Provost Jayanth Banavar has announced the next phase of the University of Oregon’s Presidential Initiative in Data Science.

Biology professor Bill Cresko has been appointed the founding director of the data science program. He will work with faculty members and students across campus to launch key components of the program over the coming years.

Cresko will be assisted by a steering committee of campus leaders who will provide oversight, direction and support as the program grows. The members of the steering committee are: Sarah E. Nutter, dean of the Lundquist College of Business; Marcilynn A. Burke, dean of the School of Law; Hal Sadofsky, natural sciences divisional dean for the College of Arts and Sciences; and Elizabeth Skowron, vice president of the University Senate.

Both the steering committee and the director will report to Banavar.

Additionally, President Michael Schill and Banavar have reviewed and accepted the recommendations and report created by the Data Science Visioning Committee. The committee, comprised of faculty members and other representatives from across the university, was charged with developing a proposal for how to best develop the data science program.

The committee proposed a data science ecosystem built on a hub-and-spoke model that promotes connectivity along existing areas of scholarship and education at the UO.

For more information, read the Presidential Initiative in Data Science report and visit the Oregon Data Science website.

The full text of the provost’s message is posted on the Office of the Provost website.