Colin Gallagher appointed Emily Peek Wallace ’72 Director  of the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences

After a competitive national search, Colin Gallagher has been appointed the Emily Peek Wallace ’72 Director for the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (SMSS) at Clemson University, effective April 16.

Gallagher has served on the SMSS leadership team since the formation of the school in 2018 and as interim director since August 2023.

Colin has done an excellent job leading the School as the interim director in all areas —from recruitment and development of top faculty talent to engaging partners across Clemson and beyond with the goal of improving student learning and success in key foundational courses. I am excited with the direction we are headed and look forward to his continued leadership as the Emily Peek Wallace ’72 Director for the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences.

CYNTHIA YOUNG, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

Under Gallagher’s direction as division lead, the SMSS Division of Statistics and Operations Research increased publications per tenure-track faculty member by more than 35% and boosted average grant expenditures by 20%. 

As director, Gallagher aims to improve student performance in mathematics and statistics courses, especially for students coming through the 2-year college system. He will seek to engage with industry partners to create and modify programs and curricula that will prepare data sciencists for industry careers. And he will work to enhance and expand faculty research collaborations with scientists, engineers and medical practitioners.

It is an honor to be selected as the inaugural Emily Peek Wallace ’72 Director of the SMSS, and I am looking forward to enhancing the relevance of our curriculum to better prepare the next generation of data scientists, mathematicians and statisticians. I am thrilled with the opportunity to champion our School in its continued success in engaging Clemson students in learning and discovery and to lead our faculty to reach new heights in research productivity.

COLIN GALLAGHER

Gallagher joined the Clemson faculty in 1998. Gallagher’s research focuses on climate and environmental science, time series analysis, econometrics and statistical applications to medicine. He has graduated 12 Ph.D. students and more than 20 master’s students. He has served on the School’s graduate affairs committee and was co-creator of a bridge program for incoming graduate students. He served on the Math Sciences Council from 2008-2012 and 2015-2018.

Prior to his arrival at Clemson, Gallagher served as an assistant professor at California State University, Chico, for two years. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in statistics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Sonoma State University.