Casey Kennington, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at Boise State University, has been named an inaugural fellow of the National Science Foundation NAIRR AI Education Fellowship hosted by the Computing Research Association, according to a March 23 announcement.
The fellowship recognizes Kennington’s contributions to artificial intelligence education and aims to support leaders in expanding access to high-quality AI resources across higher education. The program brings together faculty from 23 states representing public and private universities as well as community colleges.
Kennington has played a significant role in curriculum development at Boise State, including launching new courses on data science, machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence. He was instrumental in establishing Boise State University’s Bachelor of Science in AI Science degree program that began in 2025. College of Engineering Dean Amy Fleischer said, “It is wonderful to see Dr. Kennington’s work in AI science become recognized on a national level. This newly created fellowship will only continue to amplify his impact.”
The Computing Research Association selected Kennington for his work on spoken dialogue systems for robotic platforms and machine learning language models. As part of the fellowship responsibilities, fellows will lead monthly seminars and promote adoption of AI education resources both at their institutions and nationwide.
Kennington said about the recognition: “Receiving this fellowship is an honor, though I recognize the responsibility that accompanies it. There are so many open questions about AI education that we as a society need to come to grips with, and the goal of this fellowship team is to bring us closer to answering some of those questions.”
Department Chair Jerry Fails added: “Due to Casey’s expertise and foresight, Boise State University has been at the forefront of AI education, becoming one of the first institutions in the nation to offer a BS in AI Science. This recognition highlights Casey individually and Boise State Computer Science collectively as national leaders in advancing AI education. It also continues Boise State’s tradition of being one of the nation’s most innovative universities.”
Kennington’s research has received multiple federal grants including a NSF CAREER Award for work focused on emotionality within spoken dialogue systems for robotics and language models. His mentorship contributed toward two students receiving Barry Goldwater Scholarships.
The NAIRR AI Education Fellowship term runs from March 2026 through February 2027.
