Highlights of the April 8–9, 2022, ASA Board of Directors Meeting

Ron Wasserstein, Executive Director and Board Secretary

President Kathy Ensor called to order the first meeting of the ASA Board of Directors for 2022 on April 8. The meeting was conducted in hybrid format—many board members were
in Alexandria at the office while others joined via videoconference over two days. The highlights of the board meeting follow.

Actions

The board …

Accepted the audit of the ASA’s finances for 2021, thanking the staff for another clean audit.

Approved a recommendation to expand the number of at-large members of the Committee on Publications to six, with appointments with staggered terms to be made as soon as possible.

Approved an update of the joint ASA/National Council of Teachers of Mathematics position statement on the preparation of statistics and data science teachers at the PK–12 level.

Approved the creation of the David Cox Foundations of Statistics Award.

Approved sending out a request for proposals to consulting firms that specialize in assisting organizations with diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Reports and Discussions

Stephen Penneck, president of the International Statistical Institute, updated the board on the activities of ISI. In 2023, the World Statistics Congress and Joint Statistical Meetings will be held within three weeks and 280 miles of each other (Ottawa and Toronto, respectively). The ASA and ISI will be mutually promoting both events.

Associate Executive Director and Director of Operations Steve Porzio summarized the financials for 2021. The pandemic had a significant impact on revenue in 2021. The ASA is still healthy financially, but we continue to carefully evaluate programs and revenue.

ASA Treasurer Ruixiao Lu reported on the ASA’s investments. She reviewed the allocation of the ASA’s nearly $21.5 million among various types of investments as of February 28 and the results of our investments over the past decade. She discussed market upturns and downturns in this context. Lu also updated the board on the activities of the Investments Committee, Budget Committee, and Audit Committee.

David Manderscheid, recently appointed director of the Division of Mathematical Sciences of the National Science Foundation, updated the board on DMS activities and his goals for the division.

Ensor updated the board on 2022 initiatives, including the launch of the Data Science and AI Committee, ASA involvement in ABET undergraduate data science accreditation, the National Data Mine project, and the continued development of the Leadership Institute.

Adrian Coles and David Marker, co-chairs of the Antiracism Task Force, presented a summary of the task force report and recommendations. They highlighted key recommendations in the report and next steps. The board praised the report and thanked the task force for its efforts. ASA staff and the board will coordinate follow-up on the report recommendations.

ASA Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson provided his regular report on the ASA’s advocacy efforts. Pierson updated the board on science and statistical agency budgets, plans for JSM 2022 Hill Day, activities of the Count on Stats program, and a variety of other ongoing matters.

ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein reviewed the status of follow-up on the recommendations from the ad hoc Committee on Increasing Diversity in Publications. All recommendations are being addressed either by staff or the Committee on Publications. Wasserstein highlighted a plan for reviewing journal policies and communications from a diversity, equity, and inclusion perspective.

Last fall, the board appointed a working group chaired by Lu to begin a review of the membership and public awareness components of the ASA strategic plan. The working group sent its report to the board this winter. Lu led the board in a discussion about the group’s observations to collect information and ideas for next steps in updating the strategic plan.

Nick Horton and Mark Otto presented the annual report of the committees that comprise the Membership Council. Ensor noted the importance of these reports in keeping the board informed of committee activities and needs.

The board discussed an idea for ASA involvement in an update to the 2002 AAUP document on proper methods for conducting salary equity studies. Wasserstein will reach out to AAUP to see if there is interest in updating the publication with ASA help.

The board engaged in a structured discussion of ASA website policy to guide future revision to the website. Staff will bring recommendations to the board based on information developed during the discussion.

The board meets again on June 10 for its annual budget meeting. The next regular meeting of the board is August 5–6 in Washington, DC, immediately prior to JSM.