Scott Stephenson Honored by the Raven Society

On April 17, the Raven Society bestowed its highest honor on an individual, its Alumni Raven Award, to Scott Stephenson (SEAS '79).

Founded in 1904, the Raven Society is the oldest and most prestigious honor society at the University of Virginia. The Society confers its Raven Awards annually to recognize excellence in service and contribution to the University. The Award is reserved to honor students, faculty, administrators, or alumni of the University who have widely and sympathetically shared, supported, and advanced the function of this institution.

To be nominated as an alumnus, individuals must have made meaningful contributions to fields such as art, commerce, education, government, justice, literature, science, or social welfare. They must also have demonstrated exceptional service to the University.

“I’m very honored and humbled to have been recognized by The Raven Society, which is the standard bearer of all the timeless values we cherish and make our University so special and unique,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson is the founder of SGS Capital and former chairman, president, and CEO of Verisk Analytics. He earned his bachelor's in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia and went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves on several not-for-profit and for-profit boards including the Yale Center for Faith & Culture and as chairman of One Inc and Avetta LLC. 

He has served on the Advisory Board for the UVA School of Data Science since 2015, when it was then the Data Science Institute, and as board chair since 2016. His visionary leadership and unwavering commitment have been instrumental in the School’s growth since becoming the first School of Data Science in the country in 2019. 

Stephenson and his wife, Beth, have been hugely supportive of the School of Data Science. In 2021, they completed a $6 million gift to endow the Stephenson Dean of the School of Data Science chair, and in September 2024, the Stephensons committed $10 million to create the Stephenson Data Science Bicentennial Scholars Fund. The Stephensons are deeply passionate about making higher education accessible, especially for students who have been systemically and historically excluded. The program will match all financial need for admitted students and features a unique mentoring pathway advocated by Scott to ensure students graduate not only as students, but as citizen scientists with vested interests in using data science for the public good.