Amanda Malloy

Amanda Malloy, ASA Director of Development

As my neighbor Willie Nelson said, “Can’t wait to get on the road again.” I’m looking forward to visiting with you to explore the question, “What does the future hold for the statistics profession?”

This was a theme at JSM this year. In fact, ASA President Barry Nussbaum talked about it during his address. In a world where the terms “big data,” “data analytics,” and “data scientist” are ubiquitous, it is important to consider how statisticians are included.

The good news, as Barry said in his talk, is “This is the best of times for statisticians.” There are more opportunities than ever, and it’s up to us to firmly establish the importance of statistics for society and support students at all levels so the demand for statisticians is met.

The House of Statistics is an initiative Barry championed to both highlight the contributions of statisticians to society and support statistics education. House of Statistics will be a virtual home for videos, career explorations, games, and competitions that challenge and involve students at all levels, showing that statistics is cool. It will be a great resource for both formal and informal learning, and you’ll ativan for sale no prescription hear much more about it in the coming months, so stay tuned.

As a member of the ASA, you are an ambassador for the profession. The ASA is here to support you and others like you. We need your help, though, to make sure statistics stays at the forefront of the data movement.

Here are some things you can do to help:

Get Involved

• With your local chapter
• With sections
• With interest groups
• With your local schools

Stay Informed

• Subscribe to the ASA Science Policy blog to keep up to date on the current issues facing our country and profession
• Stay connected to peers and weigh in on topics in the ASA Community

Donate

Help us do more!

• Your contributions help improve statistics education for K–12 students, expose students to statistics and get them excited about statistics as a career, ensure statisticians are included in policy decisions and proper analysis is done on critical studies, and help the public understand and ask the right questions about information being given to them on a daily basis
• Visit GiveASA to find out more.

Barry’s take-home message was to be active, collaborate, get to the table early, and learn new skills. Working together, we will ensure it is “the best of times.”