to see what people are taking away, you know, to accommodate different groups of students. It’s very fresh as far as joining the national council, and then kind of bringing this back here to Michigan.
What are the next immediate steps that you’re aware of?
Dr. Loverin: Certainly, we’re at the very front edge of this, and so we’re excited. I think we’re ahead of the game just to be meeting on purpose, getting students, faculty, staff, board members, alumni, as many people as we can, involved and their voice at the table, so that the whole university can be committed to a unified approach rather than saying, “Oh, well, students shouldn’t use ChatGPT to write their papers.”
A University-Wide Approach
Dr. Loverin: That’s kind of a very low-level, small approach. We want to take a university-wide approach where everyone’s on the same page. Yeah, so we’ll be meeting three times throughout the coming year, kind of paralleling that national council, and then we’ll be able to recommend some concrete policies for our university going forward.
We really think that this whole institutional approach that takes a lot of voices into account is really the best way to move forward holistically as an institution of higher ed, so that we don’t get our wires crossed, and we’re not working cross-purposes throughout the university.
Julia: Especially in a world of technology that is moving so quickly and advancing so rapidly, to be able to have a basis for, “Okay, this is how we’re going to handle this here at our school,” I think is great.
Where Grace Goes from Here
Julia: Thank you so much for coming in to talk about this, Dr. Loverin. It’s encouraging to hear how Grace Christian University is part of the national conversation shaping the future of AI in education.
Dr. Loverin: Thanks for having me, Julia. It’s an exciting time, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent Grace in this work.
As technology continues to evolve, Grace Christian University remains committed to leading with wisdom, discernment, and faith, ensuring that innovation always strengthens, rather than replaces, the transformational relationships that define a Grace education.
