UVA Alum and His Wife Donate $10 Million to Data Science School

University of Virginia President Jim Ryan on Thursday announced a $10 million commitment from Scott and Beth Stephenson to provide a scholarship program for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in data science, a newly established undergraduate major in the School of Data Science. The Stephensons are longtime supporters of the University and the school.

Their gift, creating the Stephenson Data Science Bicentennial Scholars Fund, will be matched with an additional $10 million from the University’s Bicentennial Scholars Fund for a total investment of $20 million.

“Beth and Scott have been deeply engaged with the School of Data Science since its founding, and I am incredibly grateful for their generous gift,” Ryan said. “With Stephenson Scholarships nurturing the future leaders in data science at the University, their thoughtful and well-timed investment will enable the University to lead the way in this rapidly developing field of study.”

In September 2023, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia approved the creation of a Bachelor of Science in Data Science at UVA, a landmark development for the 5-year-old school. The degree program was the first of its kind in the nation and includes 75 new data science undergraduate majors this year.

The scholarship program will fulfill 100% of each Stephenson Scholar’s demonstrated financial need by offsetting loan and/or work-study requirements. It will also allow students from all backgrounds to engage with the University’s and the school’s undergraduate experiences, including internships, research and other opportunities in the interdisciplinary field of data science — and to graduate debt-free.

“My sincere thanks to Beth and Scott Stephenson for this transformative gift to accompany what is a first – a groundbreaking Bachelor of Science in Data Science program,” Philip Bourne, the Stephenson Dean of the School of Data Science, said. “I cannot think of a better way forward, nor better advocates of data science, than the Stephensons. The financial support and mentoring of the Stephenson Scholars will bring forth qualities of leadership in quantitative skills as applied to the needs of society.”

Next fall, the school’s admissions team, in coordination with Student Financial Services, will select Stephenson Scholars from rising second-year students admitted to the Bachelor of Science in Data Science program. 

A 1979 graduate of UVA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, Scott Stephenson has been involved with data science throughout his academic and professional careers. He is the founder of SGS Capital and former chair, president and CEO of Verisk Analytics. He has served on the School of Data Science board since 2015, when it was then the Data Science Institute. He and his wife supported the establishment of the Stephenson Dean of the School of Data Science with a $3 million gift in 2021.

Image

The concept for establishing the Scholars Program came naturally for the Stephensons.

“We have direct experience of the value of a technical education in the context of the overall breadth of the University, Scott having studied at the Engineering School as an undergraduate,” Beth Stephenson said. “In our family, we were fortunate that all three of our children emerged from their undergraduate studies debt-free, and we saw how this permitted them to accelerate into their chosen fields. We’re excited to support other young scholars down the same path.”

Scott Stephenson added that they were pleased to partner with the University and the school.

“We believe the School of Data Science, and therefore this Scholar’s Program, can and will be very strategic for the University,” he said. “We expect the undergraduate degree to be very popular with current and prospective scholars, and with time the success of the school will lead to deeper ties to relevant industries and areas of sponsored research.”

The Bicentennial Scholars Fund, initiated in 2017 around the bicentennial of the University’s founding, has been one of the most successful strategic initiatives of the Honor the Future campaign and is a key component of the University’s 2030 Plan. As of July, this combination of philanthropy and matching funds from the University has created more than $645 million for permanently endowed scholarships. Since the Bicentennial Scholars Fund was established, more than 643 endowed scholarships have been established across the University.

This article was originally published in UVA Today.