The ASA announces the selection of candidates for the 2011 election. The winning candidates’ terms will begin in 2012. Make sure to look for your ballots in your email inbox and to vote early. Voting begins at midnight EST on March 15 and ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on May 3. Paper ballots will only be mailed to those without email addresses on file with the ASA.

Click here for complete candidate biographies.

President-elect

Jane Pendergast

Professor of Biostatistics and Director of the Center for Public Health Statistics, University of Iowa

What does the ASA mean to you? I am reminded of an old story where two bricklayers, working side-by-side, were asked the question, “What are you doing?” The first responded in great detail about the process of setting the mortar, laying each brick, and making adjustments to ensure a strong and level wall. The second replied, “I’m building a cathedral.” Each of us is, in a sense, a brick layer, and, collectively, we are building our profession, one day at a time. How we choose to develop and apply our statistical knowledge defines what it means to be a member of this professional community. Statistical practice arose out of a social need to make good, data-based decisions and the related realization that we can discover and learn from data. Surely, we live in a time when the world could use more and better help than ever! How can we capitalize on these ever-increasing opportunities for statistics, and do so in partnership with others?

The ASA exists to support the professional development of its members; to support excellence in the development, application, and dissemination of statistical science; and to serve as an advocate for the profession. Historically, the focus has been on publications, meetings, educational activities, member services, and, more recently, on outreach and advocacy. The need for statistical expertise is strong and growing, yet our membership is dropping. What would make membership more attractive?

I envision the ASA of the future as a stronger professional home, where statisticians have better access to a wider range of support throughout their professional lives. Yes, we need a variety of ways to build our statistical knowledge, but what else? What would help you be more successful? Perhaps more information and training on some of the so-called “soft” skills (e.g., communication skills, developing successful collaborations, time management, budgeting, managerial skills, grantsmanship, professional writing), vendor discounts outside of meetings, and more networking and career advice opportunities would be useful to many ASA members. How can we partner with others to strengthen the support for statisticians, build more interest in our profession, and develop new opportunities? Should we offer web-based short courses and training targeted to nonstatisticians? Should we pursue more partnerships with other statistical associations to further our common missions?

I am confident that, together, we will continue to rethink how the ASA can adjust to today’s world and become a stronger professional home that is financially viable. I encourage you to join the conversation. Where should we be headed? What is working well? Where do you think more efforts are needed? Collectively, through the ASA and other avenues, let us build the future of our profession, brick by brick, with a strong vision for the future.

President-elect

Marie Davidian

William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Statistics, North Carolina State University

These are exciting times for the statistical sciences and our profession. Society is increasingly dependent on the collection and interpretation of data, to which we—statisticians—and the principles of statistics are indispensable, ensuring that sound, objective evidence and analysis underlie the decisions, policies, and initiatives that affect us all, locally, nationally, and globally. The opportunities statisticians have to contribute to the discoveries that will shape the future make our profession a rewarding career choice.

We know this. The ASA is uniquely positioned to ensure that those who need to know it—the public, government officials, business leaders, fellow scientists, students seeking exciting careers—understand the importance of what we do. The ASA is also well equipped to provide statisticians—and anyone interested in the collection and analysis of data—assets we need to enhance our expertise, grow professionally, and address challenges posed by new technology and innovation.

Recent ASA leaders have developed a bold strategic plan, which has catalyzed initiatives that are making our association more effective at fulfilling these objectives. I am honored to be a candidate for ASA president and am committed to continuing these efforts and spearheading new ones, with the overarching goal of cementing the ASA’s place as a central “go-to” resource for members and the public regarding everything related to statistics. I will focus on four areas:

Furthering the ASA’s impact and raising public awareness
Through presidential visits to Capitol Hill, statements on issues of public importance, and efforts of our director of science policy and volunteers from various committees, the ASA has elevated its voice in the public forum. We must pursue even more aggressively opportunities to communicate with decisionmakers and ensure that statisticians are involved in policy debates. We must enhance our responsiveness to issues arising in government and the media on which our input is critical. We must implement creative ways to represent our discipline to the public, solo or in partnerships with sister organizations. I will work vigorously to highlight the ASA as the national focal point for statistical leadership.

Encouraging statistical education and attracting the next generation
The ASA must continue to promote innovation in statistical education and the need for the public to have statistical skills to navigate our data-centric world. We must inspire talented, diverse students to embrace statistical careers. Since 2004, I have codirected an NIH-funded Summer Institute for Training in Biostatistics (SIBS) program to encourage U.S. undergraduates to pursue graduate training in our discipline and have witnessed them alter their career aspirations. I will summon this experience and my two-plus decades of teaching, mentoring, curriculum development, and outreach to work with our education council and other ASA leaders to keep the ASA at the forefront of advances in statistical training.

Enhancing the value of ASA membership
The ASA can provide leadership only if membership yields benefits that attract and retain the diverse constituencies who study, practice, and use statistics. We must offer enhanced educational opportunities in traditional and emerging topics through frequent, accessible courses, webinars, and other media; more novel forums for interaction, such as the upcoming Conference on Statistical Practice; and opportunities for networking and professional development for targeted groups such as newly minted and isolated statisticians. The ASA can foster stronger, mutually beneficial relationships among industry, government, and academic statisticians and provide infrastructure for formation of new advocacy groups. The ASA website, Amstat News, and Significance offer unlimited possibilities for communication and outreach. Drawing on my experience as a continuing education presenter, cofounder of professional development opportunities such as the ENAR Junior Researcher Workshop, and co-organizer of several thematic conferences, I will strategize with key constituencies to conceive new ways for the ASA to serve its members.

Promoting the interests of our profession
As various stakeholders debate open access to research, implications for the ASA’s outstanding publications are unclear. My decade of experience with Biometrics, during which I was involved in negotiating two publishing agreements, has kept me abreast of the changing landscape of scholarly publication. I will work with members of our Committee on Publications to ensure that ASA journals maintain their robust stature, quality, and income. Current uncertainty regarding federal funding comes at a time when investment in our discipline would yield substantial payoff. I will use my understanding of federal funding mechanisms to advocate for increased support for statistical research and training.

As the ASA approaches its 175th anniversary, we are poised to achieve these aims. I would be honored to work with you toward “Promoting the Practice and Profession of Statistics.”

Vice President

David Morganstein

Vice President, Director of Statistical Group, Westat, Inc.

I deeply appreciate the invitation to be a candidate for the position of vice president of the association. It would be an honor to serve ASA in this role. My many years of participating in the ASA in a number of positions have brought me in contact with a wide variety of very fine colleagues, with whom I’ve shared much and from whom I have learned much. It would be a distinct pleasure to broaden these opportunities even further.

If elected, I would look forward to assisting the president and the board in any way I can in furthering the goals of our association. As a personal goal, recognizing that the ASA is a multicultural, diverse organization with many special and diverse interests, I will seek to expand my understanding of the various and possibly conflicting concerns of our members and bring this understanding to our consideration of the future of the ASA. As a survey statistician, I am particularly pleased that the association has chosen to engage its membership through soliciting their views and thoughts before arriving at its decisions. Having served on two accreditation committees, I had the opportunity of working with our executive director on a member survey regarding this topic. The feedback from the members provided the committee with valuable information that helped the committee greatly in developing the current plan for the accreditation process.

The association’s strategic plan focuses on a number of areas that are both of personal and of professional interest—namely statistical practice, organizational efficiency, and accreditation—to which I believe I could contribute.

The ASA continues in its efforts to balance our profession’s critical aspects of sound theory with good practice. Statistical practice is to be the subject of a new ASA conference to be held in 2012, a meeting that will attract many of the association’s members. Having worked in and consulted to industry and government most of my career, I hold the view that sharing best practices, an issue closely related to statistical ethics, is an invaluable part of professional growth. As became clear to me in chairing the deliberations of the ISI ethics committee, there is more to be discussed and shared on ethical principles and best practices, and I look forward to contributing to efforts to make this new conference a great success. Hopefully, we can make it the first of many such conferences.

Beginning in the early ’80s, when I first became involved in teaching and consulting on statistical process control, I quickly realized the important contribution of the statistician to good management principles in improving organizational efficiency. Starting in industrial applications, I subsequently had the privilege of applying these principles and practices in many service organizations, including government statistical agencies and the ASA office. The practice of making sound data-based decisions is quite simply about improving organizational efficiency.

Over the past two years, I have had the opportunity to work on several accreditation committees in planning and now bringing to fruition this new opportunity for members. The process has only begun, and I have joined the ranks of a few dozen members who have gone through the carefully designed review process to become accredited. I expect to continue working on expanding, implementing, and fine-tuning this program, particularly since it was of such keen interest to a significant portion of the membership.

Finally, in recent years, the ASA office has taken many very proactive steps to find new ways to serve members. I look forward to continuing to help the executive director and the board in any way I can be of service.

Vice President

Fred L. Hulting

Director, Global Knowledge Services, Innovation Technology & Quality Division, General Mills, Inc.

It is an honor to be nominated as the next vice president. If elected, I look forward to working with all of you—the members of ASA—to strengthen the association and shape its future as we approach ASA’s 175th year in 2014.

As an association, we are a prominent, global, professional community drawn from varied backgrounds and the interdependent sectors of industry, academia, and government. We play an important role in our society and economy, making a positive impact through statistical practice, interdisciplinary research and outreach, and enhanced statistical literacy. And we are supported by our staff and valued volunteers, who deliver a mix of programs and services that benefit members, enhance outreach, and ensure financial stability.

My work mirrors the ASA’s in many respects. I manage a worldwide team that serves an international client base; collaborates on interdisciplinary research projects; and builds academic, industry, and government partnerships. I see the value of increasing statistical literacy among our stakeholders and the impact of statistics on our company’s success. Finally, working within my budget constraints, I am challenged to develop the right mix of knowledge, information, and statistical services that benefit our clients and our consumers.

This professional experience, coupled with my experience on other nonprofit boards, will enable me to serve the association effectively. I accepted this nomination because I am excited by the potential for ASA to impact society and support its diverse membership by strengthening collaboration and sharpening its portfolio of programs and services. The ASA is doing well, but it can do even better.

The challenges facing the ASA as it looks to the future are clearly outlined in the ASA’s 2008 strategic plan. That plan provides context and strategies for eight inter-related areas and guides the annual process of developing initiatives and providing resources. I fully support the strategic plan and its objectives and will partner with the presidents to drive successful outcomes for their strategic initiatives.

Within the strategic plan framework, there are several areas I would emphasize, including membership growth, with outcomes focused on attracting applied and consulting statisticians; education, with outcomes focused on increasing statistical literacy; and public awareness and visibility/public policy, with outcomes focused on issue response, integrity of government statistics, and collaboration among professional associations.

There are existing initiatives in each of these areas that we can build on, including accreditation, the Conference on Statistical Practice, support for our director of science policy, and the development of resources to further statistical literacy efforts. I look forward to aiding the implementation of current initiatives and to ensuring these areas remain under consideration as I collaborate with all of you in developing the next “big ideas.”

As an ASA member since 1984, I have served in chapter, section, committee, and publication leadership roles and seen the value the association can deliver. I am honored to accept this nomination and, if elected, to focus my energy and leadership on ensuring the ASA benefits each of you while it also addresses larger societal and policy issues requiring statistical leadership.

Council of Sections Board Representative

Janet P. Buckingham

Staff Analyst, Southwest Research Institute

The Council of Sections is a vibrant and active organization within the ASA focused on serving its section members with guidance, communication, and collaboration. Sections play such a vital role in the career growth and professional development of statisticians. I would be honored to represent the Council of Sections on the ASA Board to keep the communication and interests between these two groups working to achieve common goals in helping statisticians.

Margaret A. Nemeth

Lead, Statistics Technology Center, Monsanto Company

In large organizations, communication is always a challenge. The sections and their members serve an important role in defining/impacting ASA policy, and it is important to have a direct connection from the sections to the board of directors (BOD). By serving as a liaison between the Council of Sections and the BOD, I will work to not only increase the communication, but to ensure that important issues/resolutions/decisions are addressed and transmitted to both groups. I appreciate the opportunity to serve in this critical role.

Council of Chapters Board Representative

Nicholas Horton

Associate Professor of Statistics, Smith College

The ASA is increasingly concerned with promoting the profession and the value that the discipline can bring to bear on important societal problems. To this end, chapters provide a key structure to both enlist the talents of members and to serve their professional needs. They provide a local connection to many outreach, education, and professional development opportunities and facilitate in-person contact for members otherwise isolated in their workplaces. At a time when people are increasingly busy and pressed for time, we need to continue to find ways for the national office to support chapters in their efforts to help advance the profession by, for example, encouraging chapters to share successes with other chapters. I would welcome the opportunity to represent the interests of chapters and further integrate chapter members and officers in ongoing ASA activities.

Karol Krotki

Senior Research Statistician, Research Triangle Institute International

ASA is one of the main reasons for the healthy state of our profession and the insatiable demand for statisticians and statistical expertise. My objective is to help ASA continue helping the profession grow, increase the supply of statisticians, and satisfy the consumer demand for this expertise.

Publications Representative

David Banks

Professor, Department of Statistical Science, Duke University

The ASA is moving into a new era of publication. Our journals face fresh challenges as we attempt to exploit Internet technology to increase access and provide new functionality. We have also partnered with a new publisher, which may create some transitional issues. I intend to help shape the outcome so that the results best serve the needs of our members and our profession.

John Stufken

Professor and Head, Department of Statistics, University of Georgia

To maintain its status as the preeminent professional society in the statistical sciences, nothing is more important for the ASA than a portfolio of vibrant and prestigious journals. Improving and judiciously expanding the portfolio will have to take place in a rapidly changing publishing landscape, where technological innovations have opened doors to novel means of faster electronic forms of communication that offer exciting options not available under the traditional publishing model. I would be excited and honored to serve the association as the publications representative on the board of directors and to help its portfolio evolve by taking advantage of technological innovations and modern developments in the world of publishing, while also maintaining the highest standards of quality for the journals and building on the reputation that the ASA has established over many years.

ASA 2012 Election Candidates List

Council of Chapters Governing Board (COCGB)

Chair-elect
Michael P. Cohen, Independent Statistical Consultant
Daniel Kasprzyk, NORC at the University of Chicago

Vice Chair, Region 1, Dist. 1
Alan Olinsky, Bryant University
Marianne E. Messina, Bristol-Myers Squibb

Vice Chair, Region 1, Dist. 2
David W. Webb, U.S. Army Research Laboratory
Alex Cambon, University of Louisville

Council of Sections Governing Board (COSGB)

Chair-elect
Todd Nick, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Katherine Halvorsen, Smith College

Vice Chair
W. Steve Yao, Amgen Inc.
Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, The RAND Corporation

Business and Economic Statistics Section (B&E)

Chair-elect
John M. Abowd, Cornell University
Edward Melnick, New York University

Program Chair-elect
Sung K. Ahn, Washington State University
Alan L. Montgomery, Carnegie Mellon University

Biometrics Section (BIOM)

Chair-elect
Susan Groshen, University of Southern California/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Jianwen Cai, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Council of Sections Board Representative
Scarlett L. Bellamy, University of Pennsylvania
Mari Palta, University of Wisconsin

Biopharmaceutical Section (BIOP)

Chair-elect
Ram Suresh, Merck & Co.
Amit Bhattacharyya, GlaxoSmithKline R&D, USA

Council of Sections Board Representative
B. Christine Clark, ReSearch Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
Jim MacDougall, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals

Program Chair-elect
Estelle Russek-Cohen, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Ivan S.F. Chan, Merck Research Laboratories

Secretary
Christopher J. Miller, AstraZeneca
Dionne L. Price, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Section on Statistical Consulting (CNSL)

Chair-elect
Marlene J. Egger, University of Utah
Walter T. Ambrosius, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Council of Sections Board Representative
Stuart A. Gansky, University of California, San Francisco
Eric Vance, Virginia Tech

Executive Committee at Large
Margaret A. Nemeth, Monsanto Company
Dennis L. Eggett, Brigham Young University

Secretary/Treasurer
Roy N. Tamura, Eli Lilly and Company
Ann Lazar, University of California, San Francisco

Section on Statistical Computing (COMP)

Chair-elect
Montse Fuentes, North Carolina State University
Wolfgang Jank, Wiley’s Statistics in Practice

Council of Sections Board Representative
Greg Snow, Intermountain Healthcare
Erik Iverson, University of Minnesota

Program Chair-elect
John W. Emerson, Yale University
Berwin A. Turlach, University of Western Australia

Secretary/Treasurer
G. Jay Kerns, Youngstown State University
Jane L. Harvill, Baylor University

Section on Statistical Education (EDUC)

Chair-elect
Deborah Nolan, University of California, Berkeley
Dennis K. Pearl, The Ohio State University

Council of Sections Board Representative
Jennifer J. Kaplan, Michigan State University
Paul Roback, St. Olaf College

Executive Committee at Large
Nathan Tintle, Hope College
Tim Jacobbe, University of Florida

Executive Committee at Large
Amy G. Froelich, Iowa State University
Suhwon Lee, University of Missouri

Section on Statistics and the Environment (ENVR)

Chair-elect
William F. Christensen, Brigham Young University
Petrutza C. Caragea, Iowa State University

Council of Sections Board Representative
Devin Johnson, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Ronald E. McRoberts, U.S. Forest Service

Program Chair-elect
Veronica J. Berrocal, University of Michigan
Mary C. Meyer, Colorado State University

Publications Chair-elect
Matthew Heaton, Duke University
Kate Calder, The Ohio State University

Treasurer
Paul L. Patterson, Forest Service, USDA
Kathi Irvine

Section on Statistics in Epidemiology (EPI)

Chair-elect
M. Elizabeth (Betz) Halloran, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington
Mimi Kim, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Council of Sections Board Representative
Martina Pavlicova, Columbia University
Rajeshwari Sundaram, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH

Program Chair-elect
Jing Cheng, UCSF
Jinbo Chen, University of Pennsylvania

Publications Officer
Daniel Rubin, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Jessica Gerald Young, Harvard School of Public Health

Section on Government Statistics (GOVT)

Chair-elect
Michael P. Cohen, Independent Statistical Consultant
Lisa M. Blumerman, U.S. Census Bureau

Program Chair-elect
Mark Harris, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service
Eric Rancourt, Statistics Canada

Section on Statistical Graphics (GRPH)

Chair-elect
Webster West, Texas A&M University
Graham Wills, SPSS, an IBM Company

Program Chair-elect
Kary Myers, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Rafe Donahue, BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc./Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Publications Officer
Mat Soukup, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Rebecca Nugent, Carnegie Mellon University

Health Policy Statistics Section (HPSS)

Chair-elect
Matthew D. Rotelli, Eli Lilly and Company
Mary Beth Landrum, Harvard Medical School

Section on Statistics in Marketing (MKTG)

Chair-elect
David A. Schweidel, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Ewa Nowakowska, GfK Polonia

Program Chair-elect
Leslie Matekaitis, Nielsen Company
Michael Braun, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Secretary/Treasurer
Stan Lipovetsky, GfK Custom Research North America
Peter Ebbes, The Ohio State University

Section on Nonparametric Statistics (NPAR)

Chair-elect
Jianqing Fan, Princeton University
Bani K. Mallick, Texas A&M University

Program Chair-elect
Aurore Delaigle, University of Melbourne, Australia
Ciprian M. Crainiceanu, The Johns Hopkins University

Publications Officer
Karin S. Dorman, Iowa State University
Hao Helen Zhang, North Carolina State University

Treasurer
Rui Song, Colorado State University
Tatiyana (Tanya) Apanasovich, Thomas Jefferson University

Section on Quality & Productivity (Q&P)

Chair-elect
Daksha Chokshi, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Theresa Utlaut, Intel Corporation

Program Chair-elect
Willis Jensen, W.L. Gore & Associates Medical Products Division
Rachel (Johnson) Silvestrini, Naval Postgraduate School

Section on Risk Analysis (RISK)

Chair-elect
Murali Haran, Pennsylvania State University
Yiliang Zhu, University of South Florida

Program Chair-elect
Brooke Buckley, Northern Kentucky University
Michael E. Tarter, University of California, Berkeley

Publications Officer
Jennifer L. Clarke, University of Miami
Edward L. Boone, Virginia Commonwealth University

Secretary/Treasurer
Elizabeth H. Margosches, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Stephen Gilbert, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Section on Bayesian Statistical Sciences (SBSS)

Chair-elect
Francesca Dominici, Harvard University
Alicia Carriquiry, Iowa State University

Program Chair-elect
Mahlet G. Tadesse, Georgetown University
Peter F. Thall, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Publications Officer
Adam Branscum, Oregon State University
Mayetri Gupta, Boston University

Secretary/Treasurer
Jerry Reiter, Duke University
Amy Xia, Amgen Inc.

Section on Statistics in Defense and National Security (SDNS)

Chair-elect
Jeffrey L. Solka, NSWCDD
George Michailidis, University of Michigan

Program Chair-elect
Aubrey Dale Magoun, University of Louisiana at Monroe/Applied Research and Analysis, Inc.
Al Ozonoff, Children’s Hospital Boston

Section on Statistics in Sports (SIS)

Chair-elect
Michael A. Rutter, The Behrend College
Patricia English, Pfizer Inc.

Council of Sections Board Representative
Phil Yates, Saint Michael’s College
Albyn Jones, Reed College
Sandra Clarkson, Hunter College of CUNY

Program Chair-elect
Michael E. Schuckers, St. Lawrence University
Andrew W. Swift, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Section on Statistical Learning and Data Mining (SLDM)

Chair-elect
David Banks, Duke University
Xiaoming Huo, Georgia Institute of Technology

Program Chair-elect
Yufeng Liu, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Giles Hooker, Cornell University

Social Statistics Section (SOC)

Chair-elect
Warren Brown, University of Georgia
Linda A. Jacobsen, Population Reference Bureau

Program Chair-elect
Michael D. Sinclair, NORC at the University of Chicago
Deborah H. Griffin, U.S. Census Bureau

Secretary/Treasurer
Natalya Verbitsky-Savitz, Mathematica Policy Research
Anthony Tersine Jr., U.S. Census Bureau

Section on Physical & Engineering Sciences (SPES)

Chair-elect
Jim Rutherford, Chevron Oronite Company, LLC
Winson Taam, The Boeing Company

Program Chair-elect
Stephanie Pickle DeHart, DuPont
Peter W. Hovey, University of Dayton

Secretary/Treasurer
Theodore T. Allen, The Ohio State University
Allison M. Rajakumar, The Lubrizol Corporation

Section on Survey Research Methods (SRMS)

Chair-elect
Virginia M. Lesser, Oregon State University
Jill M. Montaquila, Joint Program in Survey Methodology, University of Maryland

Council of Sections Board Representative
Polly Phipps, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Chris Moriarity, National Center for Health Statistics

Program Chair-elect
Frauke Kreuter, Joint Program in Survey Methodology, University of Maryland
Wendy Rotz, Ernst and Young

Secretary
Barbara Lepidus Carlson, Mathematica Policy Research
Rebecca Andridge, The Ohio State University College of Public Health

Statistical Programmers and Analysts Section (SSPA)

Chair-elect
Jyoti N. Rayamajhi, Eli Lilly and Company
Simon Lin, Eisai Inc.

Program Chair-elect
Michael Carniello, Takeda Global Research & Development
Nancy J. Petersen, Houston Health Services Research and Development Center of Excellence

Secretary
Lauren Bailey, University of California, Irvine
Christopher D. Long, San Diego Padres

Treasurer
Rick Wicklin, SAS Institute
Heidi Nasizadeh, Genentech Inc.

Section on Teaching Statistics in the Health Sciences (TSHS)

Chair-elect
Deborah Dawson, University of Iowa
Steven Grambrow, Duke University Medical Center