The Government Statistics Section (GSS) and the Social Statistics Section (SSS) of the American Statistical Association (ASA) are pleased to announce the availability of a scholarship in memory of Wray Jackson Smith, a founding member of the Government Statistics Section and long-time contributor to Federal statistics. The Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship (WJSS), co-sponsored with the Washington Statistical Society, the Caucus for Women in Statistics, Harris-Smith Institutes, Mathematica Policy Research, and Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., is intended to reward promising young statisticians for their diligence, thereby encouraging them to consider a future in government statistics.

The WJSS Award provides funding of $1,000 for use in exploring any of a broad number of opportunities for furthering the development of a career related to government statistics. Applicants are encouraged to be creative in seeking support for a wide variety of uses, including:

• Tuition, board, and books for courses or short courses
• Conference attendance
• Purchase of books, software, data sets, or other supporting materials for research projects related to government statistics.

Activities may relate to any level of government, including Federal, state, and local governmental units. They must be statistical in nature, focusing on data, methodology, analysis, or data presentation. Recent award winners have used the WJSS to fund attendance at the Joint Statistical Meetings, support continued public policy research, and to take short courses to better under-stand and analyze data for current research.

History of the Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship

Past Award Recipients:

2002 - Amelia Haviland (Carnegie Mellon University)
2003 - Yun Li (Bowling Green State University)
2004 - Jennifer Park (NCES, Joint Program in Survey Methodology)
2005 - Layla Parast (The University of Texas at Austin)
2006 - Maria Ciarleglio (Yale University)
2007 - Romesh Silva (University of California Berkeley)
2008 - Kirsten Lum (American University)

 

Application

To apply for a WJSS Award, the following information must be sent to the Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship Committee by April 15, 2009:

• A completed WJSS Application Form ( MS Word version / Adobe pdf version)
• A proposal of activity to be funded
• Academic transcript (for current/recent students) or job performance reviews for the past 2 years (for nonstudents) or equivalent proof of superior academic and/or professional performance
• Two letters of recommendation.

Please send materials to:

Wray Jackson Smith Scholarship Committee
c/o Robert A. Kominski
electronically to: Robert.A.Kominski@census.gov.

 

Selection Process

The WJSS Committee, consisting of a total of three GSS and SSS members, will review each proposal, based on an established rating scheme, and select an awardee. Each application will be judged based on the following criteria:

• Stage in Career
• Past Performance
• Quality of the Proposed Activity
• Relevance of Activity to Government Statistics
• Innovation/Ingenuity of the Proposed Project
• Feasibility of Completion of Activity
• Two Letters of Recommendation

Announcements of the awardee will be made by June 1, 2009. All applicants will be notified by e-mail.

 

Eligibility

The WJSS is targeted at students and persons early in their career in government statistics. Applicants must have a Bachelor's degree or equivalent level of education. Membership in the Government Statistics Section, Social Statistics Section, or in the ASA is not required.

For more information, contact Robert A. Kominski by e-mail: Robert.A.Kominski@census.gov.