AT&T Gives $40,000 to Fresno State DISCOVERe for AI Training

AT&T announced a $40,000 community investment to expand AI training, ethical-use workshops and student outreach at California State University, Fresno’s DISCOVERe program, with a check presentation and demonstrations held March 4, 2026 at the DISCOVERe Hub on the first floor of the Fresno State Library. The gift was presented during a demonstration and Q&A session in the library hub used for student technology support.

The March 4 presentation continues a long-term relationship between AT&T and Fresno State that the company described as a 30-year collaboration. AT&T’s recent release says the $40,000 is the latest in a series of grants that total more than $460,000 in investments across campus; the release also states that about $300,000 of that cumulative funding has supported the DISCOVERe program specifically.

DISCOVERe, housed in Fresno State’s Office of IDEAS - Innovation and Digital Excellence for Academic Success - has provided technology access, training and support to students since 2014. The DISCOVERe AI Literacy Program is described as a grant-funded initiative to integrate artificial intelligence education into student support services, with an explicit focus on ethical, effective and academically responsible AI use.

Operationally, the program relies on a roster of Student AI Ambassadors to deliver short, accessible workshops and provide peer support. The 2025–26 ambassadors listed on Fresno State’s program page are Johnny Rivera, Raghd Alradai, Ritvik Mahapatra and Sergio Deluich Kaufmann. Fresno State’s schedule shows Spring 2026 workshops will be held weekly at the DISCOVERe Hub on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. and Wednesdays at 9 a.m.

Aubrie Tone, manager for external affairs at AT&T, framed the investment as part of the company’s push for digital equity: “We’re committed to helping ensure that every community is able to thrive in the digital age. AT&T is proud to invest and collaborate with Fresno State’s DISCOVERe Program, helping to provide technology access, training and support resources, and expand AI literacy training and student outreach to ensure equitable access to students across the campus community.”

Event details supplied by Fresno State note demonstrations, a Q&A and the check presentation took place at the DISCOVERe Hub, but the published materials do not include named Fresno State speakers or a line-item breakdown of how the $40,000 will be allocated. The university materials also do not specify whether the $40,000 is additional to or part of the roughly $300,000 AT&T has already directed to DISCOVERe.

For Fresno State students and staff, the immediate outcome is an expanded schedule of weekly AI workshops led by the Student AI Ambassadors in Spring 2026, with the hub on the library’s first floor serving as the program’s demonstration and training space. The new funding and the campus partnership with AT&T reinforce DISCOVERe’s decade-plus role in providing technology access since 2014 and aim to scale peer-led AI literacy training as students prepare to use AI tools in coursework and careers.