ASA Connect

This is a call for action from faculty like me: senior professionals who came from Third World (today, the Global South) countries, to complete graduate degrees in the US. Many stayed and made a career here, but kept in contact with the Old Country. Now, arriving to our retirement age, we have adequate time and resources to contribute, Pro Bono, with our experience and past work, to enrich those institutions we left back home. With the aid of technology (Internet, Zoom, Webinars) we can work from our homes, and participate with Third World universities, at no cost to them. We can present, in our maternal language, as Webinars, a selection of short courses built on material taken from our conference papers and classes. With little extra effort on our part, we can accomplish a great deal of good in Asian, African and Latin American Higher Education.

 

Many students, faculty and researchers in our old countries are now unable to obtain visas to come study and research here. Programs serving the Global South have been curtailed. We can implement this project proposal on our own, without the need to request any sort of governmental assistance or permission. For it will be just another private citizen activity.

But we certainly can request, from our professional organizations, that they create a Roster of Volunteers, willing and able to give Talks, Seminars or Short Courses, in said country's vernacular language, which we speak (I am here requesting such help from ASA). The Rosters should include Topic and contact information. These American professional associations can establish contact with Third World peers, making available the volunteer lists to them. and requesting a list of local, interested institutions.

As Proof of Concept, I will offer my personal experience. I worked as a Fulbright for many years, doing long and short stages in Latin American universities. Now, I give Webinars via Zoom, at no cost to them, without moving from my home in Syracuse NY. I have taught at EPN, Quito, on Modeling of Aquatic Ecosystems via Simulation, at the University of Los Andes, Venezuela, on Reliability, and at Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico, on teaching methods. Last week I presented a talk at a Graduate Seminar of Syracuse University Engineering Department, about the Modeling of Covid-19 Problems Using Markov Chains. We analyzed trajectory of infected patients into and out of ICU; natural herd immunization v. vaccination; re-opening of colleges; comparison of vaccination patterns. Markov Chains provide expected times to, and probability of, death or immunization, assessing mitigation strategies and factors that impact said process. I will give, pro-bono, a Spanish version of said talk via zoom to any interested Ibero-American university. You can find the PPT at: https://facultyweb.cortland.edu/romeu/TalkStochasticSUMAE2025.pdf  

I am no better than anybody else. If I could do it, others can, too. Keep safe/jorge.

------------------------------
Jorge L. Romeu
Emeritus SUNY Faculty
Adjunct Professor, Syracuse U.
https://web.cortland.edu/romeu/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jorge_Romeu
------------------------------

Dear Jorge,

Thank you for sharing your personal initiatives to "build capacity" in Latin America!

I am a member of the International Statistical Institute's (ISI) Capacity Building Committee, and your activities align very well with what some on the committee would like to do.

I will be part of a team to help integrate/coordinate universities around the world to interface with national statistics offices and others in the Official Statistics world as well as coordinate and support the types of webinar trainings that you've done.

I don't have anything concrete yet to add to this thread. I just thought I'd respond with some positive vibes and add a few notes:
1. There is a path for statisticians like you to become Elected Members of ISI. You need to fill out a nomination form and coordinate three elected members to write a note of support for your nomination/election. Of course, new ISI members should remain ASA members!

2. One need not be retired to help build capacity back in their home areas. I encourage more folks in your shoes to think about how they can use their position to lift up others.

3. It might not be appropriate for an ISI committee to recruit ASA members (on ASA Connect) to give webinars or report on their "mentoring" visits back home, but maybe? ASA has demonstrated an interest in supporting international engagement.

------------------------------
Eric Vance
LISA, University of Colorado-Boulder
Associate Professor and Director
Boulder CO, United States
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-09-2025 18:56
From: Jorge Romeu
Subject: About Organizing an International Group for Supporting Higher Education in the Global South

This is a call for action from faculty like me: senior professionals who came from Third World (today, the Global South) countries, to complete graduate degrees in the US. Many stayed and made a career here, but kept in contact with the Old Country. Now, arriving to our retirement age, we have adequate time and resources to contribute, Pro Bono, with our experience and past work, to enrich those institutions we left back home. With the aid of technology (Internet, Zoom, Webinars) we can work from our homes, and participate with Third World universities, at no cost to them. We can present, in our maternal language, as Webinars, a selection of short courses built on material taken from our conference papers and classes. With little extra effort on our part, we can accomplish a great deal of good in Asian, African and Latin American Higher Education.

 

Many students, faculty and researchers in our old countries are now unable to obtain visas to come study and research here. Programs serving the Global South have been curtailed. We can implement this project proposal on our own, without the need to request any sort of governmental assistance or permission. For it will be just another private citizen activity.

But we certainly can request, from our professional organizations, that they create a Roster of Volunteers, willing and able to give Talks, Seminars or Short Courses, in said country's vernacular language, which we speak (I am here requesting such help from ASA). The Rosters should include Topic and contact information. These American professional associations can establish contact with Third World peers, making available the volunteer lists to them. and requesting a list of local, interested institutions.

As Proof of Concept, I will offer my personal experience. I worked as a Fulbright for many years, doing long and short stages in Latin American universities. Now, I give Webinars via Zoom, at no cost to them, without moving from my home in Syracuse NY. I have taught at EPN, Quito, on Modeling of Aquatic Ecosystems via Simulation, at the University of Los Andes, Venezuela, on Reliability, and at Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico, on teaching methods. Last week I presented a talk at a Graduate Seminar of Syracuse University Engineering Department, about the Modeling of Covid-19 Problems Using Markov Chains. We analyzed trajectory of infected patients into and out of ICU; natural herd immunization v. vaccination; re-opening of colleges; comparison of vaccination patterns. Markov Chains provide expected times to, and probability of, death or immunization, assessing mitigation strategies and factors that impact said process. I will give, pro-bono, a Spanish version of said talk via zoom to any interested Ibero-American university. You can find the PPT at: https://facultyweb.cortland.edu/romeu/TalkStochasticSUMAE2025.pdf  

I am no better than anybody else. If I could do it, others can, too. Keep safe/jorge.

------------------------------
Jorge L. Romeu
Emeritus SUNY Faculty
Adjunct Professor, Syracuse U.
https://web.cortland.edu/romeu/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jorge_Romeu
------------------------------