Dr. Shlomo Argamon to integrate artificial intelligence into 30-plus programs across 18 campuses.
(Courtesy of Touro University) In the last decade, artificial intelligence broke out of the realm of science fiction into real life, spurring endless headlines and debate among pundits, politicians and scholars over its uses—and its dangers. In 2024, Touro University will take a lead in addressing—and shaping—AI’s impact on higher education by appointing American-Israeli computer scientist Dr. Shlomo Engelson Argamon as the nation’s first associate provost for artificial intelligence.
“Too often, academia and industry merely react to advancements in technology,” said Dr. Alan Kadish, president of Touro University. “Touro has decided to take a proactive role to address AI’s promises and challenges now and for the future.”
In the newly-created role, Argamon will lead the formation of university-wide policies and programs to integrate AI throughout all of Touro’s 30-plus undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. His responsibilities will include creating courses and course materials that teach relevant techniques and concepts within each area of study, developing undergraduate courses and concentrations, as well as certificate and graduate degree programs in artificial intelligence. He will activate best practices and proven methodologies governing AI use within the university setting, from ensuring academic integrity to supporting struggling students to personalizing the educational experience.
“With this new effort, Touro University will emerge as a national leader in the use of AI’s power to educate and support our students and improve the university’s operations,” Kadish said.
“In many ways, Touro already is a model of the 21st-century university. Under President Kadish’s leadership, Touro focuses on what students need to launch themselves into a rapidly evolving marketplace and world,” said Argamon. “And now, as one of the first universities to teach and use AI in a unified way throughout all our programs and operations, we will not only prepare our students for the new AI-powered workplace they will encounter on graduation, but to be lifelong learners who can adapt to the accelerating rate of change that AI will engender.”
Professor Argamon earned a B.S. at Carnegie-Mellon, and an M.Phil and Ph.D from Yale University. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago and Rutgers University and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship at Bar-Ilan University. Argamon taught at Bar-Ilan and at the Jerusalem College of Technology before joining the computer science faculty of the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2002. He served as department chair there from 2019-2023 and founded Illinois Tech’s master’s program in data science.
