On the Friday and Saturday prior to JSM 2016 (July 29–30), ASA President Jessica Utts convened the ASA Board meeting at the Chicago Hilton Hotel. The highlights of the
meeting follow.

Discussion Items

Action Items

Reported Items

• Mingxiu Hu, ASA treasurer, reported to the board on the status of the ASA’s investments. He provided the board with a detailed look at how the market and our investments have done in 2016—much better than 2015.
• Associate Executive Director and Director of Operations Steve Porzio reported on the second quarter 2016 ASA end-of-year financials. Membership is up and JSM attendance looks positive. (NB: Indeed, it was! JSM 2016 set a record, with more than 7,200 attendees.) Porzio said he expects year-end net revenue to be positive.
• Utts reported on the progress of her strategic initiatives for 2016, and Nussbaum finalized his initiatives for next year. Details will be in Amstat News over the coming months.
• As it always does, the board heard detailed reports from the Council of Chapters Governing Board (COCGB) and Council of Sections Governing Board (COSGB) about their respective activities. The COCGB is helping to develop additional funding to support chapter activities. The COSGB has focused on increasing and better communicating the value of section membership.
• Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson reported on numerous aspects of the ASA’s science policy and advocacy efforts. He welcomed Amy Nussbaum, our first science policy fellow, to the staff. She is already making important contributions to the ASA’s work.
• Board member Paula Roberson, who serves as an ASA representative to the Joint Committee on Women in the Mathematical Sciences (JCW), reported on the activities of the JCW and asked for board feedback on how to add societies to the organization.
• Anna Martin of the University of Auckland reported to the board on the state of statistics education in New Zealand and discussed ways the ASA and the New Zealand Statistical Association can collaborate to improve statistics education.
• Hetan Shah, executive director of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), reported on the strategic plans of the RSS. He talked with the board about the future of scientific societies. He said societies might think of themselves as movements, rather than organizations, not only giving more to members, but asking more from them.

The board has its final meeting of 2016 November 18–19 in Alexandria, Virginia.