Brenau University’s Jacobs College of Business and Media integrates artificial intelligence into the undergraduate and graduate curriculum so that our students are workforce-ready prior to graduation.
For example, during Spring 2026, students enrolled in Intermediate Accounting and earned two certificates specializing in AI training for finance and accounting majors. This course was taught by Pennie Pinkerton, assistant professor of accounting. The certificates, along with Continuing Professional Education, were awarded by the Institute of Management Accountants.
Students chose from a variety of certificates they could earn as part of the course, including:
- Data Ethics and AI
- Proven Ways to Use AI and Automation
- The Intersection of AI and Finance
- Unlocking AI in Finance for Better Forecasts
- Understanding the Risks and Uncovering the Rewards of AI in Finance
- Best Practices for Integrating AI in Finance
In addition, Dr. Linda McNeely, associate professor of management, taught a graduate-level course this summer, “AI Implications for Leaders.”
Dr. McNeely designed this special topics course for students who wanted to move beyond awareness and into real capability. The course equipped students with a rigorous, practical understanding of AI — what it is, what it isn’t, and how to harness it.
As part of the course, students explored:
- How to apply AI tools to elevate personal and professional productivity
- Frameworks for deploying AI to create measurable organizational value
- The ethical dimensions every leader must understand
- How AI is reshaping industries and what that means for those who lead them
Brenau students developed and trained AI bots to act as teammates within a group. This is similar to how individuals can train an AI bot to complete tasks as a colleague on a team.
Students highly praised the courses for demonstrating how AI can streamline business processes, automate complex functions, and improve accuracy in accounting and finance. Students also emphasized that AI should be treated as a supportive tool rather than a human replacement, highlighting the need for personal accountability in managing the technology’s inherent biases and the lack of ethical frameworks.
James C. Eck, Ph.D., is provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Brenau University. He writes periodically about how Brenau faculty and students are using and learning about artificial intelligence.
