In the inaugural episode of Thinking Out Loud, Sam Jay, Executive Director of Digital Learning and AI Strategy, and Larry Sampler, former COO and now Special Advisor to the President, sit down to introduce the show and the work behind it.

Sam and Larry trace the backstory that brought each of them to leading AI at Metropolitan State University of Denver, a public, open-access university serving 18,000 students in downtown Denver. They talk about what got them into this work, what they have learned so far, and why they decided a podcast was the right way to think about it in public.

The conversation then turns to the areas of emphasis that will shape their work in the months ahead. Faculty readiness and pedagogical excellence. Student readiness and curriculum development. Operational innovation across the university. The shared thread is a commitment to using AI in a way that enriches the university's mission rather than competes with it.

This episode sets the foundation for everything that follows. Future episodes will go deep on the specific decisions, pilots, and unresolved questions that come with building AI capacity at a public university.

If you work in higher education, lead an AI initiative, or are trying to make sense of where this is all going, this is the place to start.

Subscribe and send us the questions you are stuck on.

Music: Space Cadet Training Montage by Zane Little (CC0 1.0 Universal).