Director of Applied AI and Digital Innovation & Co-Director for the Center for AI Enablement

The Director of Applied AI and Digital Innovation serves as Co-Director of the Center for AI Enablement (CAE) at Midwestern University alongside the Co-Director of Academic Innovation.

The Director of Applied AI and Digital Innovation leads the operational, programmatic, and technical-risk management initiatives within the Center for AI Enablement (CAE). Bridging health sciences education, innovative digital architectures, and enterprise strategy, this role turns operational risk into institutional advantage by deploying human-centered AI, agile agentic workflows, and automations across the Glendale and Downer Groves campuses. The Director works closely with university leadership and academic stakeholders to drive efficiency, ensure compliance, and advance Midwestern’s status as a leader in educational technology.

• Establish, facilitate, and maintain the AI community of practice at Midwestern University.
• Partner with the ERP transformation team to identify future opportunities for automated operations across administrative systems.
• Mitigate the proliferation of distributed IT where central services presently support the function across administrative, clinical, and academic units to reduce redundant software licenses, and optimize cost efficiency.
• Co-Direct discovery sessions and listening tours across both campuses to identify workflow bottlenecks and streamline daily operations.

• Assist with drafting and implementing institutional policy frameworks governing AI usage, data privacy, intellectual property (IP), academic integrity, and clinical ethics in health science education.
• Establish short- and long-term goals, departmental key performance indicators (KPIs), and continuous evaluation metrics for the Center for AI Enablement.
• Maintain ongoing evaluations of emerging AI tools, vendors, and contract agreements to safeguard data integrity and institutional resources.
• Champion institutional values across all digital AI initiatives, policies, and personnel practices.

• Direct and manage the Midwestern AI Fellows Program, mentoring internal champions and faculty leaders to scale discipline-specific AI adoption.
• Plan, organize, and execute the annual university-wide AI Summit (Innovation Showcase) to highlight community-driven research, interprofessional work, and healthcare AI applications.
• Establish structured literacy pathways, workshop series, and professional development programs on enterprise tools.

• Manage day-to-day operations of the CAE, supervising professional and administrative staff while fostering an inclusive, high-performance team culture.
• Formulate, monitor, and manage the CAE operating budget, ensuring fiscal responsibility, proper resource allocation, and contract oversight.
• Represent the university at national conferences, regional consortia, and external leadership bodies to position Midwestern as a benchmark for AI leadership in health sciences.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  This individual must have regular, in-person and predictable attendance with the ability to work in a constant state of alertness and safe manner. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Must be able to demonstrate that customer service is a high priority.
• 8+ years of leadership experience within higher education technology, health sciences education, or clinical workflow modernization.
• Active involvement or recognized thought leadership in national or regional educational technology initiatives (e.g., EDUCAUSE, Google Education summits).
• Formal credentials or certifications in AI prompt engineering, content creation, process optimization, or data analysis.

• Bachelors required from an accredited institution preferably in Instructional Design and Technology, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Technology, Healthcare Informatics, or a related discipline. Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5–7 years of progressively responsible administrative leadership or faculty leadership, experience in higher education, including direct supervisory and budget management experience.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with enterprise generative AI platforms, agentic workflows, and Institution approved ecosystem tools.
• In-depth understanding of compliance frameworks, data privacy laws, and regulatory standards in healthcare and higher education (FERPA, HIPAA, PII, PHI).
• Proven track record in change management, process architecture, cross-functional leadership, and building consensus across diverse institutional teams.

Computer proficiency in Google and MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) required.

High skills:  Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures or governmental regulations.  Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.  Ability to effectively present information to top management, and boards of directors.

High skills:  Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.  Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form. 

Intermediate skills:  Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interests, commissions and proportions, percentages, area, circumference and volume.  Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Ability to routinely lift 20 lbs.; vision correctable to 20/20 in one eye, hearing correctable to normal, ability to tolerate prolonged sitting; ability to stoop, stand, use of fingers, hands and arms; ability to tolerate repeated routine tasks.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate (examples: business office with computers and printers, light traffic).

Midwestern University is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides graduate and post-graduate education in the health sciences. The University has two campuses, one in Downers Grove, Illinois and the other in Glendale, Arizona. More than 6,000 full-time students are enrolled in graduate programs in osteopathic medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nurse anesthesia, cardiovascular perfusion, podiatry, optometry, clinical psychology, speech language pathology, biomedical sciences and veterinary medicine. Over 500 full-time faculty members and 400 staff members are dedicated to the education and development of our students in an environment that encourages learning, respect for all members of the health care team, service, interdisciplinary scholarly activity, and personal growth.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance plans as well as life insurance, short/long term disability and pet insurance.  We offer flexible spending accounts including healthcare reimbursement and child/dependent care account.  We offer a work life balance with competitive time off package including paid holiday’s, sick/flex days, personal days and vacation days.  We offer a 403(b) retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, child care subsidy reimbursement program, identity theft protection and an employee assistance program.  Wellness is important to us and we offer a wellness facility on-site with a fully equipped fitness facility.