Charter

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this organization is the Section on Statistics and Data Science Education (hereafter called the “Section”) of the American Statistical Association (hereafter called the “Association”).

ARTICLE II. OBJECTIVES

Statistics is the science of learning from data, and we consider data science a partner of  statistics. Our mission is to promote the teaching and learning of data-driven inquiry at any  level for any audience. Specifically, we will: 

1. Advise the Association on the educational elements of the Association’s mission and strategic plan.  

2. Promote research to improve education in statistics and data science.

3. Support the development of statistics and data science pedagogy, guidelines, programs, and courses.

4. Share teaching resources and guidelines.

5. Foster the professional development of statistics and data science educators. 

The Section recognizes that education in statistics and data science can be obtained either "on the job," online, or in educational institutions. In pursuing these objectives, the Section will work closely and coordinate with other sections of the Association as well as other societies and associations whenever appropriate.

ARTICLE III. FUNCTIONS

In support of the Section’s objectives, the Section will perform several functions.  The Section will:

1. Facilitate oral and poster presentations about teaching statistics and data science at conferences, including, minimally, the annual Joint Statistical Meetings. 

2. Communicate and coordinate with other Association sections and related associations to support statistics education-related opportunities. 

3. Support professional development through the Section Mentoring Program and Fellowship Program for High School and Two-year College Teachers.

4. Host teaching-focused webinars.

5. Review and fund Section Member Initiative Grant Proposals.

6. Sponsor the Section on Statistics and Data Science Education Best Contributed Paper Award and the Section on Statistics and Data Science Education Speed Session Award.

7. Publicize the activities of the Section and other items of interest to the Membership, for example, by maintaining a Section webpage and hosting a Section blog.

ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP

Members of the Association may join the Section by paying Section dues or becoming a Life Member.

Section dues are set by the officers of the Section and may be altered annually in consultation with the Treasurer of the Association.

The membership year for each member of the Section shall coincide with that member’s membership year within the Association.

ARTICLE V. OFFICERS

Section officers must be members of the Section. The Section distinguishes between three types of officers: elected, appointed, and ex officio. Elected positions are elected by the membership of the Section in the Association’s annual election. Table 1 contains the officers of the section by type. All of the aforementioned officers listed in Table 1 are voting members of the Section’s Executive Committee; these individuals may vote on financial matters and official business of the Section. See the section handbook for the specific responsibilities of each role.

Table 1: Officers of the Section

Elected Officers

Chair-Elect, Chair, Past-Chair

Secretary/Treasurer

Communications Officer

Council of Sections Representatives

At-Large Members

Appointed Officers

Program Chair-Elect

Program Chair

Ex Officio Officers

Mentoring Committee Chair

Two-Year College Fellows

High School Fellows

The term of the Section Chair-Elect shall be one year, and the Section Chair-Elect shall automatically succeed the Section Chair on January 1 of each year.  The term of the Section Chair shall be one year, and the Section Chair shall automatically succeed the Section Past-Chair on January 1 of each year. The term of the Section Past-Chair shall be one year. If the Section Chair-Elect position or Section Past-Chair position is vacated, the Section Chair will appoint a replacement with approval of the Executive Committee. If the Section Chair position is vacated, the Section Past-Chair shall resume the role for the remainder of the year.

The terms of the Secretary/Treasurer, the At-Large Members, and the Communications Officer shall all be three years and start on January 1.  If there is a vacancy in any of these positions, the Section Chair will appoint a replacement for the duration of the term with approval of the Executive Committee.

The Council of Sections determines the number of Representative(s) and the terms of these Representatives to the Association’s Council of Sections.

The Section Program Chair-Elect is appointed by the Nominations Committee. The term of the Section Program Chair-Elect shall be one year, and the Section Program Chair-Elect shall automatically succeed the Section Program Chair on January 1 of each year. If there is a vacancy in either position, the Section Chair will appoint a replacement.

Ex officio positions are given to the Section Mentoring Committee Chair, any Section Two-Year College Fellows, and any Section High School Fellows. The Section Mentoring Committee Chair is appointed for a two year term by the past Section Mentoring Committee Chair, and the Section Two-Year College Fellow and Section High School Fellow are appointed for two year terms by the Two-Year College and High School Fellowship Program Committee.

No officer shall be eligible for immediate re-election or re-appointment to the same office, except for the Secretary/Treasurer. An individual may hold no more than one office within the Section at a given time. 

ARTICLE VI. COMMITTEES

1. Types of Committees 

The Committees of the Section shall consist of Standing Committees as provided by this  Charter, and Current Committees as established by the officers of the Section. Current  Committees may be established in order to satisfy a particular need or interest of the Section.  

A quorum of 50% of voting members must be present at official meetings for all committees,  and an opportunity for discussion of matters requiring vote must be allowed. Formal motions  and financial disbursements must occur during official meetings of committees.  

Unless otherwise specified in this Charter, each committee shall be governed by a Chair  appointed by the Chair of the Section. All members of Standing Committees, as well as the  chairs of Current Committees, shall be members of the Association.  

2. Membership 

The term of membership on Standing and Current Committees, if not otherwise specified in  this Charter, shall be one year. Initial terms for new committees shall be set by the Chair  of the Section for one, two, or three years so that, as nearly as possible, one-third of the  members shall be appointed each year. 

No member may serve on a committee for more than six consecutive years without specific  approval by the Executive Committee, except for ex officio members. Members of  committees shall serve until their successors are appointed or elected.

3. Standing Committees

Each Standing Committee must submit an annual report to the Chair of the Section. 

a. The Executive Committee 

The Executive Committee shall consist of all of the Officers of the Section. 

b. Nominations Committee 

The Section's Chair-Elect shall serve as Chair of the Nominations Committee. The current Chair and the Past Chair shall also serve on this committee. Each year the Nominations Committee shall submit to the Association and the Section Chair at least two nominations for each position to be filled. Members of the Committee are not eligible for nomination by the Committee. The Association's general deadline for submission of nominations shall apply. In addition, any Section member nominated by petition of at least 5% of the membership of the Section shall also appear on the annual ballot, provided that the petition is presented to the Section Chair and to the Association within the Association’s balloting timelines. Balloting shall be carried out as part of the Association's annual election for Association and Section officers. 

c. Member Nomination and Recognition Committee

The Member Nomination and Recognition Committee shall consist of at least three members. The Committee shall identify members of the Section who would be suitable nominees for the honor of Fellow of the American Statistical Association (as described in the By-Laws of the Association) and for other statistics and data science education awards (e.g., the Waller Awards, the George Cobb Lifetime Achievement Award in Statistics Education, and the Mu Sigma Rho Statistics Education Award).  For the individuals identified, the committee shall encourage preparation and submission of the nomination packets. 

d. Charter Committee 

Not more than five years after adoption of this Charter, the Chair shall appoint a Charter  Committee for the purpose of reviewing the Charter of the Section. If necessary, the Charter Committee shall prepare a revision to be submitted to the Section not more than five years after the adoption of this Charter, in accordance with Article VIII of this Charter. In the event that the Committee undertakes a major revision of the Charter, the Executive Committee may extend the life of the current Charter one year at a time. 

       e. Member Initiative Grants Committee

The Member Initiative Grants Committee should consist of three to five members and should include the Section Chair and the Section Secretary/Treasurer. The Section Chair shall serve as Chair of the Member Initiative Grants Committee. The Committee is charged with advertising and selecting the recipients of the Member Initiative Grants, and each member shall have an equal vote in the selection of the grant recipients.  

        f. Two-Year College and High School Fellows Committee

The Two-Year College and High School Fellows Committee should consist of three to five members. The Committee is charged with advertising and selecting the recipients of the Two-Year College and High School Fellowship. Each member shall have an equal vote in the selection of the fellows.

        g. Mentoring Committee

The Mentoring Committee shall consist of six total members, five members and one Chair. The Committee is charged with advertising the Section mentoring program, pairing mentees with mentors, and offering support to ensure favorable mentoring experiences. Committee members have a four-year term, starting on January 1. Incoming committee members are chosen by the current Committee through applications. The Mentoring Committee Chair is permitted to have a five-year term, as they are chosen by the current Mentoring Committee Chair during their third year on the Committee and serve a two-year term as Chair. 

4. Current Committees. 

Current Committees may be established to serve a particular need or interest of the Section.

Each Current Committee must submit an annual report to the Executive Committee. 

The life of a Current Committee may not exceed five years without a review of its need by  the Executive Committee. Any committee that is to continue for more than one year must  have a charge approved by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.  

Current Committees established in accordance with this article may be dissolved at any time  by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. 

ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS

The annual business meeting of the Section shall be held in connection with the annual meeting of the Association. A year-end review of activities, plans for future activities, and reports from the Secretary/Treasurer, Communications Officer, Program Chair, and Web Editor will be presented at this meeting. A quorum of 50% of voting Section officers must be present at the official annual business meeting.

Section business may also be conducted with the Section membership by mail or electronic communication.

The Executive Committee shall meet at the annual meeting of the Association. It may also hold additional meetings at times and places designated by the Chair with the consent of the Executive Committee.  Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chair or by vote of two-thirds of the Executive Committee.  Between meetings the Executive Committee may conduct business by mail, telephone, or other electronic means.

ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this charter may be proposed by the officers of the Section or via a petition signed by at least 5% of the membership of the Section and submitted to the Section Chair. The proposed amendment shall be submitted to the members of the Section for a vote at the time of the Association’s annual election.

If approved by a majority of members voting, the amendment shall take effect immediately or at such other time as specified in the amendment. Copies of approved amendments shall be filed with the Secretary of the Council of Sections and with the Secretary of the Association.

(For records, charter revision of 2019)

(For records, charter revision of 2015)