Amanda L. Golbeck

Elizabeth Scott

F.N. David

The Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) announced in April the establishment of two lectureships named after women: The Elizabeth L. Scott Lecture and the F.N. David Lecture. The lectures will be given in alternate years at the annual Joint Statistical Meetings beginning in 2019.

This will be the first time JSM, which has been held annually since 1840, will have lectures named after women. JSM is the largest gathering of statisticians in North American and one of the largest in the world. Each year, there are more than 6,000 participants from more than 50 countries.

The Elizabeth L. Scott Lecture and F.N. David Lecture will be included in the COPSS portfolio, which already includes the Fisher Lecture. According to Nick Horton, chair of COPSS, “One of the main tasks for COPSS involves granting awards that highlight the work of notable statisticians. I’m proud that starting in 2019, at least one of the lectures at the JSM will be named after a woman. This is long overdue.”

The Caucus for Women in Statistics (CWS) spearheaded the effort to establish the lectureships. Horton reported the COPSS Executive Committee voted unanimously to approve the CWS proposal. CWS partnered with the ASA LGBT Concerns Committee, ASA Committee on Women in Statistics, Statistical Society of Canada Committee on Women, International Statistical Institute Committee on Women, and International Biometric Society ENAR/WNAR.

The idea that too few women receive national recognitions for their research and scholarship is not new. The National Science Foundation in 2010 established an AWARDS project “to investigate and improve the process of granting awards and prizes for scholarly achievement” in disciplines like statistics. This project led to many association reforms.

Establishing a new named lecture slot at JSM for the Scott and David lectures is another significant step forward in advancing the statistics profession. It adds a face to the profession’s ongoing and growing commitment to diversity and inclusion. 2018 CWS President Shili Lin remarked, “I’m so excited and grateful that the long overdue recognitions for women in statistics in the form of two named lectures are finally here, and here to stay!”

The first lecture will be the F.N. David Lecture. It will be given at JSM 2019 in Denver, Colorado, from July 27 to August 1. ASA Committee on Women in Statistics Chair Kimberly Sellers said, “Already looking forward to JSM 2019!”

For more information about the lectureships, contact Lin.