The University of Wisconsin-Madison designated 2026 as the “Year of AI Readiness and Competency" on May 21, formalizing the university’s effort to better prepare students and faculty for thoughtful use of AI.
The campus-wide announcement builds off of previous university investments to further AI use and understanding this year, including a hiring blitz of 50 faculty for the new College of Computing and AI (CAI), which will open July 1, 2026 — bringing the total new faculty hired through the university’s RISE-AI initiative to over 100.
“AI presents tremendous opportunities and real challenges,” UW Board of Regents President Amy Bogost said on an AI implementation panel in February. “By acting together, the Universities of Wisconsin are providing clear leadership for the state. Our Universities are not merely responding to change, they’re leading.”
According to UW-Madison’s announcement, the Year of AI Readiness and Competency will follow a “People First” approach that seeks to "emphasize UW-Madison's collective capacity to recognize: when AI use is appropriate, the skills to use AI effectively in one’s role and the flexibility to adapt as technologies evolve.”
To guide the work, Provost John Zumbrunnen created an AI Readiness and Competency Working Group consisting of representatives from existing campus constituencies, including Data Science Institute director and RISE-AI Collaboration lead Kyle Cranmer, interim L&S dean Kristin Eschenfelder and vice provosts Janet Branchaw, Dildier Contis and Frances Vavru.
The group, while not a new governance body, will outline a framework for establishing AI’s acceptable use, implementing guardrails, reviewing existing university policies, coordinating role-based AI resources and training, and creating recommendations for campus AI governance and investments for 2026 and beyond.
These efforts build off of AI-specific investments made through Wisconsin Research, Innovation, and Scholarly Excellence (RISE), a hiring initiative started by former Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, which seeks to address complex global challenges important to Wisconsin, including AI, climate change and health. It seeks to strengthen faculty hiring, research and educational infrastructure.
Over the next three to five years, RISE-AI pledged to “accelerate the growth of UW-Madison’s network of AI innovators, adding 88 new faculty positions at all levels across campus” in addition to increasing investments in AI and related fields across campus.
“Our north star is for UW-Madison to serve as a trusted partner for Wisconsin and the world as we navigate the complex issues that artificial intelligence raises,” Cranmer previously said.
