Five Milwaukee Higher Education Leaders Team Up on AI
Universities and colleges partnering with Northwestern Mutual on data science initiative.
The leaders of Milwaukee’s five colleges and universities met on Feb. 12, 2026 to discuss AI. Corrinne Hess/WPR
The leaders of Milwaukee’s five institutions of higher education are partnering with one of Wisconsin’s largest companies with the goal of making the region a nationally recognized leader for artificial intelligence and data science.
During a meeting at Northwestern Mutual’s headquarters downtown, the chancellors and presidents of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette University, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee School of Engineering and Waukesha County Technical College, expressed the same sentiment: AI is moving fast.
“We’ve got to do it well, we’ve got to do it correctly and we’ve got to do it ethically,” said Rich Barnhouse, president of WCTC. “And we’ve got to get AI in the hands of every single American.”
Barnhouse said keeping up with the rapidly changing technology will be key to keeping up in a global economy.
“Our competition as colleges and universities is really not with other colleges and universities in the United States. It’s with the Chinese and companies outside of this region,” he said.
In 2018, Northwestern Mutual, Marquette and UW-Milwaukee launched the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute.
The institute has raised more than $2 million in annual university research funding, collaborated with 160 faculty members and helped launch 11 academic programs, said Northwestern Mutual CEO Timothy Gerend.
Since its inception, the institute has awarded more than $275,000 to support 90 semester-long projects at UWM and Marquette.
On Thursday, Gerend announced MSOE, WCTC and the Medical College would join the initiative.
Gerend said doing so will allow all five universities an opportunity to collaborate on data science and AI. And give Northwestern Mutual access to a larger talent pipeline.
The company already recruits about a quarter of its employees, and about 60 percent of data workers, from the existing institute, Gerend said.
Gov. Tony Evers provided a video message to a group of about 400 people in attendance for the announcement, saying AI has the potential to change the workforce in the state.
“I’ve always believed that we don’t have to choose between creating jobs and economic development and protecting our environment,” Evers said. “We can and should do both, and that’s why the expanding partnerships at the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute is so important.”
The higher education leaders stressed on Thursday that having the ability to collaborate as AI continues to evolve will be helpful, as they make ethical and equitable decisions.
“What really worries me is the pace of change and its implications on curriculum, our ability to keep pace and its implications on our technologies and related tools and our institutional practices and culture,” said UWM Chancellor Thomas Gibson. “How are we preparing our institution’s culture for this rapidly changing technology?”
Milwaukee’s 5 higher education leaders team up on AI was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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