#229: You Can Write an AI Policy Today. The Feds Will Rewrite It Tomorrow.

Episode Summary

In this EDUCAUSE episode, Dr. Vanessa Kenon from UTSA, Tonya Bennett from the University of Pennsylvania, and Tim Boltz from Carahsoft get into the tension every higher ed IT leader is sitting with right now - when to move on AI, when to wait for policy, and how to keep curiosity alive before the feds rewrite the rulebook.

Featuring

Dr. Vanessa Kenon is Associate Vice President for Information Technology at the University of Texas at San Antonio - leading IT through a major university merger while keeping innovation and compliance from pulling the institution in opposite directions.

Tonya Bennett is Director of Educational Technology at the University of Pennsylvania - managing the LMS-centered EdTech ecosystem across 12 schools and bringing a master's in law to every AI governance conversation she's in.

Tim Boltz leads the Education Vertical at Carahsoft - 17 years in, representing 1,500 manufacturers, and building the cooperative purchasing infrastructure that lets institutions stop waiting on 12-18 month RFQ cycles.

Timestamps

(0:00) Introductions - Dr. Vanessa Kenon, UTSA; Tonya Bennett, UPenn; Tim Boltz, Carahsoft

(8:00) TASSCC - how Texas built its own EDUCAUSE and why vendor partnerships made it work

(11:00) Financial pressures in higher ed - why leaning into IT investment beats pulling back

(15:00) Frictionless EdTech at UPenn - one credential, every platform, zero manual steps

(26:00) Carahsoft's easy button - cooperative purchasing vehicles already live across all 50 states

(29:00) AI's legal wild west - agentic AI, IP liability & who's responsible when the agent acts

(35:00) Curiosity vs. compliance at UTSA - keeping innovation alive without losing governance

(39:00) Closing trends - community over commodity, workforce readiness & what's next for higher ed

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