Philip Bourne, dean of UVA’s data science school, dies

Philip E. Bourne, the founding dean of UVA’s youngest school, the School of Data Science, died March 8 of mesothelioma. Bourne, 72, was a major scholar and leading expert in bioinformatics when he arrived at UVA in 2017 to helm the university’s Data Science Institute. The school was founded in 2019, becoming the country’s first stand-alone data science school.

Though the school had a physical space—a four-story, 61,100-square-foot-building that opened in the Emmet-Ivy corridor in 2024—Bourne insisted it was a “school without walls,” deeply connected to other academic disciplines, researchers and students across Grounds. He also believed it was critical to weave ethics, societal impact and how to clearly communicate data into the heart of how the school approached the field.

“Particularly significant is the school’s decision to place data ethics and the societal implications of data use at the center of its research and teaching missions,” said Brie Gertler, UVA’s interim executive vice president and provost. “In recognizing that any comprehensive understanding of data science must also address questions of value, the school offers a powerful model for the discipline.”

The school, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, has proved popular. With 691 students currently enrolled, the school’s data science minor is, by far, UVA’s largest minor across Grounds, Gertler said. That’s more than twice the number of the next most popular minor.

And, in 2024, the school launched a three-year bachelor of science degree in data science, ramping up enrollment as it hired faculty and built out the curriculum.
First-year students apply for the major, and those admitted become part of the data science cohort as second-years. Seventy-five undergraduate students entered the program in 2024 and 127 in 2025. An additional 150 are expected to enter this fall.

Jeffrey Blume, a data scientist and biostatistician who came to the data science school in 2021, is the school’s interim dean. An official search for the next dean is likely to begin next fall, Gertler said.

By early April, she had met with staff, faculty and the school’s leadership team to discuss the qualities they hoped to see in the school’s next leader. Many told her that a new dean needs to stay on top of research and rapid industry changes and also fully embrace the school’s broad vision of data science that includes ethics and societal implications—not just analytics and systems.

Many also hoped the school would remain the warm, supportive community Bourne built.

“His office door was always open,” Gertler said. “He walked through the hallways and knew most of the faculty, staff and students by name because he was so present. He set an example that helped make the school a close-knit community.”