We are proud to introduce the ASPPH IDEA (Innovation, Discovery, and Excellence in Academia) Institute, a new initiative designed to reimagine how we teach, learn, and lead in academic public health. The IDEA Institute serves as a dynamic hub that brings together ASPPH’s most forward-looking work in equity, pedagogy, leadership, and innovation, including ARIE, ASPPH’s AI Resource for Institutional Excellence chatbot.
Together, the Institute and ARIE represent a transformative step forward in how we support academic public health institutions and the communities they serve.
The IDEA Institute functions as a national clearinghouse for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), a place where faculty, students, and administrators can access peer-vetted resources, evidence-based frameworks, and interactive tools that reflect the diversity and complexity of public health education today. These resources are designed to support institutions as they implement Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) competencies, elevate student achievement, and meet the social justice imperatives of our field.
The Institute is more than a resource library. It’s a living classroom and innovation lab. It connects content with real-time application that supports curriculum development, fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, and uplifts student engagement.
Through IDEA, we’re providing members with tools to support everyday teaching while also enabling long-term strategic transformation.
We are especially excited to share more about our new chatbot ARIE, the AI Resource for Institutional Excellence, developed with support from Amazon Web Services. ARIE is a first-of-its-kind chatbot for academic public health that serves as a digital teaching assistant, research companion, and equity-minded guide. Whether answering questions about public health fundamentals or helping faculty align lesson plans with accreditation standards, ARIE is designed to meet users where they are and grow with them.
Importantly, ARIE is built around principles of ethical and responsible AI use. It supports but does not replace human educators and learners. As we continue to add resources and refine functionality, ARIE will also generate insights that help inform promising practices across our member institutions. Unlike traditional AI chatbots that rely solely on generic large language models (LLMs), ARIE utilizes Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to dynamically incorporate vetted, up-to-date, and domain-specific content.
The launch of the IDEA Institute marks a pivotal step forward in ASPPH’s commitment to helping our members navigate complex challenges with creativity, collaboration, and care. From advancing inclusive excellence to transforming pedagogical practice, from translating expert recommendations into action to fostering lifelong learning, IDEA is a shared space for growth and innovation.
We invite you to explore the Institute, try ARIE, and join us as we shape the next era of academic public health.