The Academic Data Science Alliance (ADSA) was launched in May 2019 to provide an independent national resource network for academic data science leaders, practitioners, and educators to connect and exchange ideas, and to advance the uptake of data science best practices in higher education. ADSA seeks to support university researchers in their efforts to learn, use, and teach data-intensive tools and responsible applications. Our ultimate goal is to bring about the institutional changes needed to integrate data science into university research and training. By building networks of academic data science practitioners (including faculty, students, staff, and administrators), ADSA enables better sharing of knowledge, ideas, and lessons learned.