Cornerstone University Launches President's AI Advisory Board to Lead the Future of Christian Higher Education

Cornerstone University has announced the formation of its President’s Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board, a strategic initiative designed to integrate AI across its academic curriculum and institutional operations. The board, co-chaired by university president Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño and Baylor University professor Dr. Robert Marks, aims to provide ethical grounding and technical foresight to prepare students for an AI-driven workforce. This move highlights a growing trend in higher education to formalize AI governance and curriculum development to ensure graduates possess market-ready technological fluency.

Cornerstone University's new AI Advisory Board is tasked with providing strategic counsel to help the institution lead in the integration of artificial intelligence across all aspects of the student experience and university operations. Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño, president of the university, described AI as the most revolutionary technology in human history, emphasizing the need for a sophisticated framework to harness its potential for societal flourishing. The board will serve as a group of external voices to challenge assumptions through a moral lens and guide the university’s national leadership in the AI sector while ensuring graduates are prepared for a world being reshaped by the technology.

The board is co-chaired by Dr. Robert Marks, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor University and director of the Bradley Center for Natural & Artificial Intelligence at the Discovery Institute. Dr. Marks, a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association, noted that an education ignoring AI leaves students ill-equipped for the modern world. The advisory group will focus on identifying emerging technology workforce skills and establishing principles that protect human dignity while supporting academic integrity within the university's "Cornerstone Core" curriculum.

In addition to the advisory board, Cornerstone has introduced an Applied Artificial Intelligence Certificate program to foster practical AI fluency and workplace-ready skills. Unlike programs focused solely on technical development, this certificate emphasizes the application of AI in professional environments such as leadership, research, and decision-making through a Christian worldview framework. By aligning curriculum innovation with industry needs, the university seeks to produce graduates who are sophisticated AI users capable of solving complex problems in a marketplace increasingly defined by rapid technological shifts.