Council of Sections Governing Board

Professional growth and networking opportunities are enhanced by participating in any of the 28 ASA sections. Sections are communities developed to further the objectives of the association in a field of statistical methods, theory, or applications. With statistics being a broad and diverse field, a section provides a “home” for statisticians; offers opportunities throughout the year for professional development; and keeps members current through conferences, newsletters, and community discussions. An additional benefit of section membership is the opportunity to network within one’s area of interest or expertise. Also, many sections offer mentoring opportunities, organize student competitions, and provide awards. All these benefits can enable career growth and future employment, but specifics of how section membership can benefit you include the following:

Keeping Up to Date

Sections play a critical role in keeping statisticians current throughout the year, and not just at the annual association’s conferences. All sections host web communities so their members can stay in touch and share information, and many publish semiannual newsletters or journals that allow their membership to contribute to the development of their scientific interest. Some sections organize their own conferences focused on a sub-discipline to help disseminate new topics, promote learning, and foster collaboration. In addition, certain sections also have their own publications.

The ASA sections are key contributors, helping to support a wide scientific program for the annual Joint Statistical Meetings and other section-sponsored conferences based on section interests. Sections organize invited, topic-contributed, and contributed sessions, as well as poster sessions and roundtable discussions. Additionally, a few sections host a luncheon at the annual meeting with an eminent speaker in their field. Through all these activities, sections ensure their members stay current in a rapidly changing field.

Examples of section-sponsored conferences include the following:

• Health Policy Statistics Section sponsors the International Conference on Health Policy Statistics
• Mental Health Statistics Section sponsors the Thomas R. Ten Have Symposium on Statistics in Mental Health
• Nonparametric Statistics Section co-sponsors the International Society for Non-Parametric Statistics Conference and the Workshop on Nonparametric Statistics for Big Data
• Statistics and the Environment Section co-sponsors the biennial ENVR/EnviBayes Workshop

Examples of section-affiliated journals include the Journal of Business & Economic Statistics and the Journal of Nonparametric Statistics. Also, the Section on Statistical Learning and Data Science has its own journal dedicated to applications and theory of data science—Statistical Analysis and Data Mining.

Education

Education is an important part of a section’s activities, giving members economic options to gain new knowledge, stay current, and grow professionally. Many sections sponsor continuing education courses at annual conferences and webinars throughout the year to facilitate professional development in their area of interest. Members of ASA sections are sometimes called upon to support efforts toward establishing national education guidelines or providing commentary on topics of importance (e.g., Statistical Education Section’s recent article, “Barriers and Threats for Statistics in Secondary Education”). In another example of such collaboration, several statistics societies and Springer collaborated to establish a new online encyclopedia. Also, sections encourage their membership to contribute to topic-relevant definitions and content.

Examples of recent webinars include “Enhancing Reproducibility in Statistical Analysis Using R Markdown,” sponsored by the Section for Statistical Programmers and Analysts, and “Mobile Phone-Based Data Collection and Analysis,” sponsored by the Mental Health Statistics Section.

Also, sections such as the Biopharmaceutical Section conduct and archive podcasts. And the Section on the Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences (TSHS) promotes sharing teaching materials through the TSHS Teaching Resources Portal.

Leadership Opportunities

Section members have the opportunity to gain leadership and organizational experience by serving on sections’ executive boards. These boards contain elected and appointed positions in which members can help shape the section’s value to its members. It is a stepping stone for those both early in their careers and those who want to gain more visibility in the ASA.

Examples of leadership roles include section chairs, who define and lead the section directive, and program chairs, who help identify educational opportunities for their members through section webinars and annual conferences such as JSM and the Conference on Statistical Practice.

Advocacy

Section members are able to contribute to discussions about funding, policy issues, and industry regulations through section-organized activities that enable members to have an impact beyond their current roles and to shape our society for the better. For example, members of the Health Policy Statistics Section interacted directly with a patient-centered outcomes research institute (PCORI) representative at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Chicago to learn about funding opportunities and other PCORI initiatives.

Another example is the Statistics in Defense and National Security Section, which promotes the statistical profession and best statistical practices within the defense and national security governmental and affiliated organizations on an ongoing basis.

Similarly, the Statistics and the Environment Section connects statisticians in academia to applied statisticians and environmental scientists working directly with regulations and policy to have an immediate and practical effect on environmental regulation and policy.

Networking

Sections help facilitate discussion among members from different backgrounds (e.g., industry, government, and academia) and among multiple societies with a shared purpose or interest. Section business meetings and mixers held at the Joint Statistical Meetings are an excellent way to meet those working in a similar field or sharing related interests. Small group settings such as these are an excellent place for discussion and networking. Several sections also produce newsletters covering section-relevant topics, maintain an electronic mailing list to facilitate communication, and advertise job openings to connect section members to employers.

Examples of section-sponsored activities include the following:

• The FDA/Advanced Medical Devices and Diagnostics Statistical Issues Conference (sponsored by the Medical Devices and Diagnostics Section) brings together leading authorities from the FDA, industry, and academia.
• The Physical and Engineering Sciences Section sponsors the Marquardt Memorial Industrial Speakers Program to foster communication between industrial and academic statisticians.

The Biometrics Section cooperates with the Biometric Society, Statistics Section of the American Public Health Association, and Section U of the American Association for the Advancement of Science to exchange ideas and build bridges.

Member-Specific Initiatives

Members are recognized for exceptional scientific work and outstanding service through section-sponsored awards. Multiple sections provide major awards to recognize members doing remarkable work. Other sections convene an ASA Fellows nomination committee to assist deserving members with preparing nominations. Certain sections award members for exceptional mentoring efforts. Sections provide important career opportunities and enhanced professional visibility by enabling their members to disseminate their work or serve as a session chair or discussant at a conference or workshop. Many sections promote specific mentoring initiatives for early-career and junior statisticians. From time-to-time, members have the opportunity to contribute to additional initiatives, or even propose their own section-sponsored initiatives.

Examples of section-sponsored or co-sponsored awards include the following:

• Mitchell Prize and Savage Award, co-sponsored by the Bayesian Statistical Science Section
• Julius Shiskin Memorial Award for Economic Statistics, Nathan Mantel Award for Lifetime Contributions to Statistics in Epidemiology Award, and Young Investigator awards, sponsored by the Statistics in Epidemiology Section
• Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award, sponsored by the Government Statistics Section
• David P. Byar Young Investigator Award and funding mechanisms for training such as postdoctoral career-development awards, sponsored by the Biometrics Section

An example of a section-sponsored initiative is the Statistical Consulting Section’s initiative to develop online resources and tools helpful for statistical consultants.

Student Benefits

Many sections offer opportunities for their student membership. Multiple sections sponsor student paper competitions to encourage students to submit their best work and present at JSM or other meetings. Many of these competitions offer awards for travel costs. A few sections provide education grants (e.g., Survey Research Methods Section) or scholarships (e.g., Natrella scholarship by the Quality and Productivity Section). Additionally, there are initiatives to help and engage under-represented groups of students. Examples of student travel awards include those sponsored by the Bayesian Statistical Science Section and Biometrics Section.