In this episode, Erin Callihan, Assistant Vice President of Strategic Marketing & Campaign Communications at NYU, joins Brian to tackle one of higher education’s most pressing questions: Is AI cheating, or is it time to embrace it as a collaborator? Erin shares how her team integrates AI as a productivity partner, why starting small and grassroots matters, and how institutions can empower staff and students to work smarter, not fearfully, in an AI-driven world.

Join us as we discuss: 

• [5:19] The biggest AI challenges facing higher ed 
• [13:04] Why it’s time to stop thinking of AI as “cheating”
• [22:42] Innovative AI implementations in higher ed and beyond

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for AI for U with Brian Piper in your favorite podcast player.

Episode Prompt: 
You are an AI and prompting expert who deeply understands teaching and educating. 

I will ask you to create a task to help me learn new AI skills every morning. 

Each day, based on what you know of me, personally and professionally [or provide information about your role and goals], please create a task, prompt, or assignment that you want me to complete to learn a new feature, function, or capability of generative AI. 

I want to use various models of ChatGPT but also other LLMs like Claude, Notebook LM, Gemini, and more. Do not repeat the same model on subsequent days. [include tools you have access to or specify particular versions or models, free, premium, etc.]

Once I perform the task, please help me improve my work so that I understand the complexities and how to get the most out of the technology. 

Before we begin and before I start each assignment, I want you to ask me any relevant questions to improve the output and the learning.

Guest Name: Erin Callihan, J.D., M.S., Assistant Vice President, Strategic Marketing & Campaign Communications, NYU

Guest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erincallihan/

Guest Bio: An award-winning higher education marketing and communications leader, Erin Callihan leverages emerging technologies to drive engagement, storytelling, and fundraising success. As Assistant Vice President, Strategic Marketing & Campaign Communications at New York University, she oversees strategic marketing, development and campaign communications, and crisis response, shaping initiatives to connect and engage NYU’s 700,000+ alumni and donors across 183 countries.

Well-versed in GenAI strategy, Erin has built custom AI tools, developed GenAI training programs, and guided teams in leveraging AI to boost productivity, originality, and impact. A firm believer in AI’s transformative power in higher ed, she is passionate about helping digital professionals reclaim their time and unlock creativity with practical GenAI tools and strategies.

Her career spans key leadership roles across higher ed admissions, student life, alumni relations, development, and digital experience, including spearheading NYU Abu Dhabi’s groundbreaking digital recruitment strategy—one of the most successful in higher education. Twice tasked with creating a new office to improve the student experience, she founded NYU’s nationally recognized Office of Interactive Media in 2012, which launched HashtagNYU—a social media brand that shared the NYU story with 60,000 students across six continents. In 2018, she established the Office of Student UX, Technology, and Engagement to further enhance student digital experiences and engagement.

Her expertise in UX, technology-driven engagement, data-informed strategies, and multi-platform storytelling has earned her 5 CASE and 5 NASPA Excellence Awards, as well as AMA's Higher Education Marketer of the Year Award and HighEdWeb's (now Digital Collegium) coveted Red Stapler Award. In addition to her work in higher education, Erin is a skilled photographer whose portfolio includes global icons such as President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Jay-Z, and Alec Baldwin. She holds a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, an M.S. in digital imaging and 3D design from NYU, and a B.A. in journalism and liberal studies from Pace University. She also holds multiple AI-related certifications, from institutions such as Harvard, NYU, UNESCO, and Berkeley Law.

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Connect With Our Host:
Brian Piper
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianwpiper/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
AI for U is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

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