By Kenya Godette
and Google celebrated a first-of-its-kind AI incubator for higher education with the launch of the MonarchSphere powered by Google Cloud — as part of a comprehensive partnership designed to accelerate discovery, research and digital transformation.
The partnership uniquely positions the University as a national leader in AI innovation and a model for how universities across the nation can prepare students, equip faculty with the latest technological tools and support communities for a digital future. A connected ecosystem, the MonarchSphere is where Google, faculty and students, and industry partners intersect to explore, create and develop AI-driven solutions to real-world challenges.
“With Google as our partner, we are proving that is not only embracing change — we are leading it,” said President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D. “This partnership marks a defining moment for by demonstrating how a forward-focused, future-ready institution can harness the power of the Google Cloud and AI to reimagine learning, accelerate discovery and expand opportunity for students and communities across higher education and beyond.”
For the commonwealth, this partnership has the power to position Virginia as a leader in the developing AI industry and create a blueprint for how universities can partner with industry to drive innovation that benefits students, communities and the economy.
“The next generation of AI leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs are not coming from just Silicon Valley. They’ll be coming right here from Hampton Roads, right here from and right here from the commonwealth,” said The Hon. Don Scott, speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.
“This partnership will meet students and faculty where they are and take them not only to where they want to go but to where the entire world is going. And once again, I’m proud of the state. Virginia is leading the way.”
The MonarchSphere, which was unveiled on October 29 as part of Google’s Public Sector Summit 2025, presents the first-ever AI incubator in higher education and will focus on several key areas for and its collaborators, including business, industry and municipality partners in the community and across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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Accelerate research and innovation: Using Google Cloud, researchers have access to powerful computational capabilities, thereby dramatically reducing the time required for the integration of complex AI and big data projects.
- Utilize Google AI for Education Accelerator: is an early member of the , an initiative to support institutions bringing the latest AI and career-ready training to higher education institutions nationwide. is uniquely and intentionally integrating AI learning opportunities across curriculum, in support of faculty enhancement and workforce development to advance an institution-wide framework for AI fluency and innovation.
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Advance student success and career pathways: is using Google Cloud to enhance student success at every stage of their academic careers, from course creation to career placement. For example, a new AI-powered transcript evaluation tool to streamline the advising process is being developed, and mapping ’s course catalog to Google Cloud career pathways tools will link students to the ability to identify career opportunities and academic paths to align with their goals.
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Enhance course development and delivery: has streamlined course development through Google Cloud tools, including Gemini Pro and Notebook LM, thereby enabling accelerated collaboration, reduction in production timelines and enhanced consistency across academic programs.
Chrysoula Malogianni, Ph.D., senior associate vice president for Digital Innovation, spoke of the progress made between Google and the University since the inception of the project.
“Over the past few months, we have been co-developing tools, infrastructure and research applications that are transforming the way we teach, learn, operate and innovate in research,” she said. Dr. Malogianni cited several use cases for the new technology, including cybersecurity, research, career track preparation and planning, and grant applications.
For the University, the partnership has accelerated the vision to become a hub for research innovation, workforce preparation and digital transformation.
“At its core, our digital transformation effort is about people — empowering our Monarch community with the resources and partnerships that allow ideas to grow, solutions to scale, and impact to reach far beyond our campus,” said Nina Rodriguez Gonser, vice president for Digital Transformation and Technology.
For Google, the partnership is a model of how industry and higher education can co-develop ethical, scalable AI and digital frameworks.
“This partnership marks a defining moment — not just for and not just for Google, but for all higher education as we define the new standard. The new standard we are launching today is a groundbreaking model — an intelligent university of the future,” said Matthew Schneider, Google’s managing director of National, U.S. State, Local and Education.
“We are supporting ’s groundbreaking genomics and disease research on a Google AI infrastructure. We are accelerating time to science by 12 to 16 times” Schneider said, “We are moving critical health research from concept to discovery faster than ever before.”
Tony Orlando (B.S. ’91, MBA ’98), Google’s managing director of Partner Ecosystem and Specialty Solutions highlighted the difference that time can make. “The finance people will say, ‘that’s great, it saves us money,’ the researchers and academics in the room will say ‘that allows us to do 16 times more experiments, model training and computational analysis.’”
Managing Director Orlando then raised a question for all university presidents, universities and business leaders: “How do you embed transformation and the transformative power of AI into every part of your campus without compromising security?”
For decades, universities have faced the false choice of innovation versus security — moving fast or safe, Managing Director Orlando said.
“, in launching the MonarchSphere, is proving that is a truly false dilemma,” he said. “They are demonstrating that not only is this the way to innovate responsibly and at scale, but that the only way to do that is to build on a foundation of security.”
The collaboration also introduces Google Career Certificates to degree and continuing education programs at by expanding access to on-demand credentials and strengthening Virginia’s workforce pipeline. This integration ensures that graduates earn a degree and an industry-recognized credential — equipping them with both academic knowledge and career-ready skills that meet the evolving needs of Virginia’s workforce.
In a letter submitted by The Hon. L. Louise Lucas, president pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia, she said, “The ability and willingness of to build strong connections and true partnerships with business and industry truly addresses our societal needs and bridges workforce gaps. This is a proud moment for our community and for our commonwealth, and we are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
During the October 30 campus and community celebration, President Hemphill presented Managing Director Schneider with a piece of sculpted glass art, which is symbolic of the partnership’s fusion of knowledge and technology and linked to the region’s leading role in glassmaking on a national scale. During a fireside chat, they discussed the evolving role of AI in education and how is expanding access to AI tools.
President Hemphill said higher education has been hesitant to embrace AI in the way businesses have. He compared today’s use of AI to the adoption of the world wide web in the early ’80s. “AI will change us forever in terms of how we function, how we teach and how we work.”
President Hemphill and Managing Director Schneider spoke of state leadership's desire to retain local talent and how the Google AI Certificate programs, alongside expanded internship opportunities, are helping to do just that.
The pair reflected on what success for this collaboration looked like to each of them. Schneider’s vision was for universities around the country to model the forward-focused framework of this innovation in education and AI. President Hemphill defined success as students matriculating from the University prepared for the workforce of today, researchers solving the issues of the world faster and better with the use of AI tools, and meaningful partnerships with businesses.
President Hemphill stated his final marker of success, “I really believe that people will look at , and they will say that it is what the future of higher education looks like. They will say that Old Dominion didn’t wait for the future, we built it."
The program ended with a Community Connection and Enablement Expo where displayed its applications for career pathways, AI summaries and transcript evaluation, and Google showcased technology, including Vertex AI, Google Gemini and more.
“In my inaugural address, I shared a future vision and outlined a clear path. I said that the speed at which most universities evolve would not be enough to fully serve our communities or positively impact this nation,” said President Hemphill. “I pledged that would be one of the leading institutions willing to innovate in bold and visionary ways. I promised transformative innovation that would propel to national and international prominence, grounded in creativity, discovery and progress. Today, through this partnership with Google, that vision continues to come to life. This is innovation realized.”
About
MonarchSphere
Powered by Google Cloud is ’s AI Innovation Incubator — a dynamic environment where ideas are accelerated, technologies are tested, and intelligence is brought to life. In partnership with Google, the MonarchSphere connects the power of human knowledge with the scalability of the cloud to drive breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), research and digital transformation. A connected ecosystem, the MonarchSphere is where , Google, faculty, students and industry partners intersect to explore, create and accelerate AI-driven solutions. The MonarchSphere represents the next evolution of the University’s commitment to advancing AI, digital transformation, and human–machine collaboration, positioning at the forefront of intelligent innovation.
, located in Norfolk, is Virginia's forward-focused public doctoral research university with nearly 24,000 students. A top R1 research institution offering rigorous academics, is recognized nationally for academic excellence, social mobility and access. Military friendly and home to an energetic residential community and robust initiatives that currently contribute $3.8 billion annually to Virginia's economy, is a leader in the commonwealth. Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at , founded July 1, 2024, represents the most comprehensive health sciences center in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Google Cloud
Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.
