University of Richmond
VA · AI Readiness #76 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 7.8 /10
Richmond built SpiderAI, a university-owned platform giving every student free, privacy-protected access to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot in one place, logging more than 27,000 student and faculty requests in its first semester alone.
Richmond also anchors undergraduate AI engagement through CLAAI, one of only five institutions nationally to receive an NEH Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence grant, which opened in fall 2025 with 23 faculty fellows and active programming students can access. The Presidential Advisory Group on AI, co-chaired by Provost Joan Saab, is developing a campus-wide action plan with a dedicated student outcomes track. The school does not yet offer a an AI major, minor, or certificate, something that several peer liberal arts institutions have begun to offer.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: B-
- Curriculum: B-
- Partnerships: A
- Research: A+
A(I)ttitude™: progressive
Selected Highlights
- SpiderAI is a university-built, free, privacy-preserving multi-model platform (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot) available to all students, faculty, and staff; 800+ users and 27,000+ requests in Fall 2024 alone.
- CLAAI is one of only five institutions nationally to receive an NEH Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence grant; opened fall 2025 with 23 faculty fellows from 10 institutions.
- PAG-AI convened by President Hallock, co-chaired by Provost Joan Saab, with documented campus-wide feedback sessions in January 2026 across Law, Teaching, Operations, and Student Outcomes tracks.
- Distant Viewing Lab (co-directed by Taylor Arnold and Lauren Tilton) received a $1M Mellon Foundation grant in August 2025 for AI computer vision toolkit expansion.
- Three confirmed external AI research grants totaling approximately $1.97M: NEH $718,465 (CLAAI), Mellon $1M (Distant Viewing Lab), Schmidt Sciences $250,000 UR share (film/TV AI models).