Sue Haas, First IT Director for the School of Data Science, Retires

Sue Haas, the first director of information technology at the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science, is retiring at the end of the month following a four-decade career in the field.

Haas joined the School of Data Science in 2021 and in her three years has made an indelible impact, writing the School’s first IT strategic plan as well as playing a critical role in shaping the School’s overall strategic plan as a member of the senior leadership team. 

“Sue has been a wonderful team player and led us through a startup phase of the School when things were sometimes chaotic — but not with our IT thanks to Sue’s leadership,” said Phil Bourne, founding dean of the School of Data Science. “She will be dearly missed by me and many others.”

A 1984 computer science graduate from James Madison University, Haas began her professional journey at UVA’s Academic Computing unit, supporting research faculty. She would eventually help install the first Unix workstations for a number of UVA’s most prominent researchers at the time.

In the early 1990s, Haas returned to school, completing a master’s degree in systems engineering at the University in 1995. 

That same year, she was recruited to join UVA’s Department of Computer Science where she helped establish the first infrastructure based solely on Sun SPARC servers hosting web and email services, as well as storage and research computing power.

After a stint in the private sector at GE Fanuc from 1998 until 2002, Haas returned to UVA, this time at the Darden School of Business. 

It was at Darden that she first worked with John Baxton, who would become a trusted colleague and friend in the ensuing years. Baxton would later work with Haas at Piedmont Virginia Community College and most recently at the School of Data Science, where he serves as senior web developer.

"I will always be honored that Sue called on me to join her team more than once. Her leadership and guidance will be missed, but I'm so excited for her to enjoy retirement," Baxton said.

Prior to her stint at Piedmont, where she was chief information officer from 2014-21, Haas served as IT director for UVA’s vice president of human resources. There, she led efforts to transform HR processes from manual to systematic. 

Since coming to the School of Data Science in 2021, just two years after it was established, Haas has built an IT team that will continue to provide vital support to faculty, staff, and students long after she is gone.

Through it all, Haas has proven herself a warm and generous colleague, an able manager, and a passionate advocate for implementing effective IT solutions.

Looking back at her career, Haas says she is walking away satisfied and grateful for the experiences she’s had and the colleagues she’s collaborated with.

“Working at UVA has been rewarding, exciting, challenging and fun. I guess any university can say that. But I will add that working with passionate, talented, and extraordinary people has made my career exceptional,” she said.

“I leave with a great sense of satisfaction, enlightened mind, and full heart. Thank you to all who have been with me on this incredible journey.”