Welcome to the fourth issue of the Data Science & Society (DSS) newsletter, and the first of the 2023–2024 academic year! We hope you are all doing well. Since our last newsletter in May, the DSS Steering Committee has been charting an inclusive path forward for data science at Vassar by forming working groups to accomplish concrete tasks based on the feedback we’ve received from the campus community and peer institutions.
Colloquium Series. We have held two colloquia thus far this fall – one on September 20 by Mine Dogucu (UC Irvine) on “The Place of Accessibility in (Data) Science” and another on October 6 by Jenna Lemonias (The Atlantic, VC ’08) on “Our personalized web: The role – and consequences – of recommendation algorithms for news.” There will be one more colloquium this fall, on November 10 by Rob Williams (Data Scientist Remote Sensing at Bayer Crop Science). We are also in the process of planning colloquia for the Spring 2024 semester. Please let us know if there is someone you would like to bring to Vassar, and we can make it happen! You can view the developing schedule and add it to your calendar here: https://pages.vassar.edu/dss/colloquium-series-schedule/
Working Groups. In order to continue more effectively the work of the Steering Committee, we are forming working groups with discrete responsibilities. Please see below for a summary of the five current working groups and their membership. If you are interested in being involved in any of the working groups, please reach out to any member of a working group or email the Steering Committee at DSSCommittee@vassar.edu!
Curriculum and Staffing Working Group. This group aims to develop courses and a curricular program or programs that will meet the demand for education in data science and society at Vassar College while maintaining the college’s liberal arts mission. While these courses and programs will necessarily change over time, the working group will develop the first set of such offerings. Curricular programs may include correlate sequences, majors, or pathways within existing programs, as determined by the working group. All offerings developed will be presented to the full DSS steering committee and the appropriate faculty committees, departments and programs, and faculty as a whole for approval. In addition, the working group—in consultation with relevant departments and programs—will identify staffing plans that meet these curricular needs, for both the short and long terms.
Members:
- Abby Coplin (Sociology, STS)
- Jonathan Gordon (Computer Science)
- Lee Kennedy-Shaffer (Mathematics and Statistics)
- Ben Lotto (Mathematics and Statistics)
- Sarah Pearlman (Economics)
- Marc Smith (Computer Science)
Development Working Group. This group aims to conceptualize a center (broadly-defined) that fulfills the following roles:
- Faculty grants – teaching & research, data-theme, broadly defined
- Student grants – research, data-theme, broadly defined
- Mechanism for connecting faculty with student “consultants”
- Central place for students & faculty to come with data analysis questions on collaborative work
Members:
- Ming An (Mathematics and Statistics)
- Allan Clifton (Psychological Science)
- Leroy Cooper (Biology, STS)
- Ben Ho (Economics)
- Simon Hoellerbauer (Data Science and Society)
- Monika Hu (Mathematics and Statistics)
Computing Resources Working Group. This group will liaise with CIS and Asprey/CCAS to identify and address computing needs around data-centric work on campus.
Members:
- Allan Clifton (Psychology)
- Carlos Garcia (CIS)
- Jonathan Gordon (Computer Science)
- Jason Waterman (Computer Science)
Programming Working Group. This group will organize events on campus, including the existing DSS Colloquium Series and a potential Conference on Humanities and Digital Science in the spring.
Members:
- Simon Hoellerbauer (Data Science and Society)
External Outreach Working Group. This group will identify and explore funding sources, including potential alumnae/i donors and national funding sources, and outreach with other institutions that have data science programs.
Members:
- Ming An (Mathematics and Statistics)
- Leroy Cooper (Biology, STS)
- Monika Hu (Mathematics and Statistics)
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We’re sending this message to those who have expressed an interest in data science and society at Vassar. Please feel free to share with others.
Thank you and we wish you a great October Break! We look forward to continuing to work with you and the broader Vassar community to craft a collaborative path for DSS going forward.
From all of us on the DSS Steering Committee:
Ming An (Mathematics and Statistics)
Allan Clifton (Psychological Science)
Leroy Cooper (Biology, STS)
Abby Coplin (Sociology, STS)
Jonathan Gordon (Computer Science)
Ben Ho (Economics)
Monika Hu (Mathematics and Statistics)
Lee Kennedy-Shaffer (Mathematics and Statistics
Ben Lotto (Mathematics and Statistics)
Sarah Pearlman (Economics)
Marc Smith (Computer Science)
Jason Waterman (Computer Science)