Greg Pereira Ed.D. Vice President Student Affairs | Rio Salado College
Greg Pereira Ed.D. Vice President Student Affairs | Rio Salado College
Rio Salado College President Kate Smith recently participated in two podcasts to discuss the evolving landscape of education. The conversations focused on the transformative effects of online learning and the emerging role of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.
In October, Smith appeared on The EdUp Experience podcast, hosted by Dr. Joe Sallustio and Dr. Jodi Blinco. During this session, she covered various topics related to Rio Salado's engagement with students. Key points included support for incarcerated students, reducing recidivism, introducing bachelor's degrees into their programs, utilizing data for informed leadership decisions, and tackling food insecurity through partnerships.
"We’re relentless in continuous improvement and we’re relentless in our pursuit of learning and understanding what are the barriers that keep people from going to school," Smith said. She emphasized Rio Salado’s mission to "support learners where they are" while serving over 40,000 students nationwide.
In November, Smith was featured on the Presidents Forum podcast with host Wesley Smith. This discussion centered around AI's influence on higher education and how Rio Salado is adapting to this technological shift.
"It's the Jetsons coming to life today," remarked Smith about advancements in large language models (LLMs) and Generative AI. "This is happening now and happening fast... all those things I used to read about in science fiction are beginning. We're in this moment and we want to embrace it and be at the forefront."
She further stated, “We want to be shaping how we use AI; not let it shape us."
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