From:  Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President & Provost
Date:   November 20, 2019
Re: Appointment of Professor Jamie Stafford as Provostial Advisor on Data Sciences (PDAD&C #25)

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Jamie Stafford as Provostial Advisor on Data Sciences at the University of Toronto. Professor Stafford’s appointment is from January 1 to December 31, 2020.

Professor Stafford will advise me and the Vice-President, Research & Innovation, and Strategic Partnerships on opportunities and future directions in computational and data science  fields at the University of Toronto.

In this advisory capacity, Professor Stafford will convene discussions and consultations with academic administrators, faculty, staff, students and others about directions the University may consider with respect to data science. Through these consultations, Professor Stafford will help to develop an understanding of current strengths and opportunities in data science research and teaching at the University and affiliated institutions. Professor Stafford will also examine models of data science offerings at peer institutions throughout the world, as well as previous U of T reports suggesting areas for potential interdisciplinary or interdivisional programs. Informed by this work, Professor Stafford will suggest possible divisional and inter-divisional models for data sciences research and teaching at the University of Toronto.

Professor Stafford will be supported by Dr. Helen Lasthiotakis, Executive Director, Strategic Partnerships, Office of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation (VPRI). The VPRI is also developing a research support Data Science Hub in conjunction with the Centre for Research Innovation & Support (CRIS); Prof. Stafford will coordinate closely with the VPRI as that new initiative is developed.

Professor Stafford is a faculty member in the Department of Statistical Sciences within the Faculty of Arts & Science and in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. His research focus is in asymptotics, symbolic computation and spatio-temporal methods. He is a recipient of the Premier’s Research Excellence Award and recently received the Distinguished Service Award from the Statistical Society of Canada for his enthusiastic and dynamic leadership in statistical science across Canada — including serving as the Director of the National Program on Complex Data Structures.

Professor Stafford currently serves as Vice-Dean, Academic Operations within the Faculty of Arts & Science, and will continue to do so while serving as Provostial Advisor. Previously, he served as the Chair of the Department of Statistical Sciences for two terms and led the department through a remarkable period of expansion. Professor Stafford’s skills and experience in data sciences across many fields, at the University and beyond, make him ideally suited for the role of Provostial Advisor. Please join me in thanking Professor Stafford for his willingness to take on this important role.