The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University today launches Barton Foresight: AI Outlook, a new publication exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping business, education, and society. As the first in a series of Barton Foresight initiatives, AI Outlook underscores the school’s commitment to equipping its community—and the wider region—with tools to anticipate change and act on it.
In 2022, the Barton School introduced the Bloom Plan, a living framework designed to accelerate enrollment growth, improve retention, raise the school’s profile, and expand its impact across research, fundraising, and workforce development. With the Bloom Plan in place, the school established Barton Foresight to extend this momentum by helping organizations anticipate future trends and prepare practical responses. Barton Foresight also works inwardly, supporting Barton’s faculty, staff, and students in developing the capacity to navigate and shape emerging market shifts.
As part of Barton Foresight’s initial focus on AI, the Barton School launched a series of faculty-led workshops in 2024. Faculty experts Dr. Ross Gruetzemacher and Dr. Murtaza Nasir guided discussions with Barton faculty and staff to build shared knowledge and practical understanding of AI. These efforts were later strengthened with the participation of Dr. Mark Esposito, a global AI expert, who delivered a series of keynotes in Spring 2025 as part of the Barton School’s Executive-in-Residence program.
To extend this work, Dean Larisa Genin committed to school-wide AI access scaled to the demands of each role, with access provided where it best supports teaching, research, and operations. The intent is to promote AI as a form of intelligence augmentation—using technology to expand human capacity for analysis, creativity, and decision-making. This approach reinforces the role of faculty and staff as drivers of innovation while equipping students with tools that reflect the realities of today’s workplaces.
As the next step, the Barton School is launching Barton Foresight: AI Outlook, a publication dedicated to AI and its implications for organizations and society. Each issue will combine evidence and practice-oriented tools in a modular format. Core elements will include:
- Executive Brief – what has changed, why it matters, and immediate actions.
- Signals & Drivers – evidence-backed trends and shifts.
- Implications Map – analysis across business, higher education, and public sector contexts.
- Action Playbook – recommended steps for leaders, educators, and practitioners.
- Metrics That Matter – indicators to track outcomes and progress.
Optional modules may feature practice cases, faculty viewpoints, business leaders and student voices, governance updates, and classroom-ready activities. This design allows each issue to remain flexible while consistently focused on utility and action.
The first issue will feature contributions from Barton School AI and Business Analytics faculty, Dr. Ross Gruetzemacher and Dr. Murtaza Nasir. Future issues will include contributions from leaders with actionable subject matter expertise.
“When AI began to reshape the conversation in business and education, we took seriously the charge of understanding its potential,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, Dean of the Barton School. “We started by equipping our own faculty, staff, and students, and now we are making this work available to the broader community through AI Outlook. It is both a resource and an invitation to think carefully about what comes next.”
Barton Foresight: AI Outlook will begin in the 2025-2026 academic year and made available to the Wichita business community, Barton School stakeholders, and peer institutions across the country.