[M]assMutual Life Insurance Co. has given the University of Vermont a $5 million gift in the largest donation the school has ever received from a corporation.
The gift will bolster the university’s Complex Systems Center, which is part of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences and aims to improve the world through data science and analysis. For example, research from the center has explored how an algorithm analyzing social media posts can help identify depression.
The gift will establish the MassMutual Center for Complex Systems and Data Science and fund research projects that use data analytics. The initial areas of study that the grant will fund are longevity and wellness, algorithmic fairness and measurement methodology for large-scale social systems.
“This gift will allow us to visualize, share and create new complex systems which will help the world become a happier and healthier place,” Chris Danforth, a professor and associate director of the Complex Systems Center, said.
The Springfield, Massachusetts-based life insurance company has given similar gifts to Mount Holyoke College, Smith College and UMass Amherst. Roger Crandall, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, is a UVM graduate.
MassMutual has gone from having no capability for data science to employing about 100 data scientists in the last five years, Sears Merritt, MassMutual’s chief data scientist, said. He said that the Complex Systems Center at UVM is the “gold standard” for the work that they do.
“Data science is enabling us to have a positive influence on people’s lives and that will only continue with the partnership we have announced today,” he said.
Peter Dodds, a professor and the director of the Complex Systems Center, said that data science is experiencing a revolution as more and more fields are using data and analytics to enhance society.
“We’re very excited about the future and this is a great step forward,” he said.
Dodds said the funding will be used for a broad array of purposes, including a new space for the center at the university’s Innovation Hall when the building opens in 2019. Other uses will include buying equipment, helping students travel to present their work and helping students with their research.
The funding will also create a paid fellowship for Ph.D. students, a visualization data artist-in-residence program for early-career data scientist and a mentorship program for students.
Correction: This post originally misspelled Peter Dodds’ last name.
