Poster display as part of the golden jubilee celebrations at Rajshahi University, Bangladesh, to commemorate the association’s 50th anniversary.

The Statistics Department at Rajshahi University in Bangladesh held the Golden Jubilee celebrations on December 23-24, 2011 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the department. Founded by the Late Professor Khondkar Manwar Hossain in 1961, the department now has about four hundred undergraduate majors, master’s, and PhD students with more than 30 teaching faculty members. The department also has a strong research group under the mentorship of Chairman, Professor M. Nasser.

The two-day celebrations drew more than 1600 participants including, among others, alumni and current students and also former and present teachers. On the opening day there was a joy rally at the heart of the campus where the national, university, and other flags were ceremoniously raised. Doves were then released by the guests of honor and the participants walked through the campus in a procession to the assembly hall.

At the opening session Mir Masoom Ali, George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Statistics Emeritus from Ball State University, Indiana, delivered the Golden Jubilee Keynote Lecture followed by the lectures by pro vice chancellor and vice chancellor of Rajshahi University and the chairman of the statistics department. The rest of the afternoon was spent viewing the poster sessions. The posters included many timely, important topics and were prepared mainly by the graduate students under the mentorship of their professors. The second day was spent with invited plenary session presentations. The festivities ended in the evening with a cultural show, which included songs and dances by local and national artists.