College of Arts and Humanities
Applied AI and Innovation Center
Applied AI and Innovation Center
Tradition and Future, Together
Lindenwood University brings human judgment, creative inquiry, and emerging technology into one collaborative ecosystem. Administratively based in the College of Arts and Humanities, the Applied AI and Innovation Center connects academic programs, University-wide AI literacy, faculty and student research, immersive experimentation, scholarly publishing, and regional workforce engagement so that innovation remains responsible, accessible, and grounded in human purpose.
Human-Centered Innovation with Public Purpose
The Applied AI and Innovation Center advances responsible, applied, and inclusive uses of artificial intelligence and interactive technologies across teaching, research, creative practice, organizational transformation, and community partnership. Rooted in Lindenwood’s longstanding commitment to experiential learning and oriented by the College of Arts and Humanities’ commitment to preparing students for every future, the Center prepares people to work with intelligent systems critically and creatively: understanding what the technology can do, recognizing where it fails, and preserving the human judgment required to use it well.
Learn
Build practical AI fluency through undergraduate, graduate, certificate, minor, and University-wide curricular pathways.
Research
Explore published scholarship and collaborative projects across education, digital heritage, accessibility, neurodiversity, creative practice, XR, GIS, and the future of work.
Build
Prototype immersive environments, AI tutors, digital reconstructions, interactive systems, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
Partner
Connect with fellows, researchers, employers, startups, public agencies, nonprofits, and workforce organizations.
Lead
Advance ethical governance, readiness, strategy, and responsible adoption with human needs at the center.
AI Learning for Every Stage
The AI-focused programs offered by Lindenwood’s College of Arts and Humanities give learners multiple ways to build relevant capability without requiring every student to follow the same technical path. Students can pursue the Applied AI, BA, select an emphasis aligned with ethical decision-making, social innovation, or strategic communication, add a Human-Centered AI certificate or minor, or complete the Master of Arts in Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. Across the University, an emerging technology literacy framework also supports discipline-specific learning in every academic program.
Research that Connects Theory and Practice
- Beyond AI Detection: A viva-based pilot examines how short oral verification can surface student understanding and implementation barriers in AI-mediated assessment. Read more
- Prompted Props, Human Pipelines: A comparative 3D-production study shows where generative tools accelerate first-pass creation and where human expertise remains essential for optimization and engine readiness. Read more
- 1785 Parisian Salon Project: Generative asset workflows, Unreal Engine, bilingual metadata, and an accessible inspection system support a reproducible model for digital heritage reconstruction. Read more
- Da Vinci AI Tutor: A conversational AI tutor explores personalized and accessible learning in art history while identifying practical constraints in platform compatibility and ethical deployment. Read more
Center Fellows and faculty collaborators connect students and faculty with advanced perspectives from research, the humanities, geospatial intelligence, technology strategy, and applied innovation. Featured contributors include Daniel Plate, Professor of English and a leader in applied AI curriculum and technical development, and Mark Munsell, Lindenwood’s Distinguished Fellow of Artificial Intelligence, Executive Director of GeoSTL, and former Chief Technology Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
More information about Center Fellows and collaborators will be coming soon.
The Center works across higher education, economic development, workforce systems, municipalities, nonprofits, startups, and employers. Its collaboration with Confluence Tech Hub strengthens the connection between academic research, entrepreneurship, talent development, and the St. Louis region’s technology ecosystem.
The International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education: VISIONARIUM provides an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open-access forum for scholarship at the intersection of education and technology. As the Center’s scholarly dissemination platform, iJEDIE connects emerging research with practical and pedagogical application while retaining independent editorial and peer-review processes.
The existing HCAI Hub page will remain available during the transition to the Applied AI and Innovation Center, preserving access to established projects, resources, and background information.
Build the Future with Us
Whether you want to study AI, collaborate on research, test an idea, build workforce capability, or explore a regional partnership, the Center provides a point of connection. Tell us what you are trying to accomplish, and we will help identify the right academic, research, or engagement pathway.
Shenika Harris, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, College of Arts and Humanities