The funding was announced at a press briefing held Wednesday, Feb. 18, at the GVSU Richard M. DeVos Center in downtown Grand Rapids. Scholten was joined by GVSU President Philomena Mantella and GVSU’s College of Computing Dean Marouane Kessentini.
“Artificial intelligence is no longer some far-off concept,” Scholten said. “It’s here, and it’s shaping our communities every single day in the products we manufacture, small businesses, delivery of health care and the training of our workforce. The question in front of us is not whether AI will change the future; it’s how we can guide those changes thoughtfully.”
The congressionally directed dollars will help establish GVSU’s new West Michigan Trustworthy AI Consortium, which will operate in the future College of Computing as part of the Blue Dot center.
“As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, higher education has the responsibility to ensure that advancement is paired with purpose. Through our Blue Dot ecosystem, we bring together faculty expertise, students, applied research and regional partners in a coordinated approach that delivers meaningful benefits to the individual and the communities we serve,” Mantella said, noting the majority of GVSU graduates remain in Michigan.
Through the consortium, GVSU will work with partners in academia, industry, government and nonprofits to lead advanced research, strengthen the workforce pipeline and ensure that Michigan “plays a leadership role in shaping the future of AI, rather than simply reacting to it,” Kessentini said.
“At a time when AI is rapidly transforming our economy and our society, this initiative focuses on building AI systems that are transparent, responsible, secure and worthy of public trust,” he said.
The consortium also will develop frameworks for AI governance aligned with the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology.
“Trustworthy AI means building technology that is secure, reliable and transparent to consumers,” Scholten said. “It means asking hard questions about how automation affects workers, families and communities before the technology is deployed, not after.”
The GVSU Board of Trustees on Friday, Feb. 6, approved two project plans totaling $166 million to build a new Blue Dot technology hub in downtown Grand Rapids.
To cover the cost, the university approved issuing bonds not to exceed $139 million. The decision was applauded by GVSU leaders and decried by some faculty members who attended the meeting.
The bonds will cover the $101.4 million renovation of the 10-story L.V. Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids, along with a new $64.6 million building addition that will become the Blue Dot Lab.
“I said to the board as we approved the project moving forward that what this project is really about is human flourishing,” Mantella said at the Wednesday briefing. “It’s about businesses flourishing. It’s about engaging in a new way, with a new platform, with a new tool and doing it the right way.”
GVSU has shown a recent interest in expanding its tech offerings to keep up with a growing reliance on things like AI. New AI degree programs were announced last year.
University leaders presented the Blue Dot Lab project as the next investment in students, also enabling new community opportunities.
The new bonds will bring GVSU close to its “high-water mark” for total bond debt, which was just over $260 million in 2020.
But university leaders said GVSU has rapidly paid off its debt in the past and will see existing costs related to repayment begin to decline in 2031.
In addition to the bond, GVSU is set to receive $30 million from the state for the Blue Dot project, part of a $616 million supplemental funding bill passed by the Legislature in November 2023.
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