NAU’s Cline Library opened a new AI Hub this week to help students, faculty, staff and community members learn how to use the new technology in a practical, welcoming space.
The hub adds new capacity for NAU and gives the campus a central place to test ideas, compare approaches across disciplines and get real-time support. Library staff and student AI ambassadors will help visitors get comfortable with generative AI, share their work and try new approaches.
Funded by a gift from NAU alumnus James Owens, who graduated from the School of Communication in 1971, the AI Hub is a way to help the NAU community get in on the ground floor of the Year of AI Empowerment.
“By collaboratively designing and creating the AI Hub as a shared campus and regional resource, Cline Library is providing a space where all members of our community can learn by doing and learn from each other,” said Cynthia Childrey, dean and university librarian. “Librarians’ expertise in information literacy and critical thinking prepares them to be natural guides for exploring AI as well as navigating the challenges presented by AI.”
In his remarks, President José Luis Cruz Rivera shared how his experiences and views about AI have changed as he’s used it and talked with others in various spaces about their questions and concerns.
“That’s when I began to see AI not just as a toolset, but as a literacy—a kind of modern fluency that determines whether we remain in control of our thinking, of our creativity, of our humanity, or hand it off too easily,” he said. “That shift in posture is why we’re here. This university is not choosing between hype and fear. We are choosing to equip our community with the skills, confidence and discernment needed to engage AI thoughtfully, critically and ethically.”
Attendees at the event had the chance to test out their AI knowhow. One station asked participants to respond to a draft ethics statement and “Write the Rules of the Hub” by adding questions, examples and quick reactions. Another station, “Rose, Thorn, Bud,” invited people to name what excites them about AI, what concerns them and what possibilities they see. These stations will remain available throughout the semester so students, faculty and staff can contribute ideas, opportunities and concerns.
At the end of the semester, the library plans to share a “How NAU Helped Build the AI Hub” feature drawing from community input. Ongoing drop-in support and scheduled sessions with student AI ambassadors will continue throughout the semester, with additional spring programming to be announced.