Isolated Statisticians Meeting Minutes

7:00 pm, Sunday, August 8; Toronto, ON

1. Welcome and Introductions

Moderator Ann Cannon welcomed the group and had everyone introduce themselves. There were 46 people in attendance.

2. The Tenure Review Process in a Math Department

Nick Horton was curious about tenure review experiences and pointers from others at small colleges. He found the MAA guidelines helpful and was looking for more advice. The following suggestions were made:

• Make sure your research goes to a reviewer outside your college (and preferably to another isolated statistician, since he/she will understand your situation). Also, it’s important that your work is reviewed by a statistician, not by a theoretical mathematician.

• Rely on the isostat group to verify your work.

• Talk to your department chair, so he/she knows what journals are peer-reviewed (e.g., since JSE is an online journal, it may not be perceived as peer-reviewed).

• Get letters of support from colleagues with whom you’ve consulted.

• Argue that consulting is professional development and is not simply part of teaching.

• Look at the ethical guidelines of the MAA.

The group agreed that this kind of conversation is very important and should take place periodically at isostat meetings.

3. Obtaining Grants by Isolated Statisticians

John McKenzie wondered if there were potential grants for isolated statisticians. If so, he wondered where the grants are and what are they for (e.g., computer labs, research). He received the following responses:

• It is difficult for statisticians at small colleges (especially those with no grants officer) to receive a grant. It may be helpful to network with colleagues at large research universities who have been successful at getting grants (since it’s good for them to do outreach).

• NSF officers suggest that there is money out there – for example, there are small grants for transplanting a successful program from one school to another.

• The Office of Naval Research, EPA, and Department of Forestry are all potential granting agencies.

• The program officer for a grant is a good resource, as he/she knows what the reviewers are looking for.

• It is hard to get a grant by yourself. You have a better chance if the grant writing team is interdisciplinary – either within your own college or across colleges.

• It would be nice for isolated statisticians to share successful grant applications (potentially through the website).

• Doug Andrews mentioned that there are $500 grants for ASA Chapter Career Days – see him for more information.

4. Revisiting Regional Meetings of Isolated Statisticians

John McKenzie and Dex Whittinghill gave a brief history of the regional meetings of the isolated statisticians. The New England region meets every year (perhaps because there are so many colleges and there are shorter distances between the colleges), whereas other regions meet sporadically or not at all. A discussion of the importance of regional meetings and potential funding sources led to the following comments:

• The Exxon foundation funded the original isostat meeting and could possibly be asked for more money. Local chapters of ASA could also fund part of a meeting. Furthermore, your school may be willing to host a meeting, simply for public relations purposes.

• Funding my not be necessary, as people may come without having their trip paid for.

• When organizing a regional isostat meeting, we should reach out to 2-year college teachers and AP teachers.

• Get people from industry to talk at the meetings.

5. Identifying Websites of Interest to Isolated Statisticians

John McKenzie asked for websites that are of interest to isolated statisticians. The following list was generated:

www.causeweb.org

www.amstat.org

www.amstat.org/sections/educ/

www.amstat.org/profession

it.stlawu.edu/~rlock

it.stlawu.edu/~rlock/ussa

informs.org

www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/

www.citydata.com

www.fedstats.gov

www.insightful.com/Hesterberg/bootstrap

apcentral.collegeboard.com

www.rossmanchance.com

www.isostat.org

As a parting note, John encouraged people to pass dead links onto the web author and for web authors to list when the page has been last updated.

6. Isostat Website – www.isostat.org

Joy Jordan, the author of the isostat website, asked if the website should be continued and what should be added. It was decided that the site should be continued, and that a resources section should be added (including information about the tenure review process and about external funding), as well as two additions (CAUSE and ARTIST) to the links section.

7. Different Types of JSM Sessions and the Deadlines Involved.

Dex Whittinghill, 2004 Program Chair, explained the different types of JSM sessions (invited, topic contributed sessions and panels, and regular contributed sessions) and the corresponding deadlines. Karen McGaughy is next year’s program chair.

8. Announcements 

• George Cobb briefly discussed the recommendations of two ASA task forces (one on the ASA student magazine and the other on graduate education and research).
• Weiwen Miao announced that Macalaster has an opening for a second statistician.
• Jackie Miller announced that USCOTS will be held at Ohio State, May 19 – 21, 2005.
• Brad Hartlaub (hartlaub@kenyon.edu) asked people to apply to be AP readers.
• At Claremont McKenna College, there are 10 – 15 slots each year for student researchers.
• Diane Evans announced that Rose-Hulman is hosting a conference March 19 – 20, 2005, and is looking for student speakers.

9. Picture and Adjournment

Joy Jordan took a picture of the isostat group for the website, and then the meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Joy Jordan