Manning Hall at University of North Carolina Chapel HillUNC
The merger, announced in a joint letter from Chancellor Lee H. Roberts and Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost James W. Dean Jr., represents what administrators called "a bold step forward" in positioning Carolina as a national leader in data and AI education.
Dr. Stanley Ahalt, current dean of the School of Data Science and Society, will serve as inaugural dean of the new school. Dr. Jeffrey Bardzell, dean of the School of Information and Library Science, will continue leading SILS through the transition while also assuming a newly created secondary appointment as Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Vice Provost for AI.
"Information technologies, especially generative AI, are having a transformational impact," the letter stated. "This new school is a bold step forward in our commitment to preparing students for a world increasingly shaped by data, information and artificial intelligence."
The AI vice provost position, which will become full-time once the new school is operational, will coordinate the university's response to artificial intelligence across all campus units.
"Dean Bardzell has been a key voice informing our thinking about AI campuswide," Roberts and Dean wrote. "We are grateful to have his experience in the classroom, administration and research guiding our efforts."
The announcement comes as universities nationwide grapple with integrating AI into curriculum and operations. UNC joins a growing number of institutions restructuring academic units to address what administrators describe as rapid technological change.
