ASA Members Elect Robert Santos, Dionne Price to Association Leadership

American Statistical Association members elected Robert L. Santos as the association’s 116th president. Santos, vice president and chief methodologist at the Urban Institute, will begin a three-year term on the ASA Board of Directors in January 2020 as president-elect. Dionne L. Price was elected vice president and will also start a three-year term in 2020. Price is director of the Division of Biometrics IV in the Office of Biostatistics in the Food and Drug Administration Office of Translational Sciences, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

In his candidate’s statement and further laid out on his candidacy website, Santos proposed the ASA reconsider what an association should be in contemporary society, with an eye to attracting and retaining young professionals and reinforcing its relevance. He outlined broad plans to build community within the ASA, increase support of member-based work, and offer pilot training that focuses on the role of critical thinking for statisticians in project teams.

Santos has a long history of service and leadership in the ASA—since joining the ASA in 1977—and the broader community. He has served on both the ASA and Washington Statistical Society boards of directors, among many other committee and section officer positions. The ASA has recognized his leadership, service, and contributions through ASA fellowship and the Founder’s Award. He has also served as president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research; worked in academic and commercial research organizations; and participated extensively in study sections, federal committees, and National Academy of Sciences panels.

Rob Santos
Robert L. Santos

Dionne Price
Dionne L. Price
Photo by Perry Price

 

In her candidate statement, Price focused on the intersection of awareness, sound statistical science, and adaptability. Specifically, she highlighted the need to do the following:

  • Continue to explore alternative avenues to reach and expose younger generations to statistics and its global impact
  • Build greater awareness of the benefits of membership
  • Ensure statistics is properly used to answer questions of interest through the community staying current and engaged and becoming leaders outside the community
  • Adapt to societal, scientific, educational, and other challenges
  • Play an active role in society to ensure the value of statisticians is not diminished
  • Assess our approaches and welcome novel ideas for further advancement of the profession

The ASA membership also elected the following:

  • Ji-Hyun Lee, University of Florida and University of Florida Health Cancer Center, as Council of Chapters Representative to the ASA Board
  • Rebecca Hubbard, University of Pennsylvania, as Council of Sections Representative to the ASA Board
  • Alexandra (Alex) Schmidt, McGill University, as International Representative to the ASA Board
  • Julia Sharp, Colorado State University, as Chair-elect of the Council of Chapters Governing Board
  • Sarah Kalicin, Intel Corporation, as Chair-elect of the Council of Sections Governing Board

View the entire slate of election results, including officers for each of the ASA’s 27 sections.