Ann Russey Cannon from Cornell College was named the 2017 recipient of the William D. Warde Statistics Education Award, which is presented by Mu Sigma Rho, the national honorary society for statistics. The annual award is given to a faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in classroom teaching in the statistics discipline and a lifetime devotion to statistics education.
Working within the intense schedule of Cornell’s one-course-at-a-time academic calendar, Cannon is nonetheless able to connect with each student. One student described her experience as follows:
Class with Professor Ann Cannon is like being at my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. There is always that really cool aunt who everyone wants to talk to because of her passionate, interesting life and career. All [throughout] dinner, I devote my efforts to making conversation with this aunt, trying to soak in every word said so I can someday apply what she is saying to my own life. These conversations are never boring. They aren’t forced. They may only happen a few times a year, but they always leave a lasting impression on me. Ann Cannon is this cool aunt at Cornell. Her lectures are these conversations.
Outside the classroom, Cannon has made major contributions to statistical education. Whether it is her service to the Section on Statistical Education or her position as assistant chief reader for AP Statistics, she advocates for quality statistical education and the needs of students. In everything, Cannon is student centered.
The award is named in honor of William Douglas Warde, who passed away unexpectedly in August 2010. Warde was a faculty member at Oklahoma State University for 42 years and a longtime national officer of Mu Sigma Rho. His energy and enthusiasm for the promotion of the discipline to students was second to none.
Mu Sigma Rho invites academic institutions to nominate outstanding teaching faculty for the 2018 Mu Sigma Rho William D. Warde Statistics Education Award. The recipient must have evidence of excellence in classroom teaching in the statistics discipline and a lifetime devotion to statistics education.
Each academic institution is allowed one nomination per year. In the event that more than one nomination is received from a single institution in a year, only the first will be considered. Any college or institution may nominate a potential recipient, regardless of whether the institution has an active Mu Sigma Rho chapter.
Each nomination should include the following:
- A cover letter
- The nominee’s curriculum vitae
- A summary of the nominee’s teaching and educational activities
- A draft of a citation briefly describing the nominee’s accomplishments
- At least three, but no more than six, letters supporting the nomination (at least two from present or former students and one from a colleague)
If a nominee is not selected for the award, the nomination will remain active for three years after the initial submission, unless the institution chooses to put forward another nominee.
Nominations should be sent to Lisa Kay by February 15, 2018. All nomination material should be sent in a single PDF document.
The recipient of the award will be notified on or before March 15, 2018, and be presented with a plaque during the Sunday awards ceremony at JSM 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Questions regarding this award should be emailed to Kay.
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