$10 million gift to fuel transdisciplinary data science

Tom and Cathie Woteki, an alumni couple who made profound contributions to the fields of public health and applications of enterprise computing in their careers, have made a $10 million estate gift commitment to Virginia Tech that will extend their legacy of impact.

Their generosity, split equally between the College of Science and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will ultimately endow multiple faculty positions or fellowships, as well as create graduate fellowships.

In keeping with the Wotekis’ professional interests, the gift will support work in transdisciplinary data science.

"We are proud to have Tom and Cathie in our community as alumni who exemplify Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) through their vision, leadership, and groundbreaking contributions to the sciences," said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. "Their support for teaching and research will drive generations of future discoveries by giving faculty and students the necessary resources to push the boundaries of their fields."

Tom Woteki ’68, M.S. ’72, Ph.D. ’74 and Cathie Woteki M.S. ’72, Ph.D. ’75 structured their $10 million commitment to provide ongoing, endowed support in multiple ways.

• $2 million to create the Cathie and Tom Woteki Endowed Chair in the College of Science
• $2 million to create the Cathie and Tom Woteki Distinguished Professorship Endowment in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• $2 million to create the Cathie and Tom Woteki Faculty Fellows Endowment in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• $1.5 million to create the Cathie and Tom Woteki Data Science Faculty Fellowship Endowment in the College of Science
• $1.5 million to create the Cathie and Tom Woteki Graduate Fellowship Endowment in the College of Science
• $1 million to create the Cathie and Tom Woteki Graduate Student Fund in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Tom Woteki earned three degrees from the College of Science: a bachelor’s in mathematics in 1968, master’s in mathematics in 1972, and Ph.D. in statistics in 1974. He pioneered the integration of computer driven data science in several fields.

Following academic appointments at the University of Texas at San Antonio and Princeton University, he joined the newly created Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy as a divisional chief statistician, where he led the development of the first national sample surveys of energy consumption during the late 1970s energy crisis.

Later, while working at BDM International, he played a pivotal role in designing and building EDGAR, the online document filing system used by the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was one of the very first electronic data gathering and filing systems, making data instantly available to investors.

During a tenure in the clinical research division of Merck Pharma, Tom Woteki supported accelerating phases II to IV of clinical trials data collection by developing an innovative remote data entry application, one of the first in the industry. He then went to work for the American Red Cross as chief information officer, where he developed an information technology strategic plan, supervised a staff of over 400 personnel, and designed a computerized system to manage the processing of donated blood, thereby helping to restore faith in the safety of the nation’s blood supply after the emergence of HIV and AIDS.

In the early 2000s, Tom Woteki was a vice president in the IT solutions division of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems overseeing 200 IT professionals. Among other responsibilities, he supervised development of the Defense Travel System, a 24/7 U.S. Department of Defense system supporting over 900,000 users.

Following that, he was chief technology officer for Cisco Systems’ Healthcare Solutions, where he led the development of Cisco’s first telemedicine health care solution. He next served as the chief data scientist for a technology professional services company where he reported to the CEO.

Tom Woteki joined his alma mater’s statistics faculty as a professor of practice in 2018, made significant leadership contributions as the founding director of the Academy of Data Science in the College of Science, and in September 2025 was honored as professor of practice emeritus and founding director emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

Cathie Woteki earned a double major bachelor’s in chemistry and biological sciences from the University of Mary Washington in 1969. She then went to Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, where she earned her master’s in human nutrition and foods in 1972 and Ph.D. in that subject in 1975.

Cathie Woteki is internationally renowned for expertise in agriculture, food, nutrition, health, and science policy. She served on the 30-member Council of Advisors on Science and Technology to President Joe Biden and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

During the Obama-Biden administration, she served in the U.S. Department of Agriculture as chief scientist and undersecretary for research, education, and economics. In that role, she oversaw the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service; Economic Research Service; the National Institute of Food and Agriculture; and the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Cathie Woteki also previously served as USDA’s first undersecretary of food safety, as dean of Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and as director of Iowa State’s Agriculture Experiment Station. In addition, she has served as visiting distinguished institute professor in the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia and as a professor of food science and human nutrition at Iowa State.

She is past president of the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation, which seeks to enhance agriculture through increased scientific knowledge. In 2023, she was inducted into the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Hall of Fame.

“We both have benefited so much from the fabulous grounding that we got as students at Virginia Tech,” said Cathie Woteki. “So being able to help to create similar conditions for faculty and students at Tech was one of our main motivations for making this gift.”

She added: “I’ve spent time as a college dean myself, and know how valuable it is to be able to attract and retain outstanding faculty. We wanted to help give the Virginia Tech deans some flexibility in having funds available to them in the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and of Science. And in any field — including those in science as well as in agriculture and life sciences — being able to make data-informed decisions is critical.”

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Mario Ferruzzi said the Wotekis’ giving will fuel cutting-edge research and graduate education, both of which are elements of a universitywide priority know as Virginia Tech Global Distinction.

“We are extremely grateful to Cathie and Tom,” said Ferruzzi. “Today’s tools for data analysis are transforming the way we farm, produce, and deliver safe and nutritious food to consumers with the goal of enhancing the health of our communities. This multifaceted gift will fuel many discoveries, fostering future leaders and policy makers who leverage data to make science-based decisions impacting the future of agriculture, food, and health.”

Tom Woteki retired from Virginia Tech in June 2025 after having served in multiple leadership roles, most recently starting up and leading the Academy of Data Science within the College of Science.

“Science has always been data driven, but what’s happening now is there’s an explosion of data to where any researcher, no matter what field, should be familiar with the tools and techniques of analyzing data, including the limits and ethics,” said Tom Woteki. “That crosses every discipline. All areas of research, policymaking, and decision-making these days ought to be data driven.”

He added that he hopes the gift will help the university gain international renown for data-driven innovation and collaborations.

“The goal is creating a community, a convergence that brings together disciplines of mathematics, statistics, and computer science as a foundation but puts all those tools into use in a way that can advance any particular discipline,” said Tom Woteki. “I’m very excited about it.”

College of Science Dean Kevin Pitts shared that enthusiasm.

“This gift will transform what is possible for us to achieve though the collaborative efforts underway within the Academy of Data Science and across Virginia Tech,” said Pitts. “Tom helped initiate these efforts as director. Now, he and Cathie are pushing that process forward in an extraordinary way though their philanthropy. We are excited to continue this work across the institution and with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. And we are profoundly grateful to Tom and Cathie for this gift.”