Carol Caldwell was honored October 13 with the 2021 Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring Award during a virtual ceremony hosted by the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP). This year marked the 19th annual presentation of the award and the 13th year the Government Statistics Section (GSS) has managed the award process.
Caldwell served as chief of the US Census Bureau’s Economic Methods Division until she retired this past summer. All her nominators characterize Caldwell as an extraordinary mentor, who provided formal and informal guidance to junior—and not-so-junior—staff as a direct supervisor, a participant in the US Census Bureau’s formal mentorship program, and a colleague with an open door policy.
Her nominators consistently point out that when the Economic Directorate reorganized in 2014, Caldwell was selected to be the chief of this new division that brought programmatically dispersed mathematical statisticians together under one umbrella. With no road map to follow, Caldwell defined the position as an advocate representing the mathematical statistician’s role in the survey life cycle as a member of the directorate’s senior leadership team.
Caldwell’s advocacy led to the creation of the senior mathematical statistician for economic programs position, reporting directly to the associate director. Those Caldwell has mentored have affected the federal statistical system and beyond, receiving the Census Bureau’s and Commerce Department’s highest awards, becoming ASA Fellows, and mentoring their staffs in an effort to “pay it forward.”
Caldwell is commended for promoting a “family friendly” atmosphere and reducing the stress of maintaining a professional work-life balance. Many of her mentees attribute Caldwell’s supervision to their professional success. Her nominator notes that, as a mentor, Caldwell is an “unsung hero.” She is recognized by all her peers as an outstanding supervisor who coaches her staff to become credible and critical researchers with strong administrative skills. They are distinguished by promotions and awards, thus making her deserving of this mentoring award.
The Award
The Jeanne E. Griffith Mentoring award honors Griffith, who died in 2001 after working for more than 25 years in the federal statistical system. It acknowledges supervisors, technical directors, team coordinators, or other members of federal, state, and local government statistical staff who make unique efforts to mentor and encourage younger staff at all levels to learn and grow and to recognize and seize career opportunities.
The award includes a plaque and $1,000 honorarium. Nominations for the 2022 award can be submitted beginning January 2, 2022. Questions about the award may be sent to Rick Peterson or Rajeshwari Sundaram.
Leave a Reply