Eric Van Dusen, Outreach and Tech Lead for Data Science Undergraduate Studies at University of California, Berkeley, has been named a 2026 recipient of the Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award (COSA).
The COSA honors staff members whose “exceptional initiative has made a significant positive impact on the UC Berkeley campus community.” Van Dusen was recognized for his contributions to developing Berkeley’s world-class data science education and expanding access across California’s community colleges, CSU campuses, and other UC campuses.
Van Dusen led Berkeley’s campus-wide effort to deploy notebook-based computing into courses and classrooms, providing equitable access for tens of thousands of students across disciplines. By guiding faculty across Berkeley to embed data science lessons into their courses, Van Dusen facilitated an introduction to data science through the lens of students’ own fields of study. Students who had never considered themselves “STEM students” were trained in a skillset that remains in high demand across career fields. This interdisciplinary exposure contributed to data science becoming the most declared double major and minor at UC Berkeley.
As these methods and technologies proved their success at Berkeley, Van Dusen and his team have made it their mission to expand their impact beyond the campus. By developing an infrastructure to help instructors develop data science classes and programs and providing free technological resources, Van Dusen led efforts that removed financial and logistical barriers that often prevent under-resourced institutions from launching data science courses and programs. Building on this momentum, Van Dusen is one of several founding leaders of the Cal-ICOR initiative, a first-of-its-kind computing technology hub for California’s colleges and universities. The growing reach of these combined efforts is already visible: twenty-five California community colleges and counting now offer articulated Data 8 courses. At Berkeley, the Data Science major now serves more transfer students than any other, with a 30% increase in degrees awarded to transfer students from 2023 to 2025.
Van Dusen has also helped establish Berkeley’s leadership in data science education through the annual National Workshop on Data Science Education, which brings together more than 270 educators each year to share best practices and advance the field.
In response to the news of the award, Van Dusen expressed feeling both honored and recognized, while also taking a moment to reflect on the many collaborators who have played a role in these successes.
“UC Berkeley is the kind of place where some people choose to spend their entire careers,” said Van Dusen. “It’s a mission-driven organization that gives staff a deep sense of purpose and belonging.”
For Data Science Undergraduate Studies inquiries:
brandilyn@berkeley.edu
