Dean’s Blog: A Stake in the Ground

We recently held a steel topping ceremony for our School of Data Science (SDS) building here at the University of Virginia. The final steel beam topping out our new structure came complete with an artificial pine tree. The event symbolized the introduction of the building to the public, although I must say the on-going traffic disruption has been visible for sometime now! The ceremony also acknowledged the working crew, construction team, designers and university leaders, all of whom work hard to make it possible. The event moved me more than I expected.

Honestly, emotions were elevated even before the steel topping ceremony. The week before, I toured the site wearing the requisite hard hat and boots. I was amazed at how different it felt to be onsite, completely immersed in the environment, versus looking at drone footage or driving past the construction site. It was a hive of coordinated activity. The location of our building is part of a major development project for the University of Virginia, the build-out of the Emmet Ivy Corridor.  Within our steel shell itself there were sparks flying and hammers making a racket. I suddenly had a real appreciation for the physical manifestation of almost three years of planning this project by so many people. We are creating something real. It was a moving moment.

Already our communications team has done a great job of capturing that moment when our students, staff, faculty, and construction crews came together to celebrate. Here, I want to offer a personal reflection. 

Some of our team have spent endless hours going over every aspect of the building's development and I am exceedingly grateful for their efforts. Every team member has had the opportunity to weigh in on the initial design and function of our future shared space – a part of our shared governance philosophy. I come in at key moments and bless this and that at a stage of construction way beyond what is being built at the time, a result of planning and supply chains being what they are. To be honest I thought this is just another university building going up which I have a hand in. No more. 

What was apparent to me as I stood inside the steel shell, or celebrated our progress during the steel topping, was that we had, physically and metaphorically, put a stake in the ground. We have created a physical manifestation of what it means to be a data scientist and do data science. Students will enter these doors with high expectations and leave with brighter futures. Research will be done within the walls that makes a difference in the real world. Our local community will pass through and be shown what data and digital technology can provide. We are no longer just a concept of a “school” but have become one. We are a real presence that everyone can reference and visit. Virtual and temporary space does not cut it. Soon, when we open our doors in spring 2024, we will have a sense of belonging that does not exist today. It is a monumental moment defined by the placement of one steel beam and an artificial tree. Who would have guessed.