Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) welcomed 20 faculty and staff from institutions across San Antonio for the inaugural AI Algoritmo Academy, an invitation-only professional development intensive held July 20–21. Funded through the La Cosecha Seed Grant Initiative, the two-day program explored the evolving role of artificial intelligence in higher education, equipping participants with practical strategies to address algorithmic bias, academic integrity, ethical AI use, and innovative course design before the start of the fall semester.
Hosted on OLLU’s Westside campus, the Academy brought together educators from diverse disciplines—including social work, history, education, leadership studies, student development, institutional research, and business—from OLLU, the Alamo Colleges District, and community organizations such as United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County. The interdisciplinary approach reflected the Academy’s mission of fostering meaningful collaboration and dialogue across academic and professional fields.
“Twenty educators from completely different disciplines spent two days questioning, challenging ideas, and building solutions together,” said Stacy Ybarra Evans, Ed.D., Director of OLLU’s Center for Teaching Excellence and creator of the Academy. “What emerged was stronger than anything a single department could have produced on its own. That is the true meaning of cosecha—the harvest. Participants arrived with questions and left with a community of colleagues committed to advancing AI in education.”
The Academy opened with the keynote address, “The Human Algoritmo,” presented by OLLU alumnus Dr. Juan “JQ” Quintanilla, a Business Transformation Solutions Architect whose career has included leadership roles guiding digital transformation initiatives for organizations such as Wells Fargo, AT&T, and USAA. Returning to his alma mater, Dr. Quintanilla challenged participants to recognize and confront algorithmic bias while emphasizing that human insight, ethics, and cultural understanding remain the most powerful drivers of innovation.
Participants also engaged in masterclasses led by nationally recognized experts. Dr. Jamie Crosswhite, Assistant Professor and Faculty Lead for Writing at St. Mary’s University, explored teaching AI discernment as a critical academic skill. Organizational learning architect Dr. Steven Linley demonstrated strategies for designing assignments that use AI to support—not replace—student learning, while Naphtali Bryant, founder of Spark-ED University and Childcare Scholarship Coordinator at United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County, shared approaches for integrating AI into student coaching while preserving human judgment and connection.
One of the Academy’s most distinctive features encouraged open and honest dialogue. Throughout the program, participants anonymously submitted questions, concerns, and skepticism in traditional blue books. The second day began with a collaborative discussion devoted entirely to addressing those questions without attributing comments to individual participants. The exercise complemented the Academy’s largely paperless experience, where registration, program materials, evaluations, and digital credentials were delivered electronically.
The program concluded with an interactive innovation showcase in which each participant presented an AI tool, prompt, or classroom strategy successfully implemented in their own work before joining discipline-specific discussions to identify ideas they would bring into the upcoming academic year.
Educators who completed both days of programming and participated in the Academy’s synthesis session earned a verifiable digital badge from OLLU’s Center for Teaching Excellence, allowing them to showcase their professional achievement on LinkedIn, digital portfolios, and curricula vitae.
Building on the Academy’s momentum, OLLU’s Center for Teaching Excellence will host the upcoming AI Confluence Series, a collaborative retreat with the University of the Incarnate Word and St. Mary’s University. Scheduled for September 2026 at Providence High School’s Najim Campus Center, the retreat was organized by Dr. Evans and made possible through a Collaboration Kickstart Travel Grant awarded by the Center for Hispanic Serving Institution Community Coordination at Florida International University. The initiative will continue strengthening regional partnerships while advancing responsible, human-centered AI innovation in higher education.