External Nominations and Awards Committee: Why, What, and How?

Statisticians have an important role in helping to make evidence-based decisions in a world awash in data. For this reason, statisticians should serve on expert panels, advisory committees, and commissions where their expertise can enrich deliberations. Equally, statisticians who have been brilliantly playing these roles for a long period should be acknowledged for their contributions.

Part of the American Statistical Association’s mission is to promote the practice and profession of statistics. The ASA wants to proactively ensure that qualified statisticians are nominated for external advisory boards/committees and that worthy statisticians are nominated for external awards.

To this end, the ASA has convened the External Nominations and Awards Committee (EN&AC) with a specific charge to do the following:

• Identify boards, committees, and other bodies external to statistics to which statisticians should be appointed to assist in advancing science and in raising the profile of the profession
• Identify high-profile awards (external to statistics) for which statisticians might be eligible
• Identify people who should be nominated for these positions or awards and identify and reach out to people who would be able to effectively nominate them

This new committee will operate similarly to other ASA committees, with members serving a three-year term and having an opportunity for a second-term reappointment.

The committee has begun its work and developed the following principles and process to guide its work:

• Identify and recommend the most worthy candidates
• Solicit input from pertinent ASA section(s) and the ASA membership as much as time allows
• Encourage self-nominations
• Recommend nominees with the requested expertise and open minds to serve on external boards/committees; the ability to maintain one’s objectivity on the issues of focus is an important consideration
• Recognize the need for diverse representation for nominees for external boards/committees and external awards

When appropriate, recommend multiple nominees with distinctive backgrounds to allow a richer overall composition of an external board/committee

To foster its mission, EN&AC is compiling a list of existing external boards/committees on which statisticians are represented or there is a potential for a statistician to contribute significantly. The committee is also compiling a list of existing awards for which statisticians should be nominated. Members plan to reach out to leaders of the statistical community to help populate these lists. We are seeking ASA members’ help also. If you have information for the lists we are compiling, please send it to the committee co-chairs, Narayanaswamy Balakrishnan and Christy Chuang-Stein. If you have suggestions about the principles and process outlined above, please share it with the committee co-chairs, as well.