Tom Woteki, founding director of the Academy of Data Science, has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

In 2020, Woteki was tabbed by former College of Science Dean Sally Morton to lead the creation of the brand-new Academy of Data Science. One of the college’s strategic initiatives, the Academy of Data Science was envisioned to become the transdisciplinary educational and intellectual home for COS students and faculty, elevating data science as a scientific discipline of its own. It is also a hub for external partners and partners across the university where individuals can engage with the College of Science on data science issues.

Woteki, a three-time Hokie alumnus with a Ph.D. in statistics, has been responsible for establishing the Academy of Data Science’s presence and reputation on campus. Among the highlights that have occurred in the Academy of Data Science during Woteki’s tenure are the:

  • transition of the Computational Modeling and Data Analytics (CMDA) undergraduate program, one of the fastest-growing majors in the College of Science, from the Academy of Integrated Sciences
  • creation of Data Science Faculty Fellowships and Academy of Data Science Discovery Fund
  • development of a virtual data science lecture series during the pandemic in conjunction with the Northern Virginia Technology Council
  • sponsorship of campus events including the Ecological Forecasting Project seminar with Carl Boettiger, Women in Data Science (WiDS) Blacksburg (2023-24), and Design and Analysis of Experiments (DAE) Conference 2024
  • launch of a data science lunch and learn series for faculty, students, and staff housed in the new Data and Decision Sciences Building

Additionally, Woteki has spearheaded the process to develop a new master’s degree in data science. The degree is expected to launch in Fall 2025, pending final approval from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV).

Woteki, who joined the statistics faculty at Virginia Tech as a professor of practice in 2018, has accumulated more than 30 years of industry experience in statistics and data science; information technology strategy, development, and management; and IT consulting.

An internal search will be launched for Woteki’s successor as the next director of the Academy of Data Science.