N.C. A&T Professor Promotes AI Literacy in the Classroom and Beyond

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Aug. 12, 2025) – As artificial intelligence transforms classrooms and careers, a professor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is embracing this shift by promoting AI literacy, engaging faculty in teaching with AI and bridging equity gaps in AI access.

Scott Simkins, Ph.D., associate economics professor in the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics, has been encouraging faculty to reimagine the use of AI as a tool for learning and problem-solving since 2022, when he launched North Carolina A&T’s first AI faculty learning community (FLC). FLCs at A&T are designed to be a collaborative space that offer resources and support for faculty members to enhance development and teaching practices.

Co-led by Shona Morgan, Ph.D., operations and supply chain management professor in the Deese College, the FLC on AI offers workshops, discussions and hands-on sessions that help faculty expand their understanding of AI and explore practical, ethical ways to incorporate it into their teaching. The initiative emphasizes responsible use while addressing concerns about misuse and inequity in AI.

“That’s one component of how we need to think about how we modify what we’re doing in our classes in a world where generative AI is available in widely used, but maybe not effectively or ethically used,” Simkins said. “It requires changes on the part of faculty in terms of how we set up assignments and how we think about assessing students.”

Simkins, who returned to the Department of Economics after serving 12 years as director of A&T’s Center for Teaching Excellence and as interim chair of the department, recently served as program chair for the 2025 Conference on Teaching and Research in Economic Education (CTREE), hosted by the American Economic Association and its Committee on Economic Education in Denver. The three-day conference featured presentations, panels and workshops focused on innovation in teaching economics.

Simkins co-led a discussion, “Beyond Cheating: Teaching with AI in Economics,” with a faculty member from Cornell University, where participants worked in small groups to share strategies, examples and challenges related to integrating generative AI into their courses. His discussions at the conference reflect a broader commitment to responsible and inclusive AI integration.

Additionally, Simkins is exploring policy solutions to address disparities in student access, noting that generative AI can reinforce inequities through limited technology access, paywalls, language barriers, and inconsistent institutional support.

“I believe that it’s important for us to help students, otherwise if we just leave it to them like it’s going to be happenstance, what resources they have and that's not what we’re about at A&T,” he said. “So, there’s an equity part driving why I believe we need to help students understand how to navigate this space in higher education.” 

With A&T offering the state’s only a bachelor’s degree in AI, Simkins’ work exemplifies the university’s dedication to fostering equitable, ethical and effective use of AI in education, ensuring both faculty and students are prepared to thrive in an AI-driven future.