Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning Innovation, UNLV
Beth Barrie is the Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning Innovation. She oversees the ongoing enhancement of UNLV’s pedagogical innovation in face-to-face, blended, and online instruction. She is responsible for developing a university-wide strategy for designing and delivering high-quality online courses, credentials, and degrees to both traditional and lifelong learners at UNLV. She supports a talented staff of instructional designers, technologists, artists, and computer programmers as they provide professional development and creative services to faculty. Her research interests include the public understanding of science, informal education, and community engagement. She came to UNLV in 2008 from the Eppley Institute at Indiana University, where she was the project manager on the development of a competency-based online training platform for the U.S. National Park Service. Beth holds a B.A. in Communication, an M.S. in Outdoor Recreation & Resource Management, and a Ph.D. in Leisure Behavior.
The tasks that once defined early-career roles — drafting, summarizing, basic research, initial coding — are increasingly handled by AI tools, compressing the number of positions available to new graduates and raising the bar for those that remain. Employers are simultaneously revising how they evaluate candidates, placing new weight on judgment, AI fluency, communication, and adaptability. This panel convenes university leaders for an honest, practical dialogue about the gap between what universities currently produce and what the workforce now requires, and about the institutional levers that can close it.