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Zuhair Taha Named Inaugural Recipient of Phil Bourne Memorial Scholarship
New scholarship honors founding dean’s legacy of innovation, curiosity, and service by supporting online M.S. in Data Science students
Zuhair Taha, a student in the University of Virginia School of Data Science’s online M.S. in Data Science program, has been named the inaugural recipient of “Onward: The Philip E. Bourne Memorial Innovation Scholarship.”
The new scholarship was established through a $50,000 gift from Lee and Alexis Bradshaw in memory of Philip E. Bourne (1953-2026), founding dean of the School of Data Science. It recognizes students based on academic merit and demonstrated character, with preference given to those who embody values that defined Bourne’s leadership: openness and transparency, intellectual curiosity, entrepreneurial thinking, collaboration, initiative, and integrity.
Taha is the inaugural recipient of the scholarship and is an AI Model Evaluation Analyst for Handshake, based in Washington, D.C. His professional work focuses on the intersection of AI evaluation and open-source research. He will start the M.S. in Data Science online program this fall.
"In all my years supporting higher education's leaders, the energy, care, and entrepreneurial spirit Phil embodied was unparalleled,” remarked Lee Bradshaw, founder and CEO of Rhodes Advisors. “When you left a meeting with him, your worldview came into focus a bit more, and your hunger for doing good increased.”
For Bradshaw and his wife, Alexis, setting up a scholarship in Bourne’s name was a way to honor his spirit while supporting future generations of students who come to learn in the school that he built. “When I asked UVA Vice Provost for Online Education and Digital Innovation Kemi Jona what word came to mind for the scholarship, he reminded me that every email from Phil ended with 'Onward,’” Bradshaw said. “I immediately thought it was the perfect name.”
Lee Bradshaw has spent much of his career working at the intersection of higher education, technology, and innovation. Through Rhodes Advisors and previous leadership roles at Noodle and 2U, he has helped universities develop new approaches to online education and navigate a changing higher education landscape.
Bradshaw’s gift will support the scholarship through 2030, helping extend Bourne’s influence to a new generation of data scientists.
Learn more about the part-time, 100% online M.S. in Data Science at the University of Virginia. Request more information, connect with Admissions, or start your application today.
