Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas launched the Office of Homeland Security Statistics in a November ceremony. The office is an expansion of the statistical activities at DHS, where previously the Office of Immigration Statistics—the Office of Homeland Security Statistics predecessor—covered only immigration statistics.
Government Statistics
Getting to Know the ASA’s Government Employment Sector
Serving as a representative of government statisticians is an important part of Dionne Price’s role on the ASA Board. In this column, she focuses on this and shares highlights of a conversation with Claire Bowen, who is the current chair of the Government Statistics Section; Simone Gray, who is the past chair; and Bob Sivinski, who is chair-elect.
Meet Bureau of Economic Analysis Director Vipin Arora
Vipin Arora became director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis in December of 2022. Amstat News asked him to respond to a few questions so readers can learn more about him and the agency he runs.
Better Employer Records Could Advance Research, Statistics, Evaluation
Modern technology and data science offer an opportunity to upgrade systems for employer wage records. One effort in this direction is the Jobs and Employment Data Exchange initiative, led by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The public-private initiative aims to enhance the content and systems for these records for the mutual benefit of businesses and government.
ASA, GMU Team on Project to Assess Health of Federal Statistical Agencies
Recently, a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation funded a collaboration between the American Statistical Association and George Mason University to assess the health of the federal statistical agencies. A team made up of ASA members will begin reporting their assessment in the first quarter of 2024, with updates annually thereafter.
Award Committees Seek Applications, Nominations
Nominations and applications for the Causality in Statistics Education Award and Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship are due in April.
Applications for ASA Science Policy Fellowship Wanted
The ASA seeks applications for its fall of 2023 science policy fellowship. A one- to two-year position, the fellow will be based at the ASA headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia; however, they will spend much of their time in Washington, DC, advocating for statistics and experiencing first-hand how federal science policy is formed.
Meet Alex Piquero, Head of the Bureau of Justice Statistics
Alex R. Piquero was appointed by President Joe Biden in June of 2022 to serve as director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and sworn in August 15, 2022.
My ASA Story: Mike Jadoo, Bureau of Labor Statistics Economist
Mike Jadoo, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Office of Productivity and Technology, first learned about the American Statistical Association from a coworker who was going to the Joint Statistical Meetings.
Statistics Without Borders: Outstanding Leadership and Projects in Data for Good
Statistics Without Borders—an ASA outreach group—has high-impact projects, volunteer recruiting, development, support, expertly managed projects, and excellent data for good resources.