How can higher education move beyond theory and actually adopt AI in ways that matter? In this episode, we talk with Allen Karns, Chief AI and Technology Officer at Vanderbilt’s Center for Generative AI, to unpack what it really takes to integrate AI across a university. Allen shares the story of Amplify, Vanderbilt’s homegrown AI platform, and explains why leadership buy-in is the single biggest factor in campus adoption. He discusses how his team built momentum by starting small, highlights creative use cases already transforming workflows, and offers advice for preparing marketing and admissions teams for AI’s growing role.

Join us as we discuss: 

• [7:21 ] The biggest challenge for AI in higher ed: leadership buy-in
• [10:18 ] How to build a curious, experiment-driven team
• [18:52 ] Why today’s AI already offers 10 years of learning

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

• Vanderbilt Amplify
• Ethan Mollick

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for AI for U with Brian Piper in your favorite podcast player.

Episode prompt: 

I have an important meeting coming up and need help preparing comprehensively. Here are the details:

**Meeting Details:**

- Date/Time: [WHEN]

- Attendees: [WHO - include roles/departments]

- Meeting Purpose: [PRIMARY OBJECTIVE]

- Meeting Type: [Budget planning, strategic planning, crisis response, project kickoff, etc.]

- Expected Duration: [TIME ALLOCATED]

**Background Context:**

- Previous relevant meetings or decisions: [BRIEF HISTORY]

- Current challenges we're facing: [KEY ISSUES]

- Organizational priorities this relates to: [STRATEGIC GOALS]

- Any tensions or concerns among attendees: [INTERPERSONAL DYNAMICS]

Please help me prepare by creating:

1. **Strategic Agenda** - Prioritized list of topics that maximizes our time

2. **Key Questions** - Critical questions I should ask to drive productive discussion

3. **Potential Obstacles** - Issues that might derail the meeting and how to handle them

4. **Decision Framework** - Structure for making decisions if we reach key choice points

5. **Success Metrics** - How to know if this meeting accomplished its purpose

Focus on making this meeting outcome-oriented rather than just informational.

Guest Name: Allen Karns, Chief AI and Technology Officer, Amplify Gen AI Innovation Center, Vanderbilt University

Guest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allen-karns-1888731/

Guest Bio: Allen Karns is an accomplished IT professional with 25 years of extensive experience guiding organizations through the ever-changing technology landscape of cloud architecture, generative AI, infrastructure, and system administration. 

Currently, he serves as the Chief AI and Technology Officer for the Amplify Gen AI Innovation Center at Vanderbilt University leading Generative AI industry research and projects that drive process innovation as well as institutional applications of Amplify, the university's Open-Source Generative AI platform. 

In this role, he collaborates across the university to leverage Generative AI for solving institutional challenges. Prior to this, Allen was the Technical Leader of the Cloud Engineering and Architecture team, responsible for architecting, deploying, and maintaining solutions in AWS and Azure. 

His career has been marked by a strong focus on innovation, leadership, and customer satisfaction, boasting proficiency in cloud architecture and technologies, Infrastructure as Code, security frameworks, and cost optimization. 

With multiple industry certifications, including AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional and Azure Administrator, Allen is committed to mentoring teams and driving successful project outcomes. 

Notable achievements include being named a Gartner Eye on Innovation finalist, recipient of Vanderbilt’s Pacesetter and multiple Kudos Awards for his contributions to innovation and customer satisfaction. 

Passionate about the future of technology, Allen continues to seek opportunities to contribute to groundbreaking projects.

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Connect With Our Host:
Brian Piper
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianwpiper/

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