The newly formed Advisory Board consists of Edward Foley, Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law and Director of the Election Law Program at Ohio State; Jill Clark, Associate Professor in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs; Winston C. Thompson, Professor of Philosophy of Education and Director of the Center for Ethics and Human Values; and Dana Howard, faculty member in philosophy with the Center for Bioethics in the College of Medicine.

 

The IDEA Advisory Board held its first meeting on April 19. The meeting opened with a grounding in IDEA's mission and evolution. Discussion of current research directions prompted thoughtful engagement from board members. Board members were very interested in IDEA's use of AI-assisted cognitive interviewing and had thoughtful questions about how the models are being trained. Other contributions touched on opportunities for collaboration with other programs throughout the university as well as in Columbus.

 

IDEA also shared plans to recruit an external Advisory Board in the coming year to assist with further expansion and consolidation. The internal board will assist with providing suggestions for board members and providing oversight of the selection process. Overall, the meeting underscored that IDEA is at an important moment in its growth, no longer building from the ground up but further developing the coherence, efficiency, and impact of its portfolio.