Carla Ho-a, associate vice chancellor for finance and business strategy and deputy chief financial officer, named Seth Spielman as chief data strategy and analytics officer, effective Aug. 12, 2019.
"I'm excited to welcome Seth, and look forward to the unique perspective and energy he will bring to the Office of Data Analytics and the Finance and Business Strategy (FBS) division," Ho-a said.
Spielman joined CU Boulder community in 2010 as an associate professor of geography, and also holds affiliations with CU Boulder’s Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS) and Information Science.
From 2015 through 2019, Spielman worked at Apple Maps, where his work included building systems that used machine learning to improve map-based navigation and search, and coordinating international data collection projects. Throughout his career, Spielman’s work has focused on the intersection of data science and maps. He’s published over thirty articles, co-authored a book on urban analytics, led over $1.5 million in National Science Foundation awards, and received awards from American Association of Geographers, the American Statistical Association and the Breheny Prize for work in urban science.
“Our institutional data is an incredible asset. I think there is tremendous potential to improve student outcomes, and our institution as a whole, through partnerships that enable domain experts to gain insights through data,” says Spielman. “I look forward to leading this team as we partner with faculty and staff across campus.”
Spielman received his PhD in geographic information science from SUNY Buffalo, his MS in urban planning from Columbia University and his BA in geography from Macalester College.
"Seth’s experience using data to inform change, and his views and experience as a faculty member provide an opportunity to expand ODA’s impact,” said Ho-a. “This experience can take the FBS division one step closer to our vision of supporting faculty, and ultimately the university, in deep and meaningful ways."
Evolving to support the university community: Faculty Information System joins ODA
The Office of Data Analytics has served the CU Boulder community through survey design, reporting, predictive analytics and the building of applications that support the collection, analysis and reporting of institutional data. In an effort to expand overall support for CU Boulder faculty, the Faculty Information System (FIS) transitioned from the Office of Faculty Affairs to ODA in May 2019.
“The FIS technical group is a talented team with over twenty combined years of experience serving CU Boulder faculty,” said Michele Moses, vice provost for Faculty Affairs. “I look forward to growing the partnership between Faculty Affairs and Data Analytics, with the common goal to build services that save faculty valuable resources, including time, so they can focus on research, teaching and other professional activities.”
FIS was created in 1994 and serves as the university's system of record to track faculty information including key career events, professional activities, research interests and other business-critical data. The FIS technical group will continue to partner with the Faculty Data and Impact group within the Office of Faculty Affairs to fully support FIS' stakeholders, including faculty, department chairs and other academic administrators.
