LSU creates executive position to steer ‘data-driven decision making’

Photo caption: LSU’s Memorial Tower displays the time on Monday, March 20, 2023, on Tower Drive in Baton Rouge. Photo courtesy Matthew Perschall via Louisiana Illuminator.

LSU President William Tate has promoted one of his chief aides to become the university’s inaugural chief data officer, a position that will focus on using analytics to guide decision making at the university.

Keena Arbuthnot, who most recently was a special adviser to Tate, was appointed to the position pending approval from the LSU Board of Supervisors.

“Evidence-driven practices support organizational improvements. We need a mirror to both capture progress and to course correct,” Tate said in a press release. “With Dr. Arbuthnot’s analytical expertise and significant knowledge of the institution’s interdependent operations, she has demonstrated the ability to harness university data to inform our leadership team.”

Arbuthnot will oversee the newly created office of Data and Strategic Analytics, which will house LSU’s existing Office of Institutional Research.

“As Louisiana’s flagship university, LSU continues to be committed to ongoing enhancement and efficiency, and in this role, I will have the opportunity to utilize data and analytics to help propel us forward,” Arbuthnot said in a press release.

Arbuthnot has also worked as a tenured education professor at LSU, an associate vice president in LSU’s Office of Research and Economic Development and a special adviser on COVID-19 response.

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