From the Kuali Days 2025 Conference: A CEO's View of Planning for AI
A Conversation with Joel Dehlin
How can a company serving higher education navigate the changes AI brings to the ed tech marketplace? What will customers expect in this dynamic? Here, CT talks with Kuali CEO Joel Dehlin, who shared his company's AI strategies in a featured plenary session, "Sneak Peek of AI in Kuali Build," at Kuali Days 2025 in Anaheim.
Joel Dehlin opening Kuali Days 2025 in Anaheim (Photo courtesy Kuali. With permission.)
Mary Grush: How did you first start thinking about AI and what it could mean for your company and ultimately for the Kuali product suite?
Joel Dehlin: AI has been around for decades, but it didn't really catch my attention until late 2022, when I stumbled across something online called the Church of the Whale. It was clearly satire — a full-blown "religion" with scripture, hymns, and clever design. What made it remarkable, though, was that it had been entirely created by AI. That was my first real introduction to ChatGPT.
Since then, I've been exploring AI tools almost daily — sometimes for work, sometimes to learn, and sometimes just out of curiosity. What amazed me most at first was just how powerful these tools are. The speed, the fluency, the unexpected creativity — AI feels like something fundamentally different from any tech wave we've seen before.
AI feels like something fundamentally different from any tech wave we've seen before.
And what's been just as surprising is how slowly real engagement with AI has spread. Even now, years later, many people still haven't fully grasped how much AI will reshape the way we work, learn, and lead.
Grush: How did you begin to think about the impact AI could have on Kuali?
Dehlin: Once I realized how powerful these tools are, it became clear we couldn't just wait around. We needed to understand what AI means — not just for our own company, but for the colleges and universities we serve.
We needed to understand what AI means — not just for our own company, but for the colleges and universities we serve.
Our customers face enormous complexity. They're juggling regulations, legacy systems, siloed data — and often doing so with limited resources. AI has the potential to reduce friction across all of that. But only if it's implemented with care, trust, and a deep understanding of how higher ed actually works.
That realization pushed us to rethink not just our roadmap, but the way we build products — with AI at the core, not just bolted on. It became about helping people work smarter, not simply faster.
That realization pushed us to rethink not just our roadmap, but the way we build products — with AI at the core, not just bolted on.
Grush: As a CEO, what steps have you taken to help your company adapt to the changes AI is bringing?
Dehlin: Recognizing that it's still relatively early in the human/AI "relationship" — and that the common understanding of AI is often different from the reality — I wanted to create a purposeful learning experience inside our company. We needed people not just to be aware of AI, but to start using it. Actively. Intentionally.
I wanted to create a purposeful learning experience inside our company. We needed people not just to be aware of AI, but to start using it.
We've made it a leadership priority to help our teams build real fluency with AI — not just to dabble. That means providing training, carving out time for experimentation, and encouraging people to learn from each other. We also made the call early on to give everyone access to the best tools — not just the free ones — because that experience really matters.
We've made it a leadership priority to help our teams build real fluency with AI — not just to dabble.
We do expect people to grow in this area, but we try to support them just as much as we hold them accountable. AI isn't just a new tool — it's becoming foundational to the way knowledge work gets done. Our job is to help people feel confident, not just compliant.
AI isn't just a new tool — it's becoming foundational to the way knowledge work gets done.
Grush: Let's talk a bit about Kuali customers and the AI in the Kuali product suite. How do you integrate AI into your product in ways that your customers appreciate?
Dehlin: From the start, we made a conscious decision not to treat AI as a bolt-on or gimmick. Instead, we've rebuilt core parts of our product suite with AI in mind — thoughtfully, and always in service of improving the user experience.
We think of it less as "adding AI" and more as rethinking how people do their work. That means embedding AI where it truly adds value — helping a user propose more clearly, approve more confidently, or gain better insight — all without disrupting their workflow. The experience should feel helpful, not flashy. Thoughtful, not forced.
We think of it less as "adding AI" and more as rethinking how people do their work.
And because every institution is in a different place on their AI journey, we designed these features to be optional and configurable. Choice is built in — not just in the features themselves, but in the philosophy behind them.
Grush: Does the Kuali suite handle the customer choice issue differently from other ed tech market products?
Dehlin: Absolutely!
First, as a key tenet of Kuali, when we roll out new features, they're available across the entire Kuali suite. So AI isn't an afterthought; it's woven deeply into the products, across the stack.
As a key tenet of Kuali, when we roll out new features, they're available across the entire Kuali suite. So AI isn't an afterthought; it's woven deeply into the products, across the stack.
Second — and more to your point — we are mindful that institutions are at different stages in their AI journeys. Some are ready to dive in; others are more cautious. So again, we've made our AI features customer-selectable. Our customers decide when and how they want to engage with AI. That level of control is rare in ed tech, and it's something we're proud of.
Institutions are at different stages in their AI journeys… We've made our AI features customer-selectable. Our customers decide when and how they want to engage with AI.
Grush: What do you say to people who are suspicious of AI?
Dehlin: I don't believe AI is here to replace people. What it's doing — rapidly — is changing the nature of work. At Kuali, we've seen firsthand how the right tools, in the hands of thoughtful people, can lead to better, faster, and more human work.
That said, change is still change — and uncertainty is normal. Some repetitive, manual tasks will disappear. But that creates space for people to focus on what they're uniquely great at: applying judgment, creativity, and context. This shift isn't about replacement — it's about amplification. When you give smart people smart tools — and time to learn them — they do their best work.
Grush: What can Kuali customers expect next?
Dehlin: We're continuing to move with purpose. The AI tools we're launching are just the beginning — and they're designed to meet our customers where they are. We'll keep listening, learning, and adapting as this technology evolves.
More than anything, we want our customers to feel they have a partner in this shift — someone who's thinking ahead, but staying grounded in what really helps people do great work.
More than anything, we want our customers to feel they have a partner in this shift — someone who's thinking ahead, but staying grounded in what really helps people do great work. That has always been our focus — and it still is.
[Editor's note: Photo courtesy Kuali. With permission.]