Junhua Ding, the founding chair and Reinburg Endowed Professor in the University of North Texas's Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science, has been selected as the inaugural dean of the University of Wyoming's School of Computing.

The appointment, effective Friday, Aug. 1, was approved this week by UW's Board of Trustees.

Ding has a 25-year career in software development and data science in the United States, both in academia and the private sector. He holds master's and doctoral degrees in computer science from Florida International University.

"We're delighted to welcome Dr. Ding as the leader of our new but well-established School of Computing," says Interim Provost Anne Alexander. "His experience in building the data science program at the University of North Texas will have great application for UW, and we're excited for what the future holds for our students and many partners."

After "incubating" for more than three years in UW's College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, the School of Computing became a stand-alone academic unit last year. The School of Computing serves a university-wide mission, collaborating with multiple colleges.

After serving as a faculty member in East Carolina University's Department of Computer Science from 2007-2013, Ding became the founding director and first faculty member of the data science program at the University of North Texas (UNT) in 2018. He led the creation of bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs, growing enrollment from four students in 2018 to more than 750 by spring 2025. He recruited 15 other faculty members and nine affiliated faculty members, building a nationally recognized department.

In January 2025, he led the establishment of the $2.2 million Sinha Data Science Innovation Lab at UNT. He has secured millions of dollars in external funding, including over $1 million from federal agencies and more than $500,000 from industry. In addition to winning multiple awards for research, teaching, service and leadership, he has mentored Ph.D. graduates who have gone on to positions at Google and tenure-track appointments at Carnegie R1 universities.