Communications Corner

AI Inspiration Spotlight! 

Tim Florence, ITS AI Strategy Team Lead

Tim Florence serves as IT Executive Director and Deputy Chief of Staff for Information Technology Services at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences. He is known for his steady and people-centered leadership, working closely with ITS teams, university leaders, faculty, staff, and students to strengthen the technology services that support teaching, learning, research, and daily operations.

Florence has played a key role in advancing AI growth at UTHS by helping guide practical, responsible, and accessible adoption of tools such as Microsoft Copilot, UT Verse, and the UT AI Hub. His leadership has supported AI awareness, training, pilot group discussions, webpage updates, weekly AI tips, Daily Digest communications, and knowledge base planning, helping make AI more approachable and useful for faculty, staff, and students.

Through hands-on workshops, practical examples, and clear guidance, he has helped the campus move beyond simply introducing AI tools to build confidence in how they can be used effectively for productivity, research support, training design, faculty engagement, and everyday work. In addition to his AI leadership, Florence has made significant contributions to instructional services and academic technology support, including updates to classroom, auditorium, and conference room technology. His work helps ensure that UTHS learning environments remain reliable, modern, and responsive to current instructional needs.

Florence invites this audience to visit the UT AI Hub to become more acquainted with the benefits AI offers. This campus-supported platform brings multiple AI tools into one convenient place. It’s designed to help students, faculty, and staff work faster and smarter—whether you’re brainstorming ideas, researching topics, drafting content, summarizing materials, or exploring data and concepts.

The AI Hub is a single access point for multiple AI modules, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and more. You can choose the best tool for your task without juggling multiple accounts or sites. Think of it as a centralized AI workspace for learning, teaching, research, and day-to-day productivity. Florence and the entire ITS AI Strategy Team are eager to help you reach your full AI potential.