Jeannette Wing Appointed Executive Vice President for Research

Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:

It is a great pleasure to announce my appointment of Jeannette Wing to serve as the next Executive Vice President for Research, responsible for managing Columbia’s research activities across our New York campuses and abroad, effective September 1, 2021. Jeannette is currently the Avanessians Director of the Data Science Institute and Professor of Computer Science. She brings to her new role the skills of an accomplished scientist and a gifted administrator with a distinguished career in the academy, industry, and government. 

Jeannette came to Columbia in 2017, after having worked at Microsoft, Carnegie Mellon University, and the National Science Foundation, to lead the Data Science Institute, where she and her team have embraced the power of data science to transform the University’s teaching and research capacities. Under her leadership, the Institute has supported important research initiatives such as personalized medicine, understanding the impacts of climate change, and advancing the next generation of wireless technologies. The Institute has also established interdisciplinary research and educational programs for faculty and students, encouraged the growth of and access to real-world datasets, and supported large-scale studies of COVID-19 treatments. Jeannette has also been involved personally in recruiting new faculty and building collaborations within and beyond the University. Further, in recognition of the racial equity gaps in data science research and education, she and her team have created a Task Force on Racial Equity, launched a Racial Equity Action Plan, and appointed an Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Institute. 

As Columbia’s Executive Vice President for Research, Jeannette will advance the office’s mandate to grow our research efforts in ways that align with the challenges and opportunities ahead, building on the University’s longstanding strengths, supporting collaborations across disciplines, and encouraging work that takes advantage of anticipated new sources of funding from the federal government. Importantly, Jeannette is committed to promoting fundamental research with real-world applications in the realms of artificial intelligence, quantum science, semiconductors, robotics, biotechnology, energy technology, cybersecurity, and material science, thereby furthering what I call the Fourth Purpose of the University. She will also expand our partnerships with organizations in the business, nonprofit, higher education, and government sectors. Uniting all of this work is a commitment to increasing the presence of historically underrepresented groups in research fields through various pipeline, recruitment, and advancement initiatives. 

I will share details on the search for the next Director of the Data Science Institute as they take shape. I am very grateful to Jeannette for taking on these responsibilities and for her service to the institution, especially so at this extraordinary moment in national advancement and funding of university research.  

Sincerely,

Lee C. Bollinger