ASA President Nat Schenker led the board through a 175th anniversary–oriented agenda during its annual meeting at JSM in Boston August 1–2, 2014.

Here are the highlights of the meeting. The board:

Approved the ASA budget for 2015.

Received the report of the ASA treasurer, Mingxiu Hu, on the status of ASA investments, including observations about investment policy, and the report of ASA Associate Executive Director and Director of Operations Steve Porzio on the mid-year financial status of the ASA. Porzio reported that our balance sheet is good and that we should end in the black for 2014.

Was briefed by ASA PR Coordinator Jeff Myers on the status of the ASA’s national campaign, “This Is Statistics.” This campaign, launched as one of the premier initiatives of the 175th anniversary, will help make high-school and undergraduate students, and those who influence them, aware of the great opportunities presented by a career in statistics.

Welcomed the past president of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), John Pullinger, who is the National Statistician of the UK Statistics Authority. Pullinger updated the ASA on the strategic planning and subsequent activities of the RSS, which is a major partner of the ASA. While the ASA celebrates its 175th anniversary, RSS is celebrating number 180.

Discussed the site for JSM 2021. A final decision will be reached in the fall. The ASA plans JSM sites seven years out to be able to obtain the kinds of facilities we need in the time frame we need them.

Approved creation of the Monroe G. Sirken Award in Interdisciplinary Survey Research Methods.

Approved the creation of an advisory committee to guide the ASA’s new Personal Skills Development Program.

Approved taking on the responsibility of serving as the umbrella organization for DataFest, an undergraduate Big Data analysis competition.

Heard a report on the plans for more fully creating an ASA development program, including hiring a development officer.

Greeted Alan Karr for the final time in his capacity as National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS) director. As he has done annually for two decades, Karr reported on the status of NISS activities.

Heard news of substantial progress being made on the various strategic initiatives for 2014, including the development of a statistical leadership course, the creation of a “statistical commons” (http://bit.ly/1pASw19), and the updating of the undergraduate curriculum in statistics. In addition, President-elect David Morganstein reported on four initiatives he has developed in consultation with the board. Details of these initiatives will be provided in future issues of Amstat News.

Was updated by ASA Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson on the wide range of advocacy efforts by the ASA and similarly updated by ASA Director of Education Rebecca Nichols on the gamut of education efforts in which our association engages.

Discussed the status and activities of the committees in the Professional Issues and Visibility Council. These discussions help keep the board and ASA committees operating in sync.

As always, heard the important reports of activities of the ASA’s sections and chapters from representatives of their respective councils. These entities represent major points of contact for members with their society and provide rich networking and professional development opportunities.

The board’s final meeting of 2014 is November 14–15 at the ASA office in Alexandria, Virginia.