May 7, 2025
The conversation in education about disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence has become one of the more common in the field. We caught up with Dr. Kevin Reilly, vice president of academic affairs, to talk more about how the technology has been incorporated into the school’s approach.
May 7, 2025
To graduate, Beacon students need at least 80 hours of “experiential learning opportunities” which covers internships, volunteering and part-time jobs related to a student’s degree or career goals.
May 6, 2025
With profound sorrow, Beacon College announces the passing of Dr. Nicoletta "Nicki" C. Nance, associate professor of human services and psychology, beloved colleague, and champion for mental health and neurodiversity.
May 5, 2025
When his boss asked Jack Lenz to lead a new initiative in late 2023, he wasted no time. With his typical gusto, the Beacon grad and community services worker embraced the goal: To create a food pantry for former foster children living in an apartment complex after aging out of the system. A month later, Lenz had lined up the resources and logistics to open the new site featuring fresh fruit and vegetables and other foods.
April 28, 2025
Talk about a big man on campus. It’s impossible to miss Beacon College’s new head men’s basketball coach and director of athletics Pat Burke on campus.
April 15, 2025
Beacon College will confer honorary doctorates on two national learning disability advocates at its Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 10, at 11 a.m. at the Brownwood Hotel & Spa.
March 26, 2025
Initially introduced in April 2023 with a $12 million goal, “The Beacon Promise” campaign’s overwhelming success has inspired the institution to increase its goal to $14.5 million by June 2026. To date, the campaign has secured a total of $12.9 million – 89% of the expanded campaign goal.
March 4, 2025
The Lady Blazers finished the season with a tournament championship after rallying from a slow start. But if you watched the team in person, you would understand why: the team had exactly five players on their roster.
March 4, 2025
Beacon College is thrilled to announce the appointment of Pat Burke, a distinguished former NBA player and community leader, as our new men’s head basketball coach and director of athletics, fitness, and recreation.
March 3, 2025
Techtonic, a leading IT managed services provider, offers mobile asset repair, disposition (reverse logistics), and device management services through an integrated workforce of neurodivergent certified technicians. It is a division of Jonathan’s Landing Foundation, an Orlando-based nonprofit with a vision to build housing for 500 adults with autism and create 5,000 jobs and meaningful work opportunities.
February 26, 2025
On most Saturdays for the past 11 years, Beacon Alum Richard Weaver has been building houses for people in need.
February 10, 2025
As president of Beacon College since 2013, his impact is well-known in educational circles for making Beacon the premiere accredited U.S. college dedicated to neurodivergent students with learning disabilities and ADHD. It is also ranked in the top tier of all small colleges in the South, according to U.S. News & World Report.
By Marco Santana
The conversation in education about disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence has become one of the more common in the field.
At Beacon College, however, emerging tech has been a part of the conversation since the institution hired George Hagerty as its president 12 years ago.
That has created an atmosphere that encourages faculty to explore emerging tech, which has led to an open-mindedness about AI which, in turn, helps create an environment receptive to ideas on how to maximize its effect.
We caught up with Dr. Kevin Reilly, vice president of academic affairs, to talk more about how the technology has been incorporated into the school’s approach.
Q: When it comes to new technologies, academics can often be, if not Luddites, slow adopters. Is that the case at Beacon?
Reilly: The faculty and academic staff are very quick to jump on board with new ideas, which is fantastic. While resistance can sometimes be a factor at other institutions, that doesn’t seem to be the case here at Beacon.
Q: Beacon College appears to have a clear direction about the use of artificial intelligence. Can you describe Beacon College’s intentions with AI?
Reilly: We want to be users and trendsetters of AI. We are committed, from the president on down, to creating course training and investing in the right AI packages to make sure students get the best possible use that they can. As an example, we had a consultant come for (National) AI (Literacy) Day in March.
Q: President Hagerty has been a big believer in this. Can you talk more about his role in this?
Reilly: It all falls from Dr. Hagerty. He’s an incredibly revolutionary thinker. He was talking about this during my (job) interview.
Q: What AI tools is the college already using, whether it’s in the classroom or for more guidance-based efforts?
Reilly: We have some software that uses AI. For instance, “Big Interview” in career services. It’s a great interview practice tool that measures all kinds of things people do during an interview.
Q: Do you believe the current generation of students serves to influence this ready adoption of AI at Beacon College?
Reilly: Like anything, you have to understand what they are saying out there. We know about “digital natives,” but they are now theorizing there will be a generation of AI natives. It’s not ‘hey I hope we get on board’ but it’s ‘how do we use this incredible technology’.”
Q: What is the fundamental importance of proactively addressing AI within an educational context like at Beacon College?
Reilly: It’s essential. Any modern technology — particularly one this powerful — starts to creep into our daily lives. Getting in front of it and getting exposure and time to play in the sandbox with some AI tools demystifies it. We have scheduled some targeted workshops this summer through the fall and it’s something we hope becomes ongoing.
Q: Looking to the future, how do you see AI potentially helping Beacon College students in their academic and career preparation?
Reilly: We are still breaking ground on how it can help. Still discovering that. If we can use it to help students prepare for the job interview process get some very good singular experiences, that is only going to help them.
Q: Finally, what are your thoughts on how AI might influence teaching and learning methodologies within the classroom?
Reilly: The ways it can be used in the classroom will help faculty develop multimodal instruction models on the fly. It is going to be an incredible tool for faculty as well as our students.
