Gavin Off

Read Gavin Off’s hiring announcement.

What are you teaching this semester?

This semester I’m teaching data journalism and sports data journalism.

What is your area of expertise?

I’ve been a newspaper reporter for nearly 25 years and an investigative data reporter for nearly 17 years. I’ve used R, SQL, QGIS and other programs to find and tell stories, often stories that hold people or agencies accountable.

What research are you working on?

I’m not producing any academic research, but I am helping students with data-centered stories that hopefully lands them great jobs. 

Significant other, children, pets?

I have a wonderful wife, Kara. We have a 4-year-old son, Wyatt, who has never met a stranger. And we have a beagle, Gus. 

What excites you most about coming to Gainesville?

I’ve been teaching data journalism as an adjunct instructor for six years. I can’t wait to do it full time.

What accomplishments, personal or professional, are you most proud of?

I’ve been apart reporting teams that have won several national awards, including an Investigative Reporters & Editors award, M.I.T’s Knight Science Journalism Victor K. McElheny Award, a National Headliner award, the National Press Foundation Thomas L. Stokes Award and others.

Your hero or biggest inspiration (alive or historical)?

My father. At 75, he’s still the hardest working man I know. (I tell him not to work so much)

What three things don’t we know about you?

1. I grew up on the Jersey shore.
2. I spent my childhood playing in and working in my family’s orchid greenhouse
3. When I’m not with family or working, I’m usually in the gym