{"id":552,"date":"2026-01-05T18:15:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T18:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test-uwsp-multi.pantheonsite.io\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/?page_id=552"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:50:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:50:56","slug":"center-for-data-analytics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/centers-and-outreach\/center-for-data-analytics\/","title":{"rendered":"Center for Data Analytics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"uwsp-horizontal-cards gold-hex blockspacetop blockspacebottom\"><div class=\"site-width\"><section class=\"hcard-container\" aria-label=\"Horizontal Card\"><div class=\"uwsp-horizontal-card-container\" aria-live=\"off\">\n<div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-block\" id=\"hcard17763851933634897\"><div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-individual split6633 hcard-imgright\"><div class=\"hcard-infocell\"><h3 class=\"hcard-title\">Welcome to the Center for Data Analytics!<\/h3><div class=\"hcard-content\">The Center for Data Analytics at UW-Stevens Point serves as a dynamic liaison between the university and various organizations that seek expertise in the realm of data analytics. Our core competencies encompass a wide range of analysis including descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive.<br><br>Under the leadership of Sentry Insurance Endowed Chair of Computational Analytics <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/directory\/profile\/kurt-pflughoeft\/\">Kurt A. Pflughoeft<\/a>, who brings with him a wealth of experience as a researcher and consultant ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses, our goal is to empower organizations to improve their data-driven decision-making capabilities. This aids in enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of their products and services, and opens doors to new areas of opportunity.<\/div><div>\n<a class=\"uwspbtn uwsp-btn-solid-purple\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/programs\/degree\/data-analytics\/\" target=\"_self\">Learn more about the B.S. in Data Analytics  <i class=\"fa-solid fa-circle-chevron-right\"><\/i><\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"hcard-mediacell\"><div class=\"hcard-images hcard-oneimg\"><div class=\"hcard-image\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/CPS-BusEcon-Data-Analytics-13.jpg)\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"hslider-buttoncontainer\"><button class=\"hsliderBack horizontal-sliderbutton\" aria-label=\"previous slide\">\u276e<\/button><div class=\"single-card-nav\"><\/div><button class=\"hsliderForward horizontal-sliderbutton\" aria-label=\"next slide\">\u276f<\/button><\/div><\/section><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwsp-vtabs blockspacetop blockspacebottom\"><div class=\"vtab-intro\" style=\"text-align:center\"><h2 class=\"h2\">Services Offered<\/h2><p>The Center for Data Analytics offers diverse engagement arrangements, from consultative agreements to paid student capstone projects and internships. Student engagements are overseen by either of our faculty, ensuring the highest quality guidance and management.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"vtab-thetabs\"><div class=\"accentlinetop\" role=\"none\"><\/div><div class=\"vtab-nav\"><\/div><div class=\"vtab-content\">\n<div class=\"uwsp-vtab-thetab\"><div class=\"vtab-tabtitle\">Data Services<i class=\"fa-solid fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/div><div class=\"vtab-tabcontent\">\n<div class=\"vtab-content-column bgpurple\"><h2>Data Services<\/h2><div>\n<p>Our areas of expertise are expansive and include statistical analysis, machine learning, data preparation, data engineering and project management. We employ an array of tools to aid our work, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>SAS<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Python<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>R<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>C++<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SQL<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Relational DBs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Big Data systems<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Knime\/SAS Enterprise Miner<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ChatGPT<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>PowerBI<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tableau<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>VBA\/Excel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"accentlinebottom\" role=\"none\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwsp-horizontal-cards gold-square blockspacetop blockspacebottom\"><div class=\"site-width\"><div style=\"text-align:center\" class=\"horizontal-card-intro\"><h2 class=\"h2\">Center Highlights<\/h2><\/div><section class=\"hcard-container\" aria-label=\"Horizontal Card\"><div class=\"uwsp-horizontal-card-container\" aria-live=\"off\">\n<div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-block\" id=\"hcard17763853573832913\"><div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-individual split5050 hcard-imgleft\"><div class=\"hcard-infocell\"><h5 class=\"hcard-microtitle\">Bug Tussel<\/h5><h3 class=\"hcard-title\">Data Analytics Customer Attrition Analysis Research<\/h3><div class=\"hcard-content\">The costs of acquiring new customers are estimated to be 3-5 times higher than retention costs. UWSP&#8217;s Sentry Endowed Chairs Kurt Pflughoeft and Nik Butz joined up with data analytics alum Alick Corbley &#8217;23 to share research that demonstrates how Alick helped Internet service provider Bug Tussel glean insight into customers who are more likely to leave. Analysis was done in both JMP Pro and R. Alick started this research as an intern and is now a full-time data analyst with Bug Tussel.<\/div><div>\n<a class=\"uwspbtn uwsp-btn-solid-purple\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Us2rJZtjulQ?si=pMXJwy4vJXfy7yzp\" target=\"_self\">Watch Video <i class=\"fa-solid fa-circle-chevron-right\"><\/i><\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"uwspbtn uwsp-btn-solid-purple\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uwspsentryschool\/posts\/pfbid0oU7JB34YhRJfY4mh5UEwo9dQjRDZEDf9w6kztm3mPAT9iSEsgJ5ua6wtX944CnDel\" target=\"_self\">View Photos <i class=\"fa-solid fa-circle-chevron-right\"><\/i><\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"uwspbtn uwsp-btn-link-purple\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2024\/07\/09\/data-analytics-graduate-professor-present-customer-retention-research-at-world-conference\/\" target=\"_self\">Alum, professor present at 2024 World Conference on Data Science &amp; Statistics <i class=\"fa-solid fa-circle-chevron-right\"><\/i><\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"uwspbtn uwsp-btn-link-purple\" href=\"https:\/\/datascience.thepeopleevents.com\/#\" target=\"_self\">Pflughoeft to present at 2025 World Conference on Data Science &amp; Statistics <i class=\"fa-solid fa-circle-chevron-right\"><\/i><\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"hcard-mediacell\"><div class=\"iframe-container\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Us2rJZtjulQ?si=dS7SvUrWdbimGMAM\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-block\" id=\"hcard17763853573832913\"><div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-individual split5050 hcard-imgleft\"><div class=\"hcard-infocell\"><h5 class=\"hcard-microtitle\">Bug Tussel<\/h5><h3 class=\"hcard-title\">SAS JMP Pro Demo<\/h3><div class=\"hcard-content\">The Sentry School data analytics program hosted a demonstration of JMP Software&#8217;s SAS JMP Pro on Wednesday, March 8 for students, faculty and our partners at Sentry. JMP is ideal for teaching, allowing professors to spend more time teaching concepts and real-world examples without programming. The highly visual, point-and-click interface of JMP helps students grasp statistical and analytical concepts and apply them to real data. Researchers can leverage model screening techniques that automatically select the best statistical or machine learning models. Funding for SAS JMP PRO for UW-Stevens Point and the JMP event was provided by the UWSP Center for Data Analytics.<\/div><div>\n<a class=\"uwspbtn uwsp-btn-solid-purple\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.653040280162544&amp;type=3\" target=\"_self\">View Photos <i class=\"fa-solid fa-circle-chevron-right\"><\/i><\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"hcard-mediacell\"><div class=\"hcard-images hcard-oneimg\"><div class=\"hcard-image\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/CPS-BusEcon-Data-Analytics-08.jpg)\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-block\" id=\"hcard17763853573832913\"><div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-individual split5050 hcard-imgleft\"><div class=\"hcard-infocell\"><h3 class=\"hcard-title\">These creative problem solvers make profound contributions \u2013 and good pay<\/h3><div class=\"hcard-content\">Data analytics is all the buzz at many corporations subsuming areas such as business analytics and business intelligence. The goals of data analytics are broad, ranging from knowledge discovery to automated decision-making. The impact of this field has led to many benefits such as increased cross- and up-selling as well as identifying new business opportunities.<\/div><div>\n<a class=\"uwspbtn uwsp-btn-solid-purple\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/news\/data-analytics-program-2022\/\" target=\"_self\">Read More <i class=\"fa-solid fa-circle-chevron-right\"><\/i><\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"hcard-mediacell\"><div class=\"hcard-images hcard-oneimg\"><div class=\"hcard-image\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/05\/cps-busecon-data-analytics-Iversen-Pflughoeft22.jpg)\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-block\" id=\"hcard17763853573832913\"><div class=\"uwsp-horiz-card-individual split5050 hcard-imgleft\"><div class=\"hcard-infocell\"><h3 class=\"hcard-title\">Release the Data Analyst!<\/h3><div class=\"hcard-content\">Data analytics is all the buzz at many corporations subsuming areas such as business analytics and business intelligence. The goals of data analytics are broad, ranging from knowledge discovery to automated decision-making. The impact of this field has led to many benefits such as increased cross- and up-selling as well as identifying new business opportunities.<\/div><div>\n<a class=\"uwspbtn uwsp-btn-solid-purple\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2020\/12\/10\/release-the-data-analyst\/\" target=\"_self\">Read More <i class=\"fa-solid fa-circle-chevron-right\"><\/i><\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"hcard-mediacell\"><div class=\"hcard-images hcard-oneimg\"><div class=\"hcard-image\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/CPS-BusEcon-Data-Analytics-03.jpg)\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"hslider-buttoncontainer\"><button class=\"hsliderBack horizontal-sliderbutton\" aria-label=\"previous slide\">\u276e<\/button><div class=\"single-card-nav\"><\/div><button class=\"hsliderForward horizontal-sliderbutton\" aria-label=\"next slide\">\u276f<\/button><\/div><\/section><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" style=\"text-transform:uppercase\">Featured Publication<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Prioritizing Cell Tower Site Recommendations outside U.S. Metropolitan Areas by Kurt Pflughoeft, Grace Nemecek and Nikolaus T. Butz<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Cell phone technology has advanced rapidly with the start of 5G being rolled out across the networks. To keep up with this demand, cell tower companies have responded by erecting numerous towers. Engineers and researchers analyze the network topography to make recommendations for cell tower locations. Cell tower companies evaluate these recommendations using a host of other factors. In this research, a model was developed to help a regional telecommunications company predict throughput for locations using competitive and demand factors. Model results represented a large improvement over internal key performance indicators. <em><strong>Read more below or on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2813-2203\/1\/1\/6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MDPI.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/online.flippingbook.com\/view\/781635078\" class=\"fbo-embed\" data-fbo-id=\"781635078\" data-fbo-lightbox=\"yes\" data-fbo-page=\"20\" data-fbo-width=\"100%\" data-fbo-height=\"auto\" data-fbo-ratio=\"3:2\" data-fbo-version=\"1\" data-fbo-method=\"wp\" style=\"max-width: 100%\">CBEI Central Wisconsin Fall 2021 Report<\/a><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/online.flippingbook.com\/EmbedScriptUrl?m=redir&hid=781635078\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"uwsp-testimonials blockspacetop blockspacebottom\"><section class=\"bg-gold\" aria-roledescription=\"carousel\" aria-label=\"Testimonials\"><div class=\"carousel-slides\" aria-live=\"off\" aria-atomic=\"false\">\n<div class=\"uwsp-the-testimonial\" id=\"testimonial17763858108044014\"><div class=\"testimonial-container test-headshot-left\"><div class=\"testimonial-info\"><div class=\"testimonial-text\">&#8220;This project was very beneficial to our company\u2014it shows that a diligent effort to learn our business and analyze our data can provide new insights. We are planning several new projects, some of which are quite complex. However, our newly-created data analytics advisory board and our university partnership gives us confidence that we will be successful. Telecommunication is a fast-changing field, and we need data analytics to successfully navigate it.&#8221;<\/div><div class=\"testimonial-author-info\"><span class=\"test-auth-name\">Steve Schneider<\/span><span>CEO, Bug Tussel<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><button class=\"sliderBack testimonial-sliderbutton\" aria-label=\"previous testimonial\">\u276e<\/button><button class=\"sliderForward testimonial-sliderbutton\" aria-label=\"next testimonial\">\u276f<\/button><\/section><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uwsp-directory-profile-list wp-block-uwsp-directory-profile-2 align-center\"\n     style=\"--profile-container-width-desktop: 100%; --profile-item-width: 50%;\">\n<div id=\"uwsp-directory-profile-403\"\n     data-profile=\"403\"\n     data-profile-name=\"Kurt Pflughoeft\"\n     class=\"uwsp-profile-card \"\n     >\n  <div class=\"card-header\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"175\" height=\"175\"\n           src=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/directory\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/78\/2026\/04\/CPS-BusEcon-Pflughoeft-Kurt.jpg\"\n           class=\"card-img\" alt=\"Profile Photo: Kurt Pflughoeft\">\n      <\/div>\n  <div class=\"card-body\">\n    <h2>Kurt Pflughoeft<\/h2>\n\n        <ul class=\"card-titles\">\n              <li class=\"card-title\">Sentry Endowed Chair of Computational Analytics<\/li>\n              <li class=\"card-title\">Director &#8211; Center for Data Analytics<\/li>\n                    <li class=\"card-title-more\">\n          [ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/directory\/profile\/kurt-pflughoeft\/\" role=\"button\"\n               title=\"View More Titles for Kurt Pflughoeft\"> More&#8230; <\/a> ]\n        <\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n    \n    <div class=\"card-contact\">\n              <div>206 Delzell Hall<\/div>\n                    <div><a href=\"tel:715-346-3255\"\n                aria-label=\"Call Kurt Pflughoeft\">715-346-3255<\/a><\/div>\n                    <div><a href=\"mailto:kurt.pflughoeft@uwsp.edu\"\n                aria-label=\"Email Kurt Pflughoeft\">kurt.pflughoeft@uwsp.edu<\/a><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"card-footer\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/directory\/profile\/kurt-pflughoeft\/\" role=\"button\"\n       title=\"View Kurt Pflughoeft\">View profile <i class=\"far fa-arrow-alt-circle-right ms-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n    <\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"uwsp-directory-profile-11\"\n     data-profile=\"11\"\n     data-profile-name=\"Nik Butz\"\n     class=\"uwsp-profile-card \"\n     >\n  <div class=\"card-header\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"175\" height=\"175\"\n           src=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/directory\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/78\/2026\/04\/CPS-BusEcon-Butz-Nik.jpg\"\n           class=\"card-img\" alt=\"Profile Photo: Nik Butz\">\n      <\/div>\n  <div class=\"card-body\">\n    <h2>Nik Butz<\/h2>\n\n        <ul class=\"card-titles\">\n              <li class=\"card-title\">Sentry Insurance Endowed Chair of Business Analytics<\/li>\n              <li class=\"card-title\">Associate Professor &#8211; Management<\/li>\n                    <li class=\"card-title-more\">\n          [ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/directory\/profile\/nik-butz\/\" role=\"button\"\n               title=\"View More Titles for Nik Butz\"> More&#8230; <\/a> ]\n        <\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n    \n    <div class=\"card-contact\">\n              <div>233 Delzell Hall<\/div>\n                          <div><a href=\"mailto:nik.butz@uwsp.edu\"\n                aria-label=\"Email Nik Butz\">nik.butz@uwsp.edu<\/a><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"card-footer\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/directory\/profile\/nik-butz\/\" role=\"button\"\n       title=\"View Nik Butz\">View profile <i class=\"far fa-arrow-alt-circle-right ms-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n    <\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Featured Publication Prioritizing Cell Tower Site Recommendations outside U.S. Metropolitan Areas by Kurt Pflughoeft, Grace Nemecek and Nikolaus T. Butz Cell phone technology has advanced rapidly with the start of 5G being rolled out across the networks. To keep up with this demand, cell tower companies have responded by erecting numerous towers. Engineers and researchers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":244,"parent":542,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-552","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1070,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/552\/revisions\/1070"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}