CS1b: Panel: Fostering Collaboration: Innovations and Challenges in Statistics Education at Liberal Arts Colleges

This panel brings together five statistics faculty members from Ohio Five liberal arts colleges to reflect on both the unique strengths and ongoing challenges of teaching statistics in such institutions. As statistics programs continue to grow in prominence nationwide, the liberal arts context presents distinct pedagogical and structural considerations - from program placement within mathematics or data science departments to designing curricula that align with institutional missions. This session aims to foster a broader conversation about the future of statistics education in the liberal arts and to build a network of collaboration among peer institutions. Each panelist will briefly introduce the distinctive features of their colleges's statistics education, and highlighting established collaboration models that already in place. The moderated discussion will then explore new and innovative ways of collaboration, such as building a shared open-source educational platform, co-teaching advanced electives, supervising cross-institutional research, and organizing joint colloquia. Throughout the session, we will also address related pedagogical topics, including the role of mathematics and programming in undergraduate statistics education, and strategies for developing advanced electives despite limited introductory and intermediate course pipelines. This session welcomes a broad audience, including prospective faculty (such as Ph.D. candidates interested in teaching), colleagues from peer institutions, industry partners, and high school statistics teachers. The discussion will offer valuable perspectives on building collaborative programs, strengthening educational pathways, and aligning liberal arts statistics education with evolving academic and industry needs.