In this session, Dr. Crista Arangala will introduce Elon University’s Data Nexus. The Data Nexus initiative was created as part of a five-year Quality Enhancement Plan developed during its most recent accreditation process and serves as a coordinating hub for data competency initiatives at the university throughout the plan and beyond. In its first year, Data Nexus has been focused on assessing foundational technology and statistical competency of all of Elon University’s undergraduate students. Through Data Nexus, Elon University has also created a process for faculty across the institution to apply for courses to be designated as Data-Intensive and has introduced a new Micro-credential in Advanced Data Competency. Data Nexus also offers a variety of programming across campus including data camps, workshops, and data challenges. Data Nexus also offers grants to support faculty, staff, and student data-driven initiatives. In year two, Data Nexus will continue to develop curricular and co-curricular data-intensive experiences for the general Elon University undergraduate student body.

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About Dr. Crista Arangala

Dr. Crista Arangala is the Director of Elon University’s Data Nexus and Professor of Mathematics. The Data Nexus initiative was created as part of a five-year Quality Enhancement Plan developed during its most recent accreditation process and serves as a coordinating hub for data competency initiatives at the university throughout the plan and beyond. Dr. Arangala has a PhD in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati and a Masters in Higher Education from Stony Brook University. She has been at Elon University in North Carolina for 24 years, researching in a variety of fields including inverse problems, applied partial differential equations, applied linear algebra, mathematical modeling, and service-learning education. Dr. Arangala has a special interest in inquiry\discovery learning and ran a traveling science museum with her Elon University students in Kerala, India for 9 years. Dr. Arangala was chosen to be a Fulbright Scholar in 2014 as a visiting lecturer at the University of Colombo where she continued her projects in inquiry learning in Linear Algebra and began working with a modeling team focusing on Dengue fever research. Dr. Arangala has published several textbooks that implores inquiry learning techniques including Exploring Linear Algebra: Labs and Projects with Matlab and Mathematical Modeling: Branching Beyond Calculus. Her latest text, Linear Algebra with Machine Learning and Data, connects her teaching interests of infusing data into the mathematical curriculum and her research interests in applied linear algebra.