Nashville State Faculty Selected for TN Board of Regents AI Fellowship

Dr. Shreya Nagar, a biology instructor in Nashville State Community College’s School of STEM, and Leigh Watson, program director of healthcare management in the School of Business and Professional Studies, have been selected as Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) AI Fellows for the 2026–27 cohort.

The fellowship brings together educators from across TBR colleges to explore responsible and student-focused uses of artificial intelligence in education. Fellows will develop, pilot, and evaluate discipline-specific AI literacy use cases and share successful practices with faculty across Tennessee.

In announcing the cohort, the TBR AI Learning Collaborative selection committee wrote, “Your selection reflects your commitment to innovation, student success, and the thoughtful integration of artificial intelligence in teaching, learning, and institutional practice. Through your expertise, creativity, and willingness to explore emerging technologies, you will help shape the future of AI-enabled education across Tennessee's community and technical colleges.”

Fellows will begin by identifying what students need to learn and how they can demonstrate that learning, test those approaches with students, and then use the results to refine and share practical examples that other faculty can adapt and use.

During her summer, Nagar completed an AI Practitioner training course through Amazon Web Services (AWS) to strengthen her understanding of AI and its potential applications in education.

“Through the TBR AI Fellowship, I hope to deepen my knowledge of AI and explore meaningful ways it can support student learning, engagement, and success while continuing to emphasize critical thinking, creativity, and academic integrity,” said Nagar.

“Ultimately, my goal is to use AI intentionally and responsibly to enhance the learning experience and better prepare our students for a future in which AI will play an increasingly important role in their academic and professional lives.”

A full list of the 2026-27 cohort includes:

Andrea Amos
Assistant Professor, Behavioral and Social Sciences
Northeast State Community College

Jennifer Boyd. M.S.
Adjunct Faculty, Psychology / Behavioral & Social Sciences
Pellissippi State Community College

Phuc Bui
Assistant Professor, Engineering Technologies
Southwest Tennessee Community College

Jessica Dalton-Carriger, Ph.D, RPA, RYT
Associate Professor, Social Science, Business, and Education
Roane State Community College

Dawn Dabney, M.A.
Associate Professor, Mathematics
Northeast State Community College

Pricilla Gitschlag
Associate Professor, Communication
Chattanooga State Community College

Michelle Gomes
Director of the Education Career Community
Cleveland State Community College

Sidney Hardyway, Ph.D
Professor, Psychology and Education
Volunteer State Community College

Vaidas Lukosius, Ph.D
Associate Professor, Business Administration
Tennessee State University

Lijian Ma, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Sustainable Architecture
Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering 
Tennessee State University

Shreya Nagar, Ph.D
Instructor, Biology
STEM
Nashville State Community College

Nicole Neely
Instructor, Pharmacy Technology
TCAT Pulaski

Lingli Ni, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Mathematics
Volunteer State Community College

John Noto
Associate Professor, Biology
Roane State Community College

Soyoung Park, Ph.D
Associate Professor, English
Languages and Literature
Southwest Tennessee Community College

David Rath. M.S.
Associate Professor, Business
Social Science, Business and Education / Business
Roane State Community College

Jessica Sherwood
Assistant Professor, Mathematics
Cleveland State Community College

Bridgett Smith, Ph.D
Professor, Mathematics
Southwest Tennessee Community College

Brenden Taylor, M.A.
Assistant Professor, Theatre
Motlow State Community College

David Trent
Instructor, Computer Science
Northeast State Community College

Leigh Watson
Program Director, Healthcare Management / School of Business and Professional Studies
Nashville State Community College