Anthony Suen, who launched and runs the popular data science Discovery Program, along with an array of other cross-campus initiatives, will be among those receiving the 2019 Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Award in a ceremony next month.
The award comes in recognition of Anthony’s contributions empowering students, forging connections, and advancing strategic innovations across the Division of Data Science and Information, campus, and beyond.
Cathryn Carson, faculty lead for the Data Science Education Program, highlighted Anthony’s capacity to build bridges and create win-win partnerships. "Anthony has envisioned and cooperatively brought into being collaborations across campus and beyond with the Library, D-Lab, ETS (Educational Technology Services), IST (Information Services and Technology), Research, Teaching, and Learning (RTL), and dozens of colleges and universities around the world."
"We'll make it work!"
She also noted his can-do spirit in the face of major challenges. "He always answers quizzical questions with 'We'll make it work.' And he does!"
Currently serving as Director of Programs for the Data Science Education Program, Anthony joined the Division in 2015 as its first staff member. At the time, he was a graduate student in Information and Management Systems and had launched the first data science club on campus, the Data Science Collaborative. That eventually grew into the Discovery Program, which provides students with hands-on opportunities to work on cutting-edge research projects.
Discovery is one of many programs that Anthony has helped conceive and launch, engaging hundreds of students along the way. Carlyn Chinen, the executive assistant for the Data Science Education Program, said Anthony has created countless opportunities for a diverse range of students, equipping them with a combination of technical and leadership skills that position them for success as graduates.
The thanks of the students who’ve joined the programs he’s launched is just one reflection of his enormous impact.
"He set up a rapid-fire series of innovative programs engaging students in everything from designing transformative curriculum to powering the Discovery Research Program to creating a robust peer support system,” she said. "The thanks of the students who’ve joined the programs he’s launched is just one reflection of his enormous impact."
Anthony also has played an integral role in shaping Berkeley’s path-breaking data science curriculum with dozens of academic organizations in a series of workshops and online courses.
After working around the world with a variety of organizations, Anthony said he found an opportunity like no other in Berkeley’s burgeoning data science program. “It’s been exciting to help create this first-of-its-kind program that scales across the campus and really welcomes students from all backgrounds, and unifies and provides a new vision for the university,” he said. “We want to create the greatest academic research program in the world with a startup ethos and a commitment to social good. That's a lofty mandate, but I think we can do it!”