The Ed.D. Student Advisory Board at Cal State Fullerton welcomed approximately 70 attendees, including current doctoral students, alumni, prospective students and community members, for a timely panel discussion titled “Navigating Change, AI and Educational Leadership in a Shifting Landscape.” The event brought together distinguished leaders from across higher education to explore how AI is reshaping the work of educational institutions and the leaders who guide them.
Five accomplished panelists anchored the conversation: Amir Dabirian, retired provost of Cal State Fullerton; Marvin Martinez, chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District; Andrew Long, dean of institutional effectiveness and instructional support at Chaffey College; Christina Rodriguez, director of student support services at Solano Community College; and Paola Rosenberg from the Anaheim Union High School District. Together, the panelists offered perspectives spanning K-12, community college and university settings.
Key Themes From the Panel
A central theme throughout the evening was the idea that encountering resistance is often a sign of meaningful progress. Panelists emphasized that educational leaders must move through, not around, innovation and change, noting that the pace of technological advancement in business and industry has far outstripped that of many educational institutions. As one panelist observed, one cannot know the other side of innovation until they go through it.
Dabirian delivered a keynote presentation titled “Humanity and the Age of AI,” in which he outlined a human-centered framework for thinking about artificial intelligence in education. He proposed four leadership moves to build AI-ready schools: cultivating an AI literacy culture, developing ethics-based policies, distributing leadership across stakeholders and embracing iterative experimentation.
The conversation reinforced a shared conviction that policy must not be developed haphazardly, and that educators at every level should be active participants in the ongoing dialogue around AI.
The event was organized by the Ed.D. Student Advisory Board, with leadership from students Zavier Lord Williams, Simten Cekicer, Alexis Linares-Sierra, Angelik Broaster, Natalie Gomez, Elida Sanchez, Scott Mazurier and Vicky Hsu.
For more information about the Ed.D. program in educational leadership at Cal State Fullerton, visit the College of Education website.