Located on the second floor of Kyle Hall, just adjacent to the student trading room, Radford University’s AI Sandbox will serve as Davis College’s central hub for generative artificial intelligence.
Directed by Samantha Steidle, the facility seeks to accelerate students’ AI abilities while also offering them career preparation, discussion forums, competitions and events.
According to its mission statement, “the AI Sandbox empowers Davis College of Business and Economics students and faculty to develop applied AI competencies, ethical leadership and professional networks that drive career success in an AI-powered economy.”
More specifically, it aims to empower students and faculty in their use of AI-enabled strategies across business domains; promote AI literacy and responsible use; support AI-driven active learning experiences; build professional networks with AI-forward business leaders; earn industry-recognized certifications in emerging technologies; and develop professional AI portfolios that showcase applied expertise.
Steidle heralded the center’s opening during the Spring 2026 Truist Global Capitalism Lecture Series, at which keynote speaker Kevin Rogers ’87 addressed the impacts of AI and proposed constructive methods of approaching it. The sandbox ribbon cutting was held just after that lecture and was attended by Rogers as well as Dean Donna McCloskey and Provost Bethany Usher, among others.
“It’s not just a lab,” Steidle said of the sandbox in her remarks. “It is an engine for upskilling across business domains, and we’ll do this through AI certifications, hands-on workshops and the AI club activities.
“Our mission at AI Sandbox is to develop applied AI competencies, ethical leadership and professional networks that lead to career opportunities for students,” she said, later adding, “We are not just launching a space. We are advancing a movement that’s focused on preparing and upskilling the next generation.”
Neil Harvey for Radford University
