Old Dominion University is launching a hands-on AI literacy pathway designed to connect students, faculty, and industry through real-world use cases. The MonarchSphere AI incubator, introduced in partnership with Google Public Sector, was built around the National AI Literacy Day emphasis on practical readiness rather than abstract AI exposure. The initiative positions AI literacy as a curriculum-and-project collaboration model—students and faculty develop solutions with industry partners while using the incubator to ground instruction in application. The reporting frames MonarchSphere as a direct institutional response to workforce expectations for AI-capable graduates. For higher education leaders, the effort is notable for how it ties literacy to applied incubation structures and partnership governance—an approach that can inform AI-enabled program redesign across disciplines.