Waukesha County Technical College announced on Tuesday that it has named former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee associate vice chancellor
Phyllis King as its chief strategist for artificial intelligence advancement.
King will enter the newly created role at WCTC later this month. As chief strategist for AI advancement, she will “lead the growth and development of the college’s artificial intelligence programs, strengthening collaborations and strategic partnerships in the community, statewide, nationally and beyond,” according to a news release.
“I am just so amazed at WCTC because I really think (the college) is on the forefront of AI education and innovation,” King said. “I attribute that to the leadership and the faculty WCTC has. They have a shared vision – to really think about visioning the future with AI. Because it’s here, we have to work with it, but how do we best use it from a consumer standpoint and an industry standpoint, and ultimately, an economic benefit standpoint? WCTC has that going for them, in terms of vision, but they’re also building on the future, and I’m thrilled about that. WCTC is performing tremendously in this (AI) space.”
King will split her time between working in WCTC’s Applied AI Lab and engaging with the community.
“Building curriculum, building programs, building partnerships, launching new initiatives and innovation — that’s been my space,” King said. “I love that space and that’s what really attracted me to this position.”
King spent nearly 30 years in various roles at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and most recently served as associate vice chancellor for over 13 years. She was also the director of Campus Ergonomics Services, associate director for the Center for Ergonomics, associate dean for the College of Health Sciences, and department chair, program director and professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. King departed UW-Milwaukee in August.
Widely regarded as a community leader, King has worked with and served on boards for many nonprofits focused on education, business development, banking and health care. Most recently, King completed an interim role as executive director for Farming for the Future Foundation.
“Phyllis has an unbelievable ability to connect people and abstract ideas and synthesize them,” WCTC president
Rich Barnhouse said. “She works to create new partnerships and new academic opportunities that we wouldn’t have considered or thought of because they seem too disparate.”
King has served on the steering committee for the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute and has worked with the MKE Tech Hub Coalition and Higher Education Regional Alliance to develop a micro credentialing platform. She has also served on the steering committee of UW-Milwaukee’s Connected Systems Institute to help develop manufacturing specialists and advance the Industrial Internet of Things, according to the news release.
“She is unbelievably well known regionally and nationally,” Barnhouse said. “Phyllis is going to amplify what we’re doing in AI, connect us to critical parts of the economy related to artificial intelligence and really advance our mission as it relates to AI.”
