Business Students Incorporate AI Into Efforts to Promote Greensburg
How can AI be used to enhance opportunities to promote the City of Greensburg? Students from Seton Hill's School of Business and Technology worked with faculty and community partners to answer that question this fall.
For the third consecutive year, Seton Hill was selected to be a participant in the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative (ACRI), an applied research training program for college students in the Appalachian region to support economic development initiatives for their communities.
This year Seton Hill’s ACRI project introduced the AI Innovation Pop-Up Lab, a student-led experiential learning initiative designed to enhance opportunities to promote Greensburg, its business community, and cultural opportunities through the strategic intersection of tourism, digital innovation, and workforce engagement.
Led by Assistant Professor of Business Lyzona Marshall, the project is a collaboration between Marshall, business faculty including Dean of the School of Business and Technology Jared Burns; Assistant Professor of Communication Cathlin Clark-Gordon; Associate Professor of Marketing and Business Rachel Kaplan; and undergraduate business, communication and business analytics students as well as graduate students in the MBA program.
The team is researching ways to increase interest and economic vitality in the Westmoreland area, and more specifically focusing on the challenge of helping the Westmoreland Museum of American Art attract more college students and young professionals as a cultural and social destination. An additional goal is to develop an AI training experience for small businesses and creative entrepreneurs that can be integrated into museum-based social events.
External partners for this project include The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, GO Laurel Highlands, Greensburg Community Development Corporation (GCDC), and Distinguished Alumna Christina Mason Sims ’09, award-winning AI consultant and CEO of Precision Edge AI.
This fall, MBA students Grace Paredes, Zoey Sussan, and Andrew Somuah worked with Sims and Dawn Lamuth from GO Laurel Highlands in Kaplan’s class to create a panel presentation titled “AI in the Modern World.” The MBA students gave an overview of different AI tools and provided a demonstration on their use while Sims presented on the transformative nature of AI in the business world and Lamuth discussed what is currently happening in the Laurel Highlands and the value of strategic partnerships with other organizations. This event, held on Seton Hill’s campus, was recorded and will be shared with community partners.
Student entrepreneurs Dominic Caracciolo, Kaden Granberg, Madison Jordan and Tationna Pack worked with Marshall to create a workshop titled “AI & the Arts,” collaborating again with Sims on what tools and strategies are best when facing competition from AI-generated art. The event also included the perspective from The Westmoreland Museum of American Art director Silvia Filippini-Fantoni, who discussed the challenges and opportunities of using AI in the art world. After the workshop - which was held at the museum - participants then had the opportunity to view “Winter Tales: An Immersive Experience,” which incorporated a limited use of AI, as well as skilled artisans, to bring the art to life.
Communication students Amara Forsyth and Makenna Twombly, along with Clark-Gordon, focused their efforts on marketing strategies and insights, in collaboration with community partners, to identify strategies for increasing engagement of young professionals in downtown Greensburg, and create an overarching strategic communication plan. The students will offer prototype tourism campaigns and digital experiences to develop three marketing toolkits to increase visibility of Greensburg’s creative assets, particularly The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Additionally, Burns and his Business Decision Analytics class are analyzing survey data collected from 100 students on their perceptions of the museum as a cultural asset for the City of Greensburg.
Students also hosted a table at the Greensburg Development Conference hosted by the GCDC at Seton Hill’s Performing Arts Center in October where they gauged interest in the business community’s interest in AI.
In December, Seton Hill will join students and faculty from 13 other Appalachian schools in Arlington, Va., to present their work to other student delegations from participating institutions, ARC leadership, and community leaders in a formal peer-to-peer conference setting hosted by ARC and the Consortium of Appalachian Colleges and Universities. Although the ACRI project only lasts one semester, Seton Hill students will also be presenting their research at the Eastern Communication Association Conference in Pittsburgh in April.
ACRI is an initiative of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), an economic development partnership entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation. Other participating schools included Alfred State College, Appalachian State University, East Tennessee State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Marietta College, Marshall University, Ohio University, Radford University, University of Tennessee, Virginia Tech University, and Westminster College.
For the third consecutive year, Seton Hill was selected to be a participant in the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative (ACRI), an applied research training program for college students in the Appalachian region to support economic development initiatives for their communities.
This year Seton Hill’s ACRI project introduced the AI Innovation Pop-Up Lab, a student-led experiential learning initiative designed to enhance opportunities to promote Greensburg, its business community, and cultural opportunities through the strategic intersection of tourism, digital innovation, and workforce engagement.
Led by Assistant Professor of Business Lyzona Marshall, the project is a collaboration between Marshall, business faculty including Dean of the School of Business and Technology Jared Burns; Assistant Professor of Communication Cathlin Clark-Gordon; Associate Professor of Marketing and Business Rachel Kaplan; and undergraduate business, communication and business analytics students as well as graduate students in the MBA program.
The team is researching ways to increase interest and economic vitality in the Westmoreland area, and more specifically focusing on the challenge of helping the Westmoreland Museum of American Art attract more college students and young professionals as a cultural and social destination. An additional goal is to develop an AI training experience for small businesses and creative entrepreneurs that can be integrated into museum-based social events.
External partners for this project include The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, GO Laurel Highlands, Greensburg Community Development Corporation (GCDC), and Distinguished Alumna Christina Mason Sims ’09, award-winning AI consultant and CEO of Precision Edge AI.
This fall, MBA students Grace Paredes, Zoey Sussan, and Andrew Somuah worked with Sims and Dawn Lamuth from GO Laurel Highlands in Kaplan’s class to create a panel presentation titled “AI in the Modern World.” The MBA students gave an overview of different AI tools and provided a demonstration on their use while Sims presented on the transformative nature of AI in the business world and Lamuth discussed what is currently happening in the Laurel Highlands and the value of strategic partnerships with other organizations. This event, held on Seton Hill’s campus, was recorded and will be shared with community partners.
Student entrepreneurs Dominic Caracciolo, Kaden Granberg, Madison Jordan and Tationna Pack worked with Marshall to create a workshop titled “AI & the Arts,” collaborating again with Sims on what tools and strategies are best when facing competition from AI-generated art. The event also included the perspective from The Westmoreland Museum of American Art director Silvia Filippini-Fantoni, who discussed the challenges and opportunities of using AI in the art world. After the workshop - which was held at the museum - participants then had the opportunity to view “Winter Tales: An Immersive Experience,” which incorporated a limited use of AI, as well as skilled artisans, to bring the art to life.
Communication students Amara Forsyth and Makenna Twombly, along with Clark-Gordon, focused their efforts on marketing strategies and insights, in collaboration with community partners, to identify strategies for increasing engagement of young professionals in downtown Greensburg, and create an overarching strategic communication plan. The students will offer prototype tourism campaigns and digital experiences to develop three marketing toolkits to increase visibility of Greensburg’s creative assets, particularly The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Additionally, Burns and his Business Decision Analytics class are analyzing survey data collected from 100 students on their perceptions of the museum as a cultural asset for the City of Greensburg.
Students also hosted a table at the Greensburg Development Conference hosted by the GCDC at Seton Hill’s Performing Arts Center in October where they gauged interest in the business community’s interest in AI.
In December, Seton Hill will join students and faculty from 13 other Appalachian schools in Arlington, Va., to present their work to other student delegations from participating institutions, ARC leadership, and community leaders in a formal peer-to-peer conference setting hosted by ARC and the Consortium of Appalachian Colleges and Universities. Although the ACRI project only lasts one semester, Seton Hill students will also be presenting their research at the Eastern Communication Association Conference in Pittsburgh in April.
ACRI is an initiative of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), an economic development partnership entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation. Other participating schools included Alfred State College, Appalachian State University, East Tennessee State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Marietta College, Marshall University, Ohio University, Radford University, University of Tennessee, Virginia Tech University, and Westminster College.