Tambellini Group awards University of Florida grand prize for inaugural Future Campus Award 

The University of Florida has been awarded the grand prize in the Tambellini Group’s inaugural Future Campus Award, recognizing UF's pioneering work in integrating AI across its curriculum. The award was presented today at Tambellini's Future Campus Summit in New York City.  

“I’m pleased to present the University of Florida with this honor for their strategic and impactful work with AI that will surely serve as a model for other institutions,” said Katelyn Ilkani, president and COO of Tambellini. 

The Tambellini Group has been the leading provider of unbiased and proprietary research and advisory services to higher education since 2001. Its mission is to equip educational institutions with the impartial insights, tools, and market predictions needed to make informed technology decisions while maximizing return on investment and constituent experience. 

The Future Campus Award was established by Tambellini to honor innovative colleges and universities leveraging AI and other cutting-edge technologies to redefine the landscape of learning, administration, and campus life. As the grand prize winner, UF demonstrated excellence in one or more application categories and in its responsible use of AI. 

The Tambellini Group highlighted UF’s AI Across the Curriculum program, describing it as a uniquely detailed and pioneering strategy that offers extensive opportunities for students of all majors to become AI literate and prepared for an AI-enabled workforce. 

UF’s AI initiative stems from the vision of former Provost Joe Glover, who played a pivotal role in its development. Under Glover’s leadership, UF launched a $70 million public-private partnership with NVIDIA, significantly enhancing UF’s AI capabilities with the HiPerGator supercomputer. This initiative has led to the integration of AI into UF’s teaching and research, positioning the university as a national model in AI education and workforce preparation. 

The Tambellini Group praised UF’s AI Across the Curriculum program as “a uniquely detailed and pioneering strategy that provides myriad opportunities for any student, regardless of their major, to become AI literate and prepared to join an AI-enabled workforce.” 

“We are deeply honored to receive the grand prize in Tambellini’s inaugural Future Campus Award,” UF Provost J. Scott Angle said. “This prestigious recognition underscores the University of Florida’s dedication to advancing AI in higher education. We are immensely grateful to the Tambellini Group for this honor and for their commitment to promoting innovation in academia. I would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to former Provost Joe Glover, whose visionary leadership set us on this transformative path.” 

As noted by the Tambellini Group, UF is one of the nation’s first universities to offer its students AI Across the Curriculum with courses in artificial intelligence available in all 16 colleges. The Artificial Intelligence Academic Initiative Center, known as AI2, is the UF focal point for academic initiatives related to AI and data science. The center coordinates the development of AI academic programs and certificates, identifies opportunities for faculty and students to engage with AI, organizes seminars and conferences, and partners with UF’s Career Connections Center, Florida’s colleges and universities, and private industry in collaborations to best train an AI-ready workforce that will contribute to our nation’s economy and security. 

Tambellini recognized eight other institutions for their innovation and efforts to build a Future Campus. The full list of winners is available here.