For three years, the question was "What can AI do?" Now organizations and consumers are asking something different: "What does it do for me?"

This shift marks the first wave of AI consolidation—where what works gets scaled and what doesn't gets cut. Drawing on breakthrough examples from healthcare (Aidoc), software development (Cursor), and transportation (Waymo), Ty Fujimura explores what's actually working and why. The pattern is clear: AI that tries to replace humans won’t work. AI that efficiently augments human potential —"Ergonomic AI"—keeps winning. As AI becomes invisible infrastructure—as normal as electricity—the conversation shifts from technology back to people. For higher education, this creates a profound opportunity. AI isn't making education less human—it's revealing why institutions started in the first place. The institutions that thrive will be those that partner with AI to truly know students, invest in their growth, and send them into the world transformed.

The pattern is clear: AI that tries to replace humans won’t work. AI that efficiently augments human potential —"Ergonomic AI"—keeps winning. As AI becomes invisible infrastructure—as normal as electricity—the conversation shifts from technology back to people.

For higher education, this creates a profound opportunity. AI isn't making education less human—it's revealing why institutions started in the first place. The institutions that thrive will be those that partner with AI to truly know students, invest in their growth, and send them into the world transformed.

Presenter:
Ty Fujimura, Chief Product Officer, Element451

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping higher education—creating new opportunities for institutional advantage while introducing significant governance, compliance, and trust considerations. In this President’s Strategy session, a panel of college presidents will share candid, executive-level perspectives on the strategic decisions leaders must confront now to position their institutions for long-term success.

The discussion will explore how presidents are approaching AI governance, balancing innovation with regulatory and ethical responsibilities, evaluating investment frameworks for AI platforms, and redefining institutional value in an AI-powered economy. Designed for senior leadership, this session focuses on practical, near-term decisions that will shape institutional resilience, competitiveness, and mission impact over the next 18 months.

This presentation recognizes an institution demonstrating exceptional leadership and impact in the practical application of artificial intelligence in higher education. The AI Award Winner will share how their strategy, governance, and execution translated AI innovation into measurable institutional value—advancing outcomes while maintaining trust, compliance, and mission alignment.

Designed to be concise and insight-driven, this session highlights real-world lessons, decision frameworks, and results that other institutional leaders can apply as they advance their own AI initiatives.

Presenter:
Dr. JC Bonilla, Chief Operations Officer & Head of AI, Element451

Delivering truly personalized student experiences at scale has long been an aspiration in higher education. In this session, Ty Fujimura, Chief Product Officer, will explore how advances in real-time AI are making that vision operational—enabling institutions to engage every student with communications and support that adapt dynamically to individual needs and behaviors.

The presentation will highlight how predictive and agentic AI models can adjust tone, timing, and modality across multiple channels without human intervention, while maintaining consistency and institutional voice. Through real student stories, attendees will see how hyper-personalization creates clearer pathways, stronger engagement, and more meaningful outcomes across the student lifecycle.

Presenter:
Eric Range, Vice President of Product, Element451

AI-powered deepfakes pose a growing threat to institutional trust, security, and decision-making. This practical session equips higher education leaders and operators with a clear understanding of how deepfakes are created, where institutions are most vulnerable, and what actions can be taken today to mitigate risk.

Attendees will walk through real-world scenarios, learn how to identify warning signs of synthetic media, and review tools and processes for detection, verification, and response. The session emphasizes preparedness and operational readiness, enabling institutions to protect their people, data, and reputation in an era of rapidly advancing AI deception.

Presenter:
Carrie Pitts-Densmore, Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing, Johnston Community College

If Day One introduces the vision of the AI Operating System of the Institution in 2035, Day Two tackles the critical question leaders can’t avoid: What must the organization become to operate that system? In this forward-looking keynote, Claire Zau, AI Lead & Partner, GSV Ventures, explores how AI will fundamentally reshape the institutional blueprint—requiring new governance models, redesigned roles, and reimagined cross-functional structures built for a future powered by agentic systems.

Drawing on emerging trends and examples from other industries, Claire will outline how institutions can begin restructuring today to fully leverage AI coordinating communications, enrollment, advising, retention, and operations. This session offers a practical strategic lens for presidents, cabinet leaders, and change-makers seeking to align talent, operating models, and institutional design with the realities of an AI-driven decade ahead.

Presenter:
Claire Zau, GSV Ventures

Higher ed teams want the impact of AI, but adoption can feel like the hardest part. In this live session, you’ll hear how Southeastern University rapidly onboarded staff, built trust, and embedded Bolt AI Agents into day-to-day admissions and enrollment workflows—all within their first term.

You’ll learn the practical strategies their team used to introduce AI as a teammate, not a threat; how they rolled out early use cases that delivered quick wins; and what changed for their counselors, leadership, and students once agents began doing real work around the clock.

Whether you’re evaluating AI agents or already experimenting with them, this session gives you a clear roadmap for driving adoption that feels empowering, not overwhelming.

Presenters:
Sarah Clark, Chief Enrollment Officer, Southeastern University
Neal Dyer, Chief Technology Officer, Southeastern University

AI agents are quickly moving from experimental tools to “invisible teammates” capable of owning entire operational workflows with speed, consistency, and measurable impact. In this rapid-fire session, Sunil Murthy, IBM’s AI Field Chief Technology Officer, will lead an operational AI audit of five high-value campus workflows that institutions can realistically hand off to AI agents in 2026.

Through practical examples spanning admissions, advising, financial aid, IT, registrar, and marketing, attendees will see how agentic AI can manage end-to-end tasks—coordinating communication, triaging requests, triggering next steps, and escalating only when human judgment is required. The session focuses on concrete use cases, readiness criteria, and implementation considerations, giving campus leaders a clear roadmap for where AI agents can drive immediate efficiency and improved student experience within the next year.

Presenter:
Sunil Murthy, AI Field Chief Technology Officer, IBM

Agentic AI can only perform as well as the data ecosystem that powers it. As campuses move toward AI-driven operations, the institutions that succeed will be those that unify data, eliminate silos, and create real-time context that AI agents can understand and act on. In this session, Dr. JC Bonilla and Kelly Sinacola from Element451 will break down the architecture behind an agentic campus—and what it truly means to be “AI-ready.”

Attendees will learn how unified profiles and real-time contextual data enable agents to learn, improve, and take action across the student lifecycle—without sacrificing governance, privacy, or trust. The session will also provide a practical roadmap for institutions looking to modernize their data foundation and evolve from disconnected systems to unified, intelligent orchestration across enrollment, advising, retention, and operations.

Presenters:
Dr. JC Bonilla, Chief Operating Officer & Head of AI, Element451
Kelly Sinacola, Vice President of Integrations, Element451

AI for Financial Aid: Automating Clarity, Equity & Compliance
Financial aid is a top stress point — let AI fix it.

From Prompts to Decisions: Building AI-Powered Intelligence Briefs
Learn how to auto-generate custom reports without coding or getting IT involved.

Helping Adult Learners Find the Right Program with AI
AI-driven program recommendations and micro-pathways.

Designing for Trust: How to Make AI Feel Human, Safe & Transparent
A human-centered design session for ethical and user-friendly AI.