Ron? Who is Ron? Ron Wasserstein, the executive director of the ASA, of course. In many ways, he’s the silent partner, sometimes the silent leader, and the person who implements many of the initiatives we undertake.
Ron has been active in promoting the practice and profession of statistics, and the past year has been no exception. Among many other things, he has had four huge projects come to fruition. The accreditation of statisticians first came before the ASA Board of Directors at JSM in 2009, with guidelines for accreditation approved in June of 2010. A pilot test was declared successful in January of 2011, and the program of voluntary individual accreditation has been under way since then. Statisticians now have the option to be accredited, and more than 100 members already proudly display PStat® after their name.
Ron also facilitated the initiation and planning of the first Conference on Statistical Practice, which was described in the May 2011 president’s invited column. This conference will be held February 16–18, 2012, in Orlando, Florida. Aside from being an educational experience, it will provide an excellent opportunity for members to network.
A third major achievement is the completion of successful negotiations for publication of our journals by a single publisher. After evaluation of responses to a request for applications by a subcommittee of the board of directors, Taylor & Francis’s offer was accepted as the one that would give the ASA the best advantage. The publishing partnership will begin in 2012.
The fourth major achievement is enabling the creation of STATtr@k, the ASA website dedicated to students and young professional statisticians. STATtr@k was launched in March and features articles and advice for beginning professionals about careers and transitions from being a student to taking various jobs.
Ron often serves in an ex officio capacity on work groups and committees that the board of directors sets up. For example, he is facilitating the planning of our 175th anniversary, which will occur in 2014. The 175th anniversary theme is “Celebrate Our Past, Energize Our Future,” and planning is already under way by a steering committee appointed by President-elect Bob Rodriguez and chaired by Vice President Christie Chuang-Stein. Ideas are being solicited for events to be held during the 175th anniversary year, especially at the annual JSM in Boston. If you have ideas, you are welcome to contact members of the committee. Plans also are under way for an International Year of Statistics (IYStat). Several statistical societies will join in this celebration, and Ron will coordinate the ASA’s contributions.
Much of the work Ron does gives the ASA presence in the broader statistics and mathematics communities. Internationally, he has facilitated networking with the Royal Statistical Society, leading to our partnership with them on Significance magazine, another benefit for our members. We network as well with the International Statistical Institute (ISI) and various international organizations such as the International Chinese Statistical Association, International Indian Statistical Association, and Statistical Society of Canada. Several of us will attend the ISI meetings in Dublin later this month and participate in various activities.
Within the United States, we are members of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences and the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM). These boards discuss broad topics, with presentations, for example, from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, reports and discussions about the future of journals in this ever-more electronic age, and even the Museum of Mathematics, which will open in New York City in 2012.
JPBM oversees the annual Mathematics Awareness Month, held every April. Each year, one of the member societies selects the theme and is the lead participant in making materials available. In 2012, the ASA will be the coordinating organization and the theme will be “Mathematics, Statistics, and the Data Deluge.” Many activities for Mathematics Awareness Month are local, with a general theme, poster, and online materials available in January.
Ron would say it is the volunteering members and excellent staff who do all this work, but he plays a central role. The ASA is fortunate to have an executive director who is so active, personable, and creative. Indeed, Ron has done a lot for us lately!
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