Lisa LaVange
Photo by Jon Gardiner
UNC Chapel Hill

For my final President’s Corner, I am reflecting on this whirlwind of a year as ASA president. What an opportunity! I have a new appreciation for all the ASA does to support its members—all the events to encourage networking and scientific exchange, all the training offerings to help members build their careers, all the attention paid to improving statistics education from elementary school up, all the effort that goes into our prompt public statements when current events threaten the ethical and sound practice of statistics, and so much more.

The ASA president is honored with more speaking invitations than anyone could fit into one year. From the Conference on Statistical Practice in Portland, Oregon, last February to the Fall Technical Conference (FTC) in West Palm Beach, Florida, in October, I feel like Carmen Sandiego in my girls’ favorite childhood video game!

And speaking of the FTC, what an interesting meeting. Not being a member of the ASA Section on Physical and Engineering Sciences or the Section on Quality and Productivity, I knew little about this conference, but that did not keep me from enjoying it immensely.

Lisa LaVange with FTC co-chairs Daksha Chokshi and Mindy Hotchkiss

This year’s theme, “Riding the Big Data Wave,” perfectly aligned with the meeting locale and program. Mindy Hotchkiss and Daksha Chokshi were the conference organizers and delivered a terrific meeting. Among the many interesting sessions was one on the relatively new field of statistical engineering. The International Statistical Engineering Association held their first conference in conjunction with the FTC. Paraphrasing one of the panelists in a session on that topic, statistics provides the right set of tools for problem solving, and engineers are problem solvers, so the combination of the two makes sense.

As statisticians, though, don’t we think of ourselves as problem solvers? There will probably be some interesting discussions about this new field and how it relates to both statistics and data science going forward. And, of course, the ASA will continue to provide just the right venues for those conversations.

In the space of just a few days last month, I attended ASA local chapter events in New Jersey and San Francisco. Both meetings were heavily attended by statisticians working in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries because of their respective locations, giving me the opportunity to opine about my work at the Food and Drug Administration in addition to ASA initiatives.

From left: SFASA officers Jing Huang, Council of Chapters representative; Ruixiao Lu, vice chair of District 6; Ron Yu, president-elect; (Lisa LaVange); and Kathy Zhang, past president

The 6th Annual ASA New Jersey Chapter/Bayer Statistics Workshop took place on the Bayer Healthcare campus in Whippany, New Jersey. Olga Marchenko of Bayer and Jing Gong, New Jersey Chapter president, hosted the event. Registration was capped at 150—an impressive turnout—and the day was lovely. It was wonderful to see friends and colleagues and hear about exciting research on dose-finding studies, complex trial designs, and related topics.

Lisa with Jin Gong of Celgene, New Jersey Chapter president

The first Bay Area Biotech-Pharma Statistics Workshop was co-sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter and the ASA Section on Biopharmaceutical Statistics. The meeting was co-chaired by Liang Fang of MyoKardia and Ying Lu of Stanford, and the conference theme was “Impact and Innovation.” More than 250 attended, and I was impressed by how many statisticians were practicing solo or with just a few colleagues in small biotech companies. One of the speakers recalled when, not too long ago, there were only three biotech companies in the Bay Area. What a difference a few years make! The workshop was terrific, and I recommend future workshops to anyone interested in this area of statistical practice.

My last stop for a local chapter event is just down the road. The North Carolina Chapter is holding the Mentoring and Early Career Development Workshop followed by the annual NC ASA Fall Dinner with the theme “Stories of Significance.” Should be a terrific evening!

Not surprisingly, I was not able to accept all the invitations this year, but was able to find other speakers from among our many talented former presidents and officers, strengthening the connection between the ASA Board and local chapters. And I pushed a few off to early 2019, when I plan to visit chapters in central Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and southern California.

Board News

The ASA Board met in November—my last meeting to hold the gavel—and there were two agenda items I’d like to mention here. The first was a report from members of the task force on sexual harassment describing their work over the past 11 months. They submitted proposed revisions to the ASA policy on meeting conduct that further strengthen the emphasis on keeping all ASA events welcoming, inclusive, safe, and free of discrimination or harassment of any kind. In addition, the task force oversaw a membership survey to gather information from ASA members about their experiences at ASA events. A summary of the survey findings is forthcoming, and thanks to the diligent work of the task force, our policies will be better informed as a result.

Another item approved by the board was to establish a continuing committee to oversee the ASA Leadership Institute. The two pilot initiatives launched this summer and fall—the student challenge and leadership cohort—have been well-received, so the time seemed right to start planning for ways in which the institute can expand and sustain. The steering committee will also help guide the institute as it becomes the home for professional development activities across the association.

The student challenge competition was launched at JSM when three teams representing student chapters at Purdue, Vanderbilt, and North Carolina State University were assigned coaches. Representatives from the three teams will attend the April 2019 board meeting to present their solutions to the membership challenge, and the board will determine the winner. In the meantime, Anna Nevius has organized a series of webinars for the students featuring the team coaches—Barry Nussbaum, Wendy Lou, and Lisa Lupinacci.

Members of the leadership workshop, which was held October 12–13 at ASA headquarters
Photo by Olivia Brown/ASA

The first of our leadership cohort workshops was held October 12–13 at ASA headquarters, with 20 ASA members attending (see group photo). The topic was leading with cultural competency. Gary Sullivan led the workshop and two guest speakers—both statistical leaders with distinguished careers—shared their career stories. Dionne Price shared personal experiences with and techniques for leading a diverse group of statisticians in regulatory research. Bill Wang shared his career story, spanning two continents and a variety of leadership roles in the pharmaceutical sector. He talked about the particular challenges associated with global responsibilities and used his experience with an international guidance working group to illustrate how diverse groups can work together effectively to reach a common goal.

Reviews of this inaugural training program have been enthusiastic, and preparations for the next two workshops are well underway. A web-based workshop on decision-making and decision analytics will be offered to the cohort in January featuring guest speaker Karen Price. An in-person workshop on executive statistical presence will be offered in May featuring guest speaker Laura Meyerson.

One of the first tasks for the steering committee will be to determine ways to expand the leadership cohort training program so it can reach more ASA members. And I, for one, could not be more excited about the potential the program has in advancing the statistical leadership cause!

Shout-Outs to ASA Staff

October 26 was Florence Nightingale Day. Middle-school students in Georgia and Ohio came to school bright and early that Saturday morning to learn about careers in statistics. A webcast featuring our 2019 president-elect, Wendy Martinez, was broadcast live to the sites as Wendy shared her early-career story.

This event—definitely worth repeating and including more sites—was a collaboration between the ASA and Caucus for Women in Statistics.

October also saw our first-ever Giving Day, which was immensely successful. Amanda Malloy, ASA director of development, continues to oversee fund-raising activities, ensuring our ability to sustain ASA initiatives such as Florence Nightingale Day and the Leadership Institute.

Looking back over this presidential year, and in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, I have so much to give thanks for: new friends, new travel experiences, and exciting and thought-provoking interactions with statisticians from around the globe. Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to lead the biggest and best statistical organization ever.

Looking to the future, I see many opportunities for statisticians to have tremendous impact on so many areas—from public health and medicine, to the environment, to social justice and beyond. We lead, we educate, and we work for a better tomorrow. The future could not be brighter for our profession, and we have the ASA to thank for much of that brightness!

Your 2018 president, signing off,
Lisa LaVange