ASA President Wendy Martinez gaveled in the “JSM meeting” of the ASA Board. The board met via videoconference over a three-day period in the run-up to virtual JSM 2020. The highlights of the board meeting follow.

Actions

• The board approved the 2021 ASA budget, noting it will likely need to be adjusted as circumstances warrant.
• The board approved in principle a revision to the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Report, subject to forthcoming edits.
• The board heard a proposal to create a new journal tentatively titled Innovations in Statistical Consulting & Collaboration. Concerned about paper flow and the budget for the journal, the board suggested alternate strategies to develop a proof of concept before committing to a new journal launch.
• The board approved changing the name of the Journal of Statistics Education to the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education, effective January 1, 2021.
• The board approved a policy for renaming ASA awards, should the need arise.
• The board accepted the recommendations of its Constitution and Bylaws Review Task Force and put forward the recommended revisions to these ASA governance documents for final board consideration after the required public comment period.
• The board approved the formation of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Outreach Group.

Reports and Discussions

• Associate Executive Director and Director of Operations Steve Porzio updated the board on 2020 financials. He noted that the ASA will operate at a loss in 2020. The extent of that loss is not yet clear, Porzio said, but he also noted the ASA’s balance sheet is healthy, with reserves to help us weather this storm.
• ASA Treasurer Ruixiao Lu reported on the ASA’s investments. She reviewed the diversity of investments in the portfolio and noted we are doing reasonably well. She again cautioned about market volatility and said the investments committee works with our investment manager to keep up to date on developments.
• Sharon Hessney, the moderator of What’s Going On in This Graph (WGOITG), joined the board by video. WGOITG is a free, weekly online feature of the New York Times Learning Network (NYTLN) that encourages students in grades 7–12+ to better understand and critically interpret graphs that relate to the world they live in. Hessney provided data and anecdotes showing that the program, now three years old, continues to grow and succeed.
• Rebecca Nichols, ASA director of education, updated the board on the diverse set of programs and initiatives the ASA undertakes to promote statistics education at all levels.
• Martinez updated the board on her three initiatives in 2020. She said the TEDx initiative is on hold because of the pandemic. She provided the board with highlights from the LGBTQ+ Inclusion and K–6 Statistics and Data Science initiatives and indicated she is pleased with the progress made given the difficulties everyone is experiencing this year. ASA President-elect Rob Santos is developing three Building Community initiatives: building community through membership development; building community through advancing diversity, inclusion, and equity; and building community through external outreach. He walked the board through goals and philosophies for each and asked for feedback and involvement.
• Council of Chapters Representative Ji-Hyun Lee updated the board on council activities for JSM 2020, the status of the traveling course, and plans for future council meetings.
• Council of Sections Representative Katherine Halvorsen updated the board on the council schedule for JSM 2020, the upcoming section leadership conference, and resources (including a video) for new section representatives.
• Linda Young and Xuming He, co-chairs of the Statistical Significance and Reproducibility Task Force, presented the report and recommendations of the task force, which was appointed by 2019 ASA President Karen Kafadar. The board sent suggestions back to the task force for further consideration.
• ASA Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson reported on advocacy efforts of the association, focusing on issues surrounding the decennial census, COVID-19 data reporting, and National Center for Education Statistics staffing. He provided the board with a comprehensive history of the citizenship-related issues on the decennial census.
• Amanda Malloy, ASA director of development, briefed the board on the status of 2020 fundraising. She reviewed the plans for ASA’s Giving Day in October. Malloy said fundraising is down in 2020 over 2019, but not by much, and not by nearly as much as other nonprofits are experiencing.

The board will meet next the week of November 16 via videoconference for its final 2020 meeting.