Each academic year, the Office of the Provost identifies a theme that unites the University of Pittsburgh community and offers Internal grants and programming connected to the theme.

Academic Year 2021-2022 was the Year of Data and Society at Pitt and I was honored to serve as the chair of the initiative.

The Year of Data and Society provided students, staff, and faculty an opportunity to think critically about the data we collect, use, and leave behind as traces, through our scholarly work, education, institutional operations, and digital lives. Together, we focused on the societal implications of data and its uses, recognizing that data can both empower and marginalize individuals and communities.

I'm proud of the projects we funded, the programming we planned, and the critical engagement with data that happened across our University.

I am the director of the Sara Fine Institute in the School of Computing and Information.

The Sara Fine Institute (SFI) at the School of Computing and Information hosts programming that focuses on social justice and technology, critical data studies, and the relationships between people and technology. SFI seeks to foster community, collaboration, and conversation among University of Pittsburgh students, staff, and faculty who are interested in and studying the societal, ethical, and political implications of data and technology.