Marquette University has named Hunter Sandidge as Marquette’s new co-director for the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute. Sandidge is an assistant professor of practice in finance at Marquette Business. He is also director of the FinTech: Applied AI and Business Intelligence concentration of the Accelerating Ingenuity in Markets program.
“I am honored to be appointed co-director of the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute,” Sandidge said. “The NMDSI’s commitment to fostering collaboration between academia and the business community is a model for others around the country. I look forward to contributing to its mission of establishing Wisconsin as a national hub for technology and innovation.”
Sandidge has an extensive background in data science, most recently with Collins Aerospace, where he served as a manager for data science and artificial intelligence engineering. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carthage College and a Master of Science degree in Finance from DePaul University.
Sandidge succeeds Scott Rex, who has served as Marquette’s co-director for the institute since June of 2021.
“We are incredibly grateful to Scott for his leadership and dedication. His contributions have been instrumental in strengthening both the NMDSI and the culture of data science within Marquette; we look forward to building on the strong foundation he helped establish,” said Keyes Dean of Business Administration Andrew DeGuire.
More than 60 Marquette faculty members are affiliated with NMDSI; 12 of them come from Marquette Business. In January, the NMDSI awarded more than $700,000 in research grants to Marquette and UW-Milwaukee faculty and students for projects that relate to the institute’s five focus areas: artificial intelligence, data bias and ethics, behavioral economics, financial literacy and health and wealth inequities.
About NMDSI
The Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute (NMDSI), a partnership between Northwestern Mutual, Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is creating a technology ecosystem and advancing southeastern Wisconsin as a national center for technology, research, business and talent development. Since its inception in 2018, the NMDSI has championed academic data science and technology learning while propelling innovation in key areas. NMDSI-affiliated research projects use data science to address challenging societal issues that have a local and national impact.
