- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock, state leaders attend state’s first Chief Data Officer forum

Janea Snyder — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 23:54:20 +0000

��Vlog��ý Little Rock leaders played a key role in the state’s first Chief Data Officer forum today at the State Capitol. Chancellor Andrew Rogerson and Dr. Richard Wang, executive director of the Institute for Chief Data Officers, both spoke at the day-long meeting which brought together chief data officers from others states and Arkansas government leaders to discuss data exchange. The Institute for Chief Data Officers is housed at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and is led by Dr. Wang, who is designing the framework for statewide data sharing. Earlier this year, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 912 and created the position of the state’s chief data office. To fulfill that role, the state partnered with the new Institute of Chief Data officers. “As the state’s metropolitan university, this role of outreach and collaboration is quite fitting with our mission,” Dr. Rogerson said. “We want to be community-engaged through meetings and conferences, outcome-based research, advocacy and public policy support, sharing best practices, and building rewarding connections with business and governmental partners on issues just like this one.” Four state agencies – Arkansas Community Correction, Department of Correction, Arkansas Parole Board, and Arkansas Crime Information Center – also signed a public safety interagency agreement to share data during the forum. More interagency partnerships are expected. Pictured (from left): New York Chief Data Officer Todd Harbour; Tennessee chief data officer Jeffrey Kriseman, Texas chief data officer Ed Kelly; State Representative Warwick Sabin; Governor Asa Hutchinson; State Representative Stephen Meeks; Chancellor Andrew Rogerson; and Dr. Richard Wang.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Institute fills chief data officer role for state of Arkansas

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 14:03:05 +0000

The Institute for Chief Data Officers at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will fill an important role to help protect and maximize big data within the state of Arkansas.�� The Arkansas Department of Information Systems has contracted the Institute for Chief Data Officers, led by Executive Director Dr. Richard Wang, to serve as the state’s chief data officer. Wang also serves as a professor of information science at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Chief Data Officer and Information Quality Program. “The College of Engineering and Information Technology is proud to host the Institute for Chief Data Officers as it combines aspects of our mission to provide groundbreaking research and address the needs of our community,” Dean Lawrence Whitman said. “The public is served when the university’s research serves the community, both corporate and government. We want our state to use state-of-the-art practices in its use of data and to be a leader in this area. I am pleased that the iCDO is accomplishing this.” The state’s chief data officer position was created by Act 912 of 2017, which was sponsored by Rep. Austin McCollum, R-Bentonville. The act requires the director of the state Department of Information Systems to select a chief data officer as well as create an 18-member Data Transparency Panel that the chief data officer will chair. The Institute for Chief Data Officers will help the state analyze the state’s data needs, perform a feasibility and cost study on the development of a statewide data warehouse program, and evaluate and identify data that can be published. Wang wants to facilitate inter-agency data agreements and increase statewide data sharing and transparency. “We have to make different data from different systems talk to each other,” Wang said. “During my first 100 days as CDO, I want to host the inaugural Arkansas CDO forum so we can begin the discussion and exchange of ideas to achieve project outcomes beneficial to the people of Arkansas.” Another central goal for Wang is the exploration of public/private partnerships whereby Arkansas can become a national example of an effective data-driven government to better address priority public needs. This approach would also create greater value for the taxpayer dollar through better allocation of existing data to meet the needs of Arkansans, Wang said. In recent years, state, city, and county governments have seen the value in adding a chief data officer to the workforce. Colorado was the first state to add a chief data officer in 2010. Arkansas becomes the in the U.S. to employ a chief data officer. At the Institute for Chief Data Officers, Wang and his employees are working to train new chief data officers and perform seminal research on the topic. The institute leads multiple certificate programs throughout the year. “I want Little Rock and central Arkansas to be the center of data in training and conducting research on big data and chief data officers,” Wang said. “We are leading the path to promote the idea of chief data officers.” The need for chief data officers is increasing. According to the Stamford, Connecticut-based information technology research company Gartner, will have a chief data officer by 2019. “I believe that chief data officers are here to stay,” Wang said. “When chief data officers show successful business results, that is when companies will demand a CDO. Our job at the Institute for Chief Data Officers is to envision a chief data officer in every major organization globally in the public and private sector.”

��Vlog��ýLR information quality graduate program celebrates 10 years of success

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 18:41:14 +0000

When Acxiom executives agreed to help sponsor the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s new graduate program in information quality 10 years ago, they had no idea how successful the program would become.�� “This program has far exceeded my expectations of what it would ever do,” said Charles Morgan, former company leader of Acxiom Corp. and now CEO of PrivacyStar. In its first 10 years, advanced students from around the world have completed 204 degrees through the world’s first graduate program in information quality. ��Vlog��ýLR students and faculty members, along with business and community leaders, celebrated the program’s achievements during a 10th anniversary celebration Sept. 30 at the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology auditorium. During a panel featuring three of the graduate program’s founders, Morgan recalled how excited he was about the possibility that the program could produce graduates capable of tackling industry problems. “When we tried to hire young graduates, they had no idea what data quality meant. It was a totally meaningless concept to young people,” Morgan said. Other members of the panel included Richard Wang, co-director for MIT’s and executive director of the ��Vlog��ýLR Institute for Chief Data Officers, and Dr. Mary Good, founding dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology. During the ceremony’s introduction, ��Vlog��ýLR Chancellor Andrew Rogerson emphasized the fact that universities need more innovative graduate programs that create graduates who can think, communicate, work well in groups, and solve problems. “Any form of research or scholarship or creative activity that gives students the so-called pillars of leadership and the ability to think creatively and find solutions to problems in the future, problems we cannot even conceive of today, will enable graduates to compete and succeed in the increasingly complex, information-based global economy,” Rogerson said. University leaders also celebrated the inauguration of the Institute for Chief Data Officers, the first academic institute devoted solely to the professional development of chief data officers, and the graduates of the institute’s first workshop. The workshop, “Foundations for Chief Data Officers,” was held Sept. 26-29 at ��Vlog��ýLR. In his keynote address, Mark Ramsey, chief data officer of GlaxoSmithKline, reiterated the need for an institute to train people how to be chief data officers in today’s changing world. “Data is the new business currency,” Ramsey said. “The chief data officer is meant to help an organization drive value out of the data in their organization. An explosion of data is one of the things that has been happening over the past couple of years.” John Talburt, coordinator of the Information Quality Graduate Program, and Elizabeth Pierce, chair of the Department of Information Science, recognized the graduates who have earned more than 200 degrees from the graduate program in its 10 years. Degrees earned include 64 graduate certificates, 167 master’s degrees, and 18 doctorates in integrated computing with a track on information quality. �� Talburt next recognized the event’s gold sponsor, PWC. Additional sponsors recognized included Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the International Society of Chief Data Officers, Inteliblue, Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., Arkansas Department of Education, Black Oak Analytics, Collibra, ��Vlog��ýLR Institute for Chief Data Officers, and Spotright. As for the future of the program, the addition of the Institute for Chief Data Officers will attract more information quality students to pursue research with the institute while completing the integrated computing doctoral program. Talburt hopes these students will join academia to eventually create similar information quality graduate programs at major universities across the country. In the upper right photo,��John Talburt, left, introduces the members of the Information Quality Graduate Program Founder’s Panel, including Dr. Mary Good, Charles Morgan, and Dr. Richard Wang.��

Information quality graduate program celebrates 10th anniversary Sept. 30

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 13:45:49 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology (EIT) will host the 10th anniversary celebration for the world’s first graduate program in information quality on Friday, Sept. 30. In 2006, three data quality leaders��had a vision to establish the world’s first graduate degree program in information quality at ��Vlog��ýLR. They included��Richard Wang,��co-director for MIT’s, Dr.��Mary Good, founding dean of the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology, and Charles Morgan, then company leader of Acxiom Corporation. The leaders worked with ��Vlog��ýLR information science professors Elizabeth Pierce and John Talburt and Yang Lee, associate professor at Northeastern University, to help realize the vision of this unique ��Vlog��ýLR graduate program focused on information quality skills, techniques, and tools. Since then, advanced students from throughout the world have completed more than 200 degrees, earning industry jobs in top companies such as Google, IBM, and CITI. “The quality of the data is key to the success of today’s businesses. Ten years ago, a few people had the foresight to start a program in data quality,” said Lawrence Whitman, dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology. “That program has graduated many students who are now leaders of industry.” The 10-year celebration will begin at 1 p.m. Sept. 30 with a welcome by Chancellor Andrew Rogerson followed by a panel featuring the founders of the graduate program. Alumni of the Information Quality Graduate Program will be recognized during a ceremony at 1:40 p.m. The inauguration of the Institute for Chief Data Officers, the first academic institute devoted solely to the professional development of chief data officers, will begin at 2:40 p.m. Mark Ramsey, chief data officer of GlaxoSmithKline, will deliver the keynote address at 2:50 p.m. In advance of its 10th anniversary, the information quality program is also celebrating the first training program offered by ��Vlog��ýLR and MIT’s joint Institute for Chief Data Officers Sept. 26-29 at ��Vlog��ýLR. The has also entered into a partnership with the new institute. The workshop, “Foundations for Chief Data Officers,” will cover the definition and landscape of chief data officers, introductions to big data concepts, data analytics, data integration, and data policy, strategy, and governance.

A unique program in the heart of Arkansas

Information quality is an emerging discipline concerned with maximizing the value of an organization’s information assets while minimizing risk, and assuring information products produced by the organization create value for customers. The graduate program began by offering ��a 33-credit master’s degree. Enrollees now have the option to pursue a 12-credit graduate certificate or a 75-credit track in the Integrated Computing Ph.D. program. For more information, contact Nihal Erian at nserian@ualr.edu or 501.682.8029.��Visit the information quality website for a complete schedule of events.

��Vlog��ýLR, MIT create first institute for chief data officers

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 15:19:26 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (��Vlog��ýLR) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have partnered to create the first academic institute devoted solely to the professional development of chief data officers. The primary role of the Institute for Chief Data Officers will be to train professionals who will take on the role of chief data officers and to provide opportunities for doctoral students to conduct research on chief data officers. “Think of a chief data officer as a person who is primarily responsible for the data at a company, making sure it is of the right quality and that the use of it is warranted,” said Dr. Lawrence Whitman, dean of the ��Vlog��ýLR George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology. “For most large organizations, including universities, data is one of the biggest assets we own.”

Related:

According to the Stamford, Connecticut-based information technology research company Gartner, will have a chief data officer by 2019. The has also entered into a partnership with the new institute. In addition to donating $25,000 to the creation of the institute, the society will provide research topics and input for doctoral students to conduct research at the institute. Dr. Richard Wang will lead the institute as the executive managing director after a decade at MIT, where he serves as the co-director for MIT’s. In 2006, Wang helped Dr. John Talburt, a professor of information science who will serve as the ��Vlog��ýLR campus director at the institute, create the ��Vlog��ýLR Information Quality Graduate Program, which offers a graduate certificate, master’s degree, and doctoral program. “We will now be leaders in not only information quality, but also in the training of chief data officers,” Talburt said. “There is a movement in industry and government that information needs to be managed as an enterprise asset. In order to make this happen, there needs to be an executive-level leader of data strategies for the company who will determine how will they monetize and create value from their data assets.” Whitman will serve as chairman of the institute’s board of advisors. Program Manager Nihal Erian and Co-Director for China Programs Ningning Wu will also join the institute at ��Vlog��ýLR. At MIT, Dr. Stuart Madnick will serve as the campus director. The first training course offered by the institute will be “Foundations for Chief Data Officers.” The course will be held Sept. 26-29, 2016, and Feb. 6-9, 2017, at ��Vlog��ýLR. It will cover the definition and landscape of chief data officers, introductions to big data concepts, data analytics, data integration, and data policy, strategy, and governance. Whitman, who announced the creation of the institute at the opening session of the MIT on July 12, said there was great interest in the institute throughout the conference. “People came up to me the entire conference to talk about being involved with the Institute for Chief Data Officers,” Whitman said. “Students inquired about starting their doctoral program with us. Others are interested in proposing research topics and doing research with the institute. Most people were interested in hiring our graduates for positions in big data.” For more information about the Institute for Chief Data Officers, visit the website or contact iCDO@ualr.edu. In the upper right photo,��Dr. Lawrence Whitman announces the creation of the Institute for Chief Data Officers at the opening session of the MIT Chief Data Officers and Information Quality Symposium on July 12. Pictured, from left to right, are Dr. Richard Wang, executive managing director of the institute; Dr. Larry Whitman; Dr. Elizabeth Pierce, chair of the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of Information Science; and Dr. John Talburt, ��Vlog��ýLR campus director of the institute.��

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock, state leaders attend state’s first Chief Data Officer forum

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Institute fills chief data officer role for state of Arkansas