ASA at 175 - Preparing for a Board meeting

By Ronald Wasserstein - April 92, 2014

This week's ASA at 175 blog takes you behind the scenes and on the set of an ASA Board of Directors meeting.  Yesterday's blog provided an overview of the Board and its meetings.  Today we'll look at the preparations for the meeting.

I mentioned yesterday the 250+ pages of reading Board members need to do.  At the upcoming meeting, the Board will, among other things:

• review the financial results for the 2013 calendar year, including the association's annual audit, and also review the status of our investment portfolio
• hear detailed recommendations from our public relations consultant, Stanton Communications, about a national public relations...
  
  

ASA at 175 - The Board of Directors (Overview)

By Ronald Wasserstein - April 91, 2014

ASA at 175 – The Board of Directors (Overview)

The ASA Board of Directors meets this week, as it does four times per year.  I will blog this week about the Board meeting, with the purpose of bringing you closer to the group of volunteer leaders who serve the membership with great dedication, and with no small amount of sacrifice, and to help you understand the roles in which they serve.

I'll make no bones about the secondary purpose of this week's blogs as well:  If you haven't voted in the on-going ASA election, and weren't planning to, I hope to convince you that...

ASA at 175 - Committees

By Ronald Wasserstein - March 90, 2014

"Committees" has to be the least exciting blog title you've ever read.  Committees have all kinds of negative connotations, and are often viewed as the places ideas go to die. (“We’ll keep having meetings until we find out why nothing is getting done.”) ASA committees, however, are made up of dedicated volunteers who serve the association in a variety of important ways.  Committees are key to the success of our association.  Because of the critical role they play, committees are given special attention by ASA leadership.

There are 50+ committees of the ASA or joint with other societies.  They cover an amazing range of...

ASA at 175 - Forming Communities

By Ronald Wasserstein - March 86, 2014

An interest group in Astrostatistics recently formed in the ASA.  Recent decades have witnessed a steady and sustained increase in collaborative research efforts between statisticians and astronomers, leading to astrostatistics, a dynamic new subdiscipline that is rich in data, sophisticated models, and interdisciplinary activities.  A group of astrostatisticians has organized itself under the auspices of the ASA.

This new group is a great example of the many types of communities that can and do form within the ASA.  I’ll highlight communities in today’s blog, and hope to persuade you to join one or, even better, to form one that coincides with your statistically-related interests.

There...

ASA at 175 - GStat Accreditation

By Ronald Wasserstein - March 83, 2014

The American Statistical Association announces today the launch of a second component to its voluntary program of individual accreditation of statisticians.  Interested individuals may apply for Graduate Statistician (GStat) status with the ASA.  GStat is an entry level of accreditation, preparatory for full PStat® accreditation.

To be eligible for Graduate Statistician (GStat) status, one must be a member of the ASA and meet the educational requirement for PStat® status. (If you are not familiar with PStat® status, more information is provided at the end of this blog.)  Quoting from the Guidelines for Accreditation:

“Applicants must possess an advanced degree in statistics or a...