It is Thanksgiving Day as I write this column, though by the time you read it, it will be the beginning of a very happy new year. I wish you all a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous year, and I look forward to working with you to make our association thrive.

This year, for the first time, the ASA collected gender information along with the salary information during the salary survey of biostatistics and other biomedical statistics departments. Keith Crank, the ASA’s research and graduate education manager, suggests a story for the gender information provided.

Here are results from the fall 2009 Salary Survey of Biostatistics and Other Biomedical Statistics Departments and Units conducted by the ASA. All salary figures are for a 12-month period. As in the past, previous salary survey data have been included for comparative purposes. The estimates are based on responses from 30 departments, plus a few individuals who responded to the survey.

Sally Morton wound down her term as ASA president by leading the board through intense discussion of important topics during the board’s December 4–5, 2009, meeting at the ASA office in Alexandria, Virginia. Here are the highlights.

The November 2009 issue of Technometrics is a special collection of articles on statistical problems that arise in computer modeling. The stimulus for this issue was a focus year on the topic held in 2006–2007 at the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute.