Meet a Data Scientist: Torbet McNeil

13 March 2023

On February 27, 2023, I had the privilege of interviewing Torbet McNeil, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arizona (expected graduation is Summer 2023) and member of the ADSA Career Development Network (CDN). Learn more about Torbet’s background and research interests, in addition to how you can connect.

Background

Torbet earned his Bachelor’s in International Studies from Emory University and Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs. He is a Ph.D. candidate in Higher Education at the University of Arizona (UArizona). His dissertation is on data science higher education policy. He was awarded a Scholarship for Education Research to participate in the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research at the University of Michigan, where he took a course on machine learning. He also served as a Data Science Ambassador for the UArizona College of Education through a program run by the UArizona’s Data Science Institute.

Current Role

Torbet is a Graduate Associate with the UArizona Institute for Computation and Data-Enabled Insights. Prior to his current role, he was a Graduate Research Assistant for the UArizona Libraries’ Data Science Specialist, Jeff Oliver - check out an article that they co-wrote in 2021 about the lack of ethics training in data science education.

Torbet’s research interests include data science education, ethics, higher education policy and administration, and interdisciplinarity. He works on public policy implications and higher education organization for data science education.

Outside of Work

Torbet enjoys tennis, chess, and practicing foreign languages.

How to connect

Torbet possesses a wealth of knowledge about data science and higher ed curriculum. Check out Torbet's profile in the CDN Member Directory to find out how you can get in touch and learn more about his research. He will also be in the job market late summer/early fall 2023. Reach out to share opportunities or strategies for applications.