Douglas A. Zahn Grant
for Advancing Interpersonal Excellence

About the Award

The Douglas A. Zahn Grant for Advancing Interpersonal Excellence is awarded to an individual each year who has demonstrated their ongoing commitment to systematically improving the interpersonal skills of statisticians and data scientists through teaching, coaching, mentoring, consulting, collaborating, and/or managing/supervising.

The grant was named in honor of Douglas Zahn, a statistics professor at Florida State University (1969–2005) who was a pioneer in emphasizing the human side of statistical work. His influential contributions include the book The Human Side of Statistical Consulting, mentoring numerous statisticians, and advancing video-based coaching methods. He was the first recipient of both the ASA W.J. Dixon Award for Excellence in Statistical Consulting (2009) and ASA Mentoring Award (2016).

Eligible applicants include statistical consulting course instructors, statistics teachers for non-majors, statistical consulting center directors, professional consultants who influence statisticians outside academia, and full-time students seeking to enhance interpersonal competencies in statistics.

The grant is awarded annually, and the recipient will receive $2,500.

Selection Criteria

Applicants must provide the following:

A documented plan for a future activity or set of future activities related to positively influencing interpersonal relationships in statistics/data science. The plan must clearly explain how the activities will influence (directly or indirectly) the interpersonal skills of statisticians and/or data scientists. Applicants may submit an existing plan as-is (supplementing as needed), rather than drafting a new document.

Evidence of the commitment to improve interpersonal relationships. This may include demonstrated and ongoing commitment and excellence in teaching, coaching, mentoring, or otherwise disseminating interpersonal skills to consultants, collaborators, colleagues, and/or teachers of statistics/data science or demonstrated and continued evidence of developing, contributing to, and/or implementing one or more methods, methodologies, and/or frameworks designed to systematically improve the interpersonal skills of statisticians/data scientists.

The grant will be awarded based on the merit of the proposed plan and evidence of the applicant’s commitment to interpersonal skills. Proposed plans related to the use of empirical evidence for improving interpersonal practices will be given preference.

Example uses of empirical evidence include videos, coaching, and feedback mechanisms. It is important to note that applications will be evaluated on the merits of the proposed plan, rather than of the applicant.

Grant Recipient Responsibilities

Within 12 months of the award, the grant recipient must submit a report (up to approximately 2,000 words) describing the progress of the work toward the proposed plan with the following:

A summary of the work completed
The impact made so far and/or expected in the future from the activities
The outcomes so far and/or expected
Key learnings

The specific contents will depend on the plan submitted in the application. The report will not be subject to any embargo or exclusivity by the ASA should the recipient desire to use the report or its derivatives elsewhere.

Applications

Applications are due by March 15 and require the following:

A letter of nomination/application
One to two letters that provide evidence of the applicant’s ongoing commitment to improving interpersonal relationships
A CV
A proposal document (maximum 3 pages) detailing the plan of activities to be funded by the grant

Additional material supporting the applicant’s ongoing excellence and commitment to interpersonal relationships is encouraged but not required. Such evidence may be provided through letters of support instead, particularly for students and early-career applicants.

Submit an application.

Questions

Please direct questions to ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein.