Official Approval: Shaw Letter (to Wilfrid J. Dixon)
You will be pleased to know that more than the required 500 (the actual count was 1,384) regular members of ASA have indicated their desire to have a new Section on Computation in Statistics.
According to the Constitution this means that the new section "shall be created as of the beginning of the next calendar year." Since the regular ASA elections of section and other officers do not take place until after June, the Constitution also provides that when a Section is first organized the Section officers and committees shall be named by the President with the consent of the Board of Directors.
Churchill Eisenhart and I would like very much to get underway as soon as possible with the new Section. To that end, Churchill suggests that since I will be the incumbent President when the Section officially comes into full being, it would be appropriate for me to anticipate that event by appointing a Section Chairman now.
We would greatly appreciate it if you would consent to be Chairman for this important time in the life of the new Section. I propose also to appoint a Secretary and a Program Chairman. The current Board, which includes all but two of the members who will be on the 1972 Board, could consider the appointments for ratification at the meeting on August 22. This would be in time for the new Section Program Chairman to participate in the planning meeting for the 1972 program which will be held in Fort Collins on August 26.
I hope very much it will be possible for you to serve. What would you think of asking Alan Forsythe to be Secretary? It seems to me there would be real advantage in having someone readily available to you during this developmental period. We were very much impressed with Alan's contribution to the work of the Annual Meetings Task Force. It also would be most helpful to have your suggestion of someone to be appointed as Program Chairman for the new Section.
Looking forward to your reply and to working with you next year.
Sincerely, William H. Shaw
President-Elect