痴补苍诲别谤产颈濒迟鈥檚 experience is a special aspect of student life at the university that is rooted in authentic connection and engagement. Undergraduate houses and colleges are led by faculty who live with their families and pets in special suites within the residence halls and lead programming to create another vibrant layer of learning and community. Meet the university鈥檚 newest faculty heads of house and heads of college in this special series.
is associate dean for partnerships and innovation in the ,聽chief data scientist and interim director for the , and professor of the practice of computer science. He is faculty head of on .
Spencer-Smith teaches courses on artificial intelligence and leads a team of data scientists and researchers in collaborations across academia, health care and industry to advance AI and data-driven insights.
Name: Jesse Spencer-Smith
Residential College: Sutherland House
Years at Vanderbilt: 6
Hometown: I鈥檓 bicoastal鈥擨 claim Seattle, Washington, and Jacksonville, Florida.
Favorite song: There are so many! I鈥檓 currently enjoying the songs from the film Sinners. For Nashville music, I鈥檝e been listening to Tabitha Meeks’ 鈥淕irl of the Hour鈥濃�攊t鈥檚 tremendously catchy.
Favorite book: Again, there are many! One book that I loved when I was first starting college was聽The Aleph and Other Stories聽by Jorge Luis Borges. Other recent favorites are聽Babel聽by R.F. Kuang and聽James聽by Percival Everett. I鈥檝e also been enjoying re-reading the聽Murderbot聽series by Martha Wells.
Favorite food: I love spicy Nashville hot fish (same as Nashville hot chicken, but for us pescatarians).
Favorite spot on campus: It鈥檚 a tie between The Commons dining hall (I love running into students!) and the Data Science Institute.
What are you most looking forward to for the upcoming academic year: Meeting new students and hearing about their interests, plans and hopes.
Why did you want to be a faculty聽head of house: I鈥檝e loved being on college campuses ever since I was a 10-year-old staying on campuses with my father for conferences. Teaching and doing research at Vanderbilt have been amazing, but living on campus has brought me into the center of it all and made me more fully part of the community of students, faculty and staff. Vanderbilt students are amazing, and it鈥檚 a privilege to help make a home for them at Vanderbilt.
What do you value about the residential聽college experience: I treasure the deep, lifelong and life-changing connections between students, faculty and staff.
Advice for students coming to campus: Take a breath. You have a whole community behind you as you dive into an entirely new stage in your life. Be open, be brave and reach out for a helping hand when you need it!
What do you love about working at Vanderbilt: To be at Vanderbilt is to make an impact on students’ lives and on the broader world. Vanderbilt manages to pull off a remarkable trifecta: to be a top-tier university, to be a supportive community invested in all students succeeding and to be an institution with global reach.
Anything else you want people to know about you: I teach and work in applied AI and want to make sure students can make the best use of it to accomplish all they wish. I鈥檓 always happy to talk about AI!