University of the South (Sewanee)

Educational Offerings, Faculty & Institution Building, Strengthening the PIT University Network

Sustaining DataLab and Expanding Its Reach in Liberal Arts Colleges
Sewanee will expand its social data institute by adding a pre-college cohort and a faculty development program for the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation and the Appalachian College Association.

Principal Investigator

Matthew Rudd, Chair and Associate Professor of Mathematics

Faculty and Institution Building

Building data-analytics and technology capacity to address public health challenges in underserved communities of Tennessee
This program will leverage existing faculty expertise, current relationships with community organizations, and an institutional partnership with Meharry Medical College to build capacity for data-analytics and technology use that addresses pressing public health challenges of the local community. Faculty and students at the University of the South will gain new skill in biostatistics and epidemiology through study at Meharry, and, then, through a partnership with Meharry, will design a research project that involves researchers from both schools that addresses a public health challenge with both rural and urban manifestations. The project will lead to curriculum development and development of a public health technology certificate.

Principal Investigator

Amy Patterson, Carl Gustav Biehl Jr. Professor of International Affairs

Faculty and Institution Building

Sewanee Public Interest Data Analysis Institute

Following a model created by Sewanee alumnus Rayid Ghani and implemented at the University of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon’s “Data Science for Social Good,” Sewanee will pilot a data analysis institute for undergraduate faculty and students in order to develop both groups. In spring of 2021 we will identify four public interest projects with a data component. Student and faculty participants will be identified, and when the institute begins, we will form a team dedicated to working on each project. A PI Technologist will supervise all four projects, with Sewanee faculty and students working on each. Visiting technologists will provide plenary talks and lead discussion of PIT. Planning in the fall will lead to a second iteration in 2022.

Principal Investigator

Matthew Rudd, Chair and Associate Professor of Mathematics