From: Kirsten Rowe
Date: May 9
Subject: DataViz News: May 2024


text that reads DataViz surrounded by illustratrations of graduation caps in the air

That's a Wrap!

Commencement Weekend is upon us and with it comes the end of the academic year. In this edition of DataViz News, we highlight some of the impressive data visualization activities that happened across campus as well as opportunities for you to get involved in the future.

Oh, the Things We've Done!

Over the course of the academic year, DataViz (which was originally established "pre-pandemic"), slowly came out of hibernation.

On a warm September afternoon, colleagues from the Libraries, Student Affairs Assessment & Solutions for Engagement (SAASE), Enrollment Management, and Mathematics & Statistics gathered to network and informally discuss their data visualization interests and projects.

In March, students as well as faculty and staff convened for our first Show-n-Tell event since 2020. We were impressed by the response from prospective presenters. In fact, we received more proposals than the six slots we had available. (You can read all about the "Pi Day" showcase in our April newsletter.)

Inspired by the positive engagement we observed at our most recent activity, we've already begun planning for an expanded multi-session mini-conference coming this fall. As a faithful DataViz News reader, you'll be among the first to know once details are available.

Finally, we would be remiss in not mentioning our collaboration with Digital Scholarship for “Data Viz Matchmaking” during International Love Data Week.

We continue to live our mission of creating a DataViz community here at Binghamton. If you have any other ideas of what you would like to see in the next year, let us know. We are here for you!

two hands meeting in a

Partner Spotlight

Collaboration is key to how we do what we do. In addition to the support we receive from the Data Science TAE, our friends at Digitial Scholarship and Dear Data Binghamton continue to provide resources for anyone who wants to dive deeper into a variety of data visualization tools and techniques.

Digital Scholarship

The Digital Scholarship (DS) team continues to strengthen its relationship with DataViz and aid in a shared vision to have data visualization practitioners across campus. Although data visualization is just one service the DS team offers, it is part of their initiative to grow as a hub for data science learning and resources on campus. 

This spring, they offered a five-part data visualization Fill Your Toolbox series that was well attended by students and faculty alike. They also offered WordPress Start -> Website and Digital Humanities Lunch and Learn workshop series, which were equally popular. 

Starting in the fall, they will be offering office hours and promoting the Digital Scholarship Center that will be opening in January 2025 on the renovated third floor of Bartle Library. Additional information about the workshop series and other events will be announced in August.

example of a Dear Data postcard

An example of a submitted postcard from the gratitude activity

Dear Data Binghamton

Dear Data held their second spring of events and continues to evolve to promote self-evaluative, creative data work. Based on Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec’s original project, participants are prompted to craft analog data visualizations using their personal collected data on postcards. This year’s theme was gratitude, with participants using communication data on their devices to track how often they or others profess thanks. Alongside write-in events and classroom visits, Dear Data also had an exhibit launch of the postcards from Spring 2023 which can still be seen in the Fine Arts Library entrance. Keep an eye out for more Dear Data events in the fall!  

The Dear Data group, which involves collaborators from across campus, is led by Amber Simpson from Teaching Learning and Educational Leadership (TLEL) and Ruth Carpenter from Binghamton Libraries. It is sponsored by Digital Scholarship in the Libraries and the Digital and Data Studies Minor.

Be a Part of DataViz!

As the semester winds down and the summer begins, DataViz enters "planning mode." To pull off a "bigger and better" showcase and generally serve you better, we are looking to expand our team to include faculty liaisons and specialized administrative roles to help coordinate and support DataViz activities on campus. A summary of roles and descriptions is available online. If interested, please contact Kirsten Pagan (krowe@binghamton.edu). 

We are always accepting guest submissions. If you have any "tips and tricks," projects in motion, or reflections on data visualization work, DataViz would love to share  them in an upcoming newsletter! Our recommended length is 250-500 words. If your featured project is publicly viewable, feel free to include a link to it.

Can't Get Enough Data Vis?

Here are some suggestions for your "summer reading" list:

You may also be interested in one or more of the following conferences:

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