As a member institution of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), UNLV is able to connect faculty, staff, and student leaders and scholars with relevant professional development programming – free of charge.

On Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, a 45-minute webinar, The AI Tightrope: Recognizing and Resisting the Roles of AI in Community Engagement, is being hosted by CUMU.

This webinar will be facilitated by Becca Berkey, Senior Director of Integrative Engagement and Global Impact, and Lance Eaton, Senior Associate Director of AI in Teaching and Learning, at Northeastern University.

AI is reshaping the conditions under which community-engaged teaching and partnership work happens. The tools promise efficiency while threatening the relational, place-based integrity that defines this field. In this dialogue, Lance Eaton and Becca Berkey (Northeastern University) walk the tightrope between leveraging AI's affordances and resisting its encroachment on experiential learning's core commitments.

Anchored by stakeholder-specific tensions, the conversation maps distinct opportunities and risks for students, community partners, and faculty. The goal will be to surface where AI might extend capacity and where it threatens to hollow out reciprocity, trust, and presence. Attendees will engage in dialogue and at least one activity to articulate how these tensions show up in their own contexts.

UNLV faculty, staff, and students who wish to participate in the webinar must register in advance.

WHAT: The AI Tightrope: Recognizing and Resisting the Roles of AI in Community Engagement   

WHEN: Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 10am to 10:45am

WHERE: Virtual Workshop; Advanced Registration Required to Secure Link