PRESIDENT’S LETTER TO MEMBERS OF
The Chicago Chapter of the American Statistical Association
August 11, 2011
Dear Members of the Chicago Chapter of the ASA:
One active fiscal and business year 2010-2011 is behind us, and another year is just beginning. I am honored to be your chapter president through this coming year. I would like to thank the exiting Board and President Mike Wise, whose tenure ended on June 31. The Chapter had a great deal of activities, with nine luncheons, a one day conference and ten Board meetings! Well done Mike and Co.!
While in the past year we sadly saw the passing away of our Board member Arnold Zellner, former Professor at University of Chicago, and a well-known scholar in fields of Bayesian statistics and Econometrics, I am happy to announce two new Board members: Mark S Richards of ISO Innovative Analytics and to Adam McElhinney of Enova Financial. With rejuvenated Board, we plan to have at least as many activities in the next as in the previous period.
My intention is to focus on the following tasks:
- To firmly establish the processes and timing of chapter practices such as election of officers and transition from one Board to the next, in accordance with our Chapter constitution;
- To develop a thorough CCASA membership directory that would be available on our web site;
- Reach out to new and old members of the CCASA to be more active in the Chapter and on the Board,
- Provide our members with the first class lectures and opportunities to network in their statistical profession.
I think we have already entered a historical period of “greater appreciation of statistics” judged by the August 5, 2009 NYT article “For Today’s Graduate, Just one Word: Statistics” and the fact that he first “World Statistics Day” was on October 10, 2010 – not quite a year ago. For the first time the UN General Assembly has invited all member states and international partners to celebrate such a day.
It is very exciting for me to be marching into such future together with all of you, members and friends of our Chicago Chapter!
Respectfully,
Borko D. Jovanovic
Chicago Chapter ASA President 2011-2012