Siobahn Day Grady Wants Everyone to Be AI Literate

What happened

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the skills employers expect from new graduates. In response, universities are scrambling to launch new courses, research centers, and industry partnerships that prepare students for today’s workforce. But building a cutting-edge AI curriculum demands funding and access to industry networks, resources that remain unevenly distributed across higher education. At North Carolina Central University, Siobahn Day Grady is trying to change that equation.

Her dissertation focused on authorship attribution in social media, using machine learning and natural-language processing to determine whether a person’s writing style could reveal their identity. “I’ve always been intrigued by how much data we give for free,” Grady says. That work introduced her to the power of AI systems to detect patterns hidden within large datasets.

” After completing her doctorate in 2018, Grady joined NCCU as an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Sciences. There, she researched machine learning applications for health care and autonomous vehicles. In 2020, she launched the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Research at NCCU, giving students opportunities to participate in hands-on projects and explore AI beyond the classroom.

Then in 2024, an opportunity emerged to apply for a Google grant, and Grady began thinking beyond a single research group. Rather than building another faculty lab, she envisioned an institute that could serve the entire university during the AI boom. “We wanted to capitalize on the moment and make sure we don’t get left behind,” Grady says.

Since receiving the $1 million grant, Grady and her team have built a university-wide AI initiative, launched new academic programs, organized conferences, secured external support, and created research opportunities. “We’ve really operated like a startup,” Grady says. As part of the institute’s goal of integrating AI education across disciplines, all NCCU freshmen are required to complete an introductory AI course, designed in partnership with IBM, to build foundational prompting skills.

Why it matters

In January 2025, Grady, an associate professor in the NCCU School of Library and Information Sciences, launched the first AI research institute at a historically Black college or university, or HBCU. The Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Research (IAIER) aims in part to help students and faculty across the university develop the skills needed to navigate a labor market increasingly transformed by AI.

“There used to be a time where people could say, ‘I don’t do tech,’ or ‘That’s not for me,’” Grady says. “But we’re in a stage now where you do need digital skills. ” The approach reflects a broader shift in how many universities are thinking about AI education. AI skills are no longer confined to computer science and engineering departments—and at NCCU, they can’t be.

The university does not yet have a dedicated computer science program, though it is developing one alongside a new AI minor. The challenge of providing these resources is especially acute for historically Black institutions.

Although HBCUs account for roughly 3 percent of four-year institutions in the United States, they receive less than 1 percent of federal research and development funding, according to a 2025 report by the Center for American Progress and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The same report found that 17 of the 43 federal agencies that distributed research funding to universities in 2023 awarded no funding to HBCUs.

Yet less than two years since its launch, IAIER has emerged as a powerhouse for interdisciplinary AI education. org grant, the institute has engaged more than 2,800 students, faculty members, and community residents through research initiatives and training. Now the challenge is sustaining that momentum to keep up with rising demand. “We have a guiding principle that we lead with on our campus,” Grady says.

” The mission to expand AI literacy grew out of Grady’s lifelong curiosity about technology. “I was born during a time [when] the internet did not exist,” she says. ” Grady was particularly drawn to the questions tech raises about privacy, identity, and human behavior. D. in computer science at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to dig into those questions.

What to watch

The institute has also worked with faculty development teams to help instructors integrate AI into their teaching. Research is another part of the strategy. IAIER has awarded seed grants of up to $10,000 to faculty members exploring AI applications across departments. The first cohort funded 11 projects spanning social work, digital archiving, health care, and information science.

One project, for instance, is creating an AI lab where students in social work courses can practice client interactions through simulations. “It’s really interesting to see the lens that our researchers take in trying to solve complex problems and also bring our students along with them,” Grady says.