“The exponential creation of data and the need to understand it is profoundly changing the way universities must approach both educating students and pursuing research.”
Elizabeth G. Loboa
Provost and VP for Academic Affairs
SMU
.…on the O’Donnell Foundation donating $30 million to the university to create 10 endowed academic positions in engineering and data science as well as to support research in those fields.
Loboa was explaining a critical need that SMU and other universities are addressing—one that was got a boost last week when The O’Donnell Foundation announced its donation of $30 million to SMU to create 10 endowed academic positions in engineering and data science, as well as to support research in those fields.
“Data literacy for our students combined with the capability to use sophisticated computer modeling and artificial intelligence toward research is crucial to meeting many challenges here in North Texas and around the world,” Loboa said in a statement. “The O’Donnell Foundation’s gift is a major step for us in meeting those goals.”
SMU President R. Gerald Turner said the gift will be evenly split between SMU’s newly named O’Donnell Data Science and Research Computing Institute and an initiative for digital innovation in engineering and computer science.
You can read more about the gift and its impact in our story.
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