Research

What animates the agenda.

The through-line is technology implementation: how universities actually take up new tools, who decides, who's left out of the deciding, and what the resulting governance looks like once the dust settles. Generative AI is the current case; the underlying questions are older but as relevant as ever.

Current projects

AI Governance Study

A multi-institution dataset on how colleges and universities are formalizing, or quietly avoiding, the policies, committees, and review processes that surround generative AI adoption. The collection phase is closed; analysis and writing are underway. A longitudinal follow-up study tracking the same institutions over time is also in development.

N = 400 institutions Mixed methods Drafting Summer 2026

Book project (Instructional Design in the Age of AI: From Frameworks to Practice)

A book-length argument about AI integration in academic knowledge work, not as a technology adoption story, but as a question about what the academy is for once a meaningful share of the cognitive labor can be delegated. Drawing on the scholarship of the field and case studies from around higher ed.

Aegis / MAPS

The system I use to support most of the work referenced above. Started as a personal tool for managing the volume of source material an active research agenda generates; now functions as a small, replicable model for what AI integration in academic knowledge work can look like when designed by someone whose day job is the work itself. More on the Aegis page →


Publications

Selected, recent first.

A complete list lives in the CV. This page surfaces the work most relevant to the current research focus.

In press & accepted

  • Instructional design in the age of AI: From frameworks to practice.

    Brazelton, G. B., & Purrington, S. Book proposal, Emerald Publishing.
  • Beyond detection: How AI governance frameworks bridge the assessment gap between institutions and instructors.

    Brazelton, G. B. In P. Seuwou (Ed.), AI-resilient assessment design in higher education for integrity, inclusion, and authenticity. IGI Global. In progress.
  • AI in the onboarding process.

    Brazelton, G. B., & Pokrovskaya, M. In J. Ward-Roof & J. Wiese (Eds.), Seamless transition: An integrated approach to new student onboarding. NODA.
  • Beyond the campus: The power of e-mentoring in modern higher education.

    Brazelton, G. B., & Baciu, C. B. Emerald Publishing.
  • Why teach online? & Reflections on assessment and student performance.

    Two chapters in M. Dereshiwsky (Ed.), Voices from the field: Lessons learned from online instruction. ICPEL Press.

Peer-reviewed & chapters

  • Solo faculty program coordinators in student affairs-related graduate programs.

    Olt, P. A., Nasser, M., Vital, M. V., Tolman, S., … Brazelton, G. B., … Mayo, C. E. P. The Qualitative Report, 31(1), 5686–5709.
  • No new friends: The desolate realm of higher education / student affairs pre-tenure faculty.

    Sasso, P., Brazelton, G. B., & Shelton, L. J. Higher Education Politics and Economics, 10(1), 11–34.
  • Trustworthiness and ethics in research: Using reflexivity to see the self in ethical research.

    Brazelton, G. B., & Ononuju, I. In Terosky, Baker, & Sun (Eds.), A Practical Guide to Teaching Research Methods in Education. Routledge.
  • Examining e-mentoring: Factors that influence online undergraduate students’ perceptions of e-mentoring.

    Baciu, C., & Brazelton, G. B. The Chronicle of Mentoring & Coaching, 6(15), 737–752.
  • Virtual delivery of student services: Lessons for post-COVID higher education. (Co-edited volume.)

    Brazelton, G. B., Hunter, K., Hugus, E., Becker, B. K., & Tkatchov, M. (Eds.). New Directions for Student Services.
  • Shifting modalities: Lessons of the transition to e-learning due to COVID-19.

    Brazelton, G. B., & Buford, B. In Bista, Allen, & Chan (Eds.), Impacts of COVID-19 on International Students and the Future of Student Mobility. Routledge.
  • Resident assistants’ leadership efficacy.

    Soria, K. M., Brazelton, G. B., & Roberts, B. J. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 48(1), 43–55.
  • Online course engagement through relationship management and content creation.

    Brazelton, G. B. In Culver & Trolian (Eds.), Effective Instruction in College Classrooms. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 164, 105–113.

Recent talks
  • Reclaim your time, reclaim your agency: AI as productivity infrastructure for the professoriate.

    Innovation session [accepted], AAC&U Conference on AI and Higher Education. Washington, DC.
  • Beyond compliance: Reading AI governance as a signal of institutional digital maturity.

    Theory to Practice session [accepted], AAC&U Conference on AI and Higher Education. Policy/Governance/Ethics track. Washington, DC.
  • Professional development in the age of AI.

    Keynote panel, NAU Employee Development Days. Flagstaff, AZ.
  • One year later: Revisiting our initial thoughts and reactions to ChatGPT.

    With D. Pratt. Critical Questions in Education Annual Conference.
  • “In loco parentis” and the difficult love of serving in place of the parent.

    With J. Stooksberry. Conference on Higher Education Values, Identity, Belonging, and Purpose.
  • ChatGPT and academic integrity: Changing the narrative of “disruptive” technology in education.

    With D. Pratt. Critical Questions in Education Annual Conference.