CUNY Awards $3M to Advance AI Innovation, Including York Initiative – York College / City University of New York
Publish Date: 2026-03-12 15:42:00
Source Domain: www.york.cuny.edu
- The City University of New York (CUNY) has been awarded $3 million by the AI Innovation Fund to support 113 campus-led initiatives intended to leverage AI across various areas including teaching, research, and student support.
- The CUNY AI Innovation Fund will focus on initiatives such as micro-credentials and certificates, combating food insecurity, and enhancing career readiness.
- Several CUNY colleges are specifically integrating AI into their curricula and operational practices:
- York College is creating an AI-enhanced micro-certificate for allied health, nursing, biology, sociology, and psychology students, focusing on applying AI responsibly.
- Brooklyn College plans to use AI agents to tackle food insecurity among students by optimizing food resource management and inventory forecasts.
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice is developing an AI proxy website to provide premium AI model access to students at institutional rates, eliminating personal financial barriers.
- LaGuardia Community College will offer students a practicum learning how to responsibly use AI tools to assist incarcerated individuals, focusing on the ethical implications of AI usage.
- The CUNY AI Innovation Fund also aims to promote AI education and literacy through various initiatives, such as embedding AI literacy into the Hostos Community College first-year seminar and creating multi-part initiatives at CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies to develop an AI policy framework.
- CUNY has also established the CUNY AI Lab as a hub for faculty- and staff-led AI experimentation, featuring tools like language partners, multilingual transcription services, and chatbots for academic assistance.
- Broadly, CUNY offers over 200 AI-related programs, ranging from various graduate studies to the CUNY AI for Everyone initiative aimed at developing AI fluency and workforce skills in all students.
