We’re excited to introduce our official name: the Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society.
UC Berkeley Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Alivisatos and Associate Provost Jennifer Chayes announced the name today after considering input and nominations from stakeholders across campus. UC Berkeley leaders first announced the Division under a provisional name in November 2018.
Associate Provost Chayes said the name Computing, Data Science, and Society reflects the Division’s substance, range, and ambitions.“Computing is at the foundation of today’s revolutionary transformation of how we view, understand, and interact with the world,” she said. “Data science is the nexus that links the disciplines, from the natural sciences to the arts, that inform these interactions. Society represents our shared aspirations as a public university to improve human life.”
The Division was launched in July 2019 to bring together faculty and students in computing, statistics, the humanities, and social and natural sciences to work across disciplinary boundaries. The novel structure is designed to accelerate breakthroughs across scientific and technological frontiers and to prepare students from across the campus to engage as capable and ethical leaders in an increasingly data-rich world.
The Division includes the Data Science Education Program, the School of Information, and the Berkeley Institute for Data Science, and involves the Departments of Statistics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. It also will feature the Data Science Commons, a dynamic new organizational structure for faculty who are advancing transdisciplinary discovery in critical areas such as climate and sustainability, biomedicine, trustworthy artificial intelligence, human welfare, and arts, humanities, and media.
In addition to Associate Provost Chayes, the Division leadership includes Cathryn Carson, Associate Dean for Strategy and Planning; Deirdre Mulligan, Associate Dean, Head of School of Information; Deborah Nolan, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education; Kathy Yelick, Associate Dean for Research; and Rebecca Miller, Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Assistant Dean.