ASA at 175 – Volunteer!

By Ronald Wasserstein posted 04-08-2014 10:27

  

If you read any news about the ASA, you’ll quickly figure out that the ASA is a volunteer-led and volunteer-sustained organization.  The thirty-four staff of the ASA have important roles to play, but without member commitment, we would be a much smaller, less vibrant, and far less influential organization.

Thankfully, the ASA has a long and sustained history of volunteer participation in ASA activities.  Perhaps you are interested in joining the ranks of member volunteers making their mark on the association and the profession.  Today’s blog will outline the opportunities available, and how to connect with them.  I’ll offer a personal testimony as well.

The ASA has many entities operated entirely by volunteers:

  • —Committees – 60+ topical committees
  • —Chapters – 70+ regional chapters
  • —Sections – 25+  subject-area-focused sections
  • —Interest and Outreach Groups – 10
  • —Advocacy – various opportunities throughout the year

Let’s take a quick look at each one.

Committees typically consist of 6-9 members, appointed for 3 year terms. All committee memberships are by appointment. The ASA president-elect appoints volunteers to all open committee slots each year. If you are interested, you can place your name in consideration for an appointment to an ASA committee today.  Browse the list of committees and their respective charges, and see which ones might be of interest to you.

Please note that you must be a member of the ASA to serve on an ASA committee.

Chapters are geographically based groups, drawing members from local areas. Chapters are especially dependent on volunteers.  Volunteer opportunities include:

  • Serving as an officer of your chapter (the chapter president and the chapter representative must be ASA members; ASA membership is optional for other officer positions)
  • Each chapter disseminates information to its members in a newsletter or via a web site, and need a newsletter editor or web editor.
  • Many chapters plan local or regional meetings. Volunteers to help with planning are greatly needed.
  • Chapters often organize short courses and need help identifying courses and instructors and making the arrangements to offer them.
  • To volunteer for chapter activities, contact your chapter president (see the ASA chapter website) or Rick Peterson (rick@amstat.org) on the ASA staff.

Sections are focused on specific areas of statistical practice.  Volunteer opportunities include:

  • Serving as an officer of the section. Two candidates are needed for each elected position. Elected positions vary by section.  
  • Like chapters, each section disseminates information to its members in a newsletter or via a web site, and need a newsletter editor or web editor.
  • All sections plan invited sessions at the Joint Statistical Meetings and many organize competitions.  These require a great deal of volunteer help.  The same is true for section webinars designed to provide continuing professional development for their members.

To volunteer for Section activities, contact the appropriate Section chair (see section website) or the ASA’s Rick Peterson (rick@amstat.org).

The same kinds of volunteers are need for interest groups and outreach groups as well.

I encourage you also to read about the ASA’s advocacy efforts on behalf of the statistics profession, and think about whether your skills and interests could be put to use in this way.  If so, write to Steve Pierson, ASA Director of Science Policy, at spierson@amstat.org.

Early in my career, I received great advice from my mentor and friend John Boyer.  He said it was the responsibility of a professional to contribute to the well-being of the profession, and volunteering with the ASA was a great way to do it.  John’s walk matched his talk, and his volunteer efforts with the association led him to receive the Founder’s Award, the ASA’s highest honor recognizing service to the association.  I followed his advice, and served as a volunteer for the ASA for over 20 years before joining the ASA staff in 2007.  John also said that volunteering with the ASA provided the chance to meet a lot of terrific people.  He was so right!  ASA service has led to many wonderful opportunities and relationships that I never would have had.

I write today hoping for the same great experiences for you.

In 2014, the American Statistical Association is celebrating its 175th anniversary.  Over the course of this year, this blog will highlight aspects of that celebration, and look broadly at the ASA and its activities.  Please contact ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein (ron@amstat.org) if you would like to post an entry to this blog.

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