Board Approved Member Initiatives

Symposium on Undergraduate Statistics - $10,000:

This symposium is proposed with the goals of building a case for the undergraduate major in statistics, providing guidelines for the improvement of the undergraduate major in statistics; considering various models for increasing the number of undergraduate programs leading to majors or concentrations in statistics, and channeling the growing interest in statistics in the K-12 curriculum towards invigorating undergraduate programs in statistics.

K-12 Outreach Initiative - $30,000:

The main goal of this initiative is to assemble a body of information and resources for each of the K-12 outreach activities that would provide chapters the information they need to pursue such activities. The K-12 activities to be included in this initiative are Quantitative Literacy, the American Statistics Project and Poster Competitions, Science Fairs, and Adopt-A-School.

Technology/Web Support for Chapters, Sections, and Committees - $35,000:

This funding helped support a new ASA staff position devoted to improving and expanding the ASA web site, especially the online services provided for Chapters, Sections, and Committees.

Journal of Statistics Education - $25,000:

This proposal was for the transition of JSE to an ASA publication, beginning January 1, 1999.

Committee on Outreach Education Workshop - $10,000:

The COE is engaging in discussions with several possible partner organizations (American Public Health Association, Primary Care Research Methods and Statistics Conference, American Fisheries Society, American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges) with whom we might collaborate in offering statistics workshops for non-statisticians. In coming weeks, we hope to firm up arrangements with at least one or two of these for workshops to be delivered in 2001. Our intent is to select two or three workshop topics for development. This request is for support in creating the selected workshops. Based on our current discussions with partner organizations, example topics include statistical literacy, logistics regression, and sampling issues. It's relevant to note that we have been approached by several organizations who have become aware of our project.

Beyond AP Statistics Workshops - $20,400:

The new Beyond AP Stat (BAPS) workshops provide "advanced" training for high school AP statistics teachers. This special initiative grant would initiate, under ASA control through the Joint ASA/NCTM Committee, broad participation of statistical institutions in the national AP statistics effort.

Statistics Poster Development - $7,800:

The ASA/NCTM Committee and ACQL Committee discussed and agreed at the March 2000 meeting to produce statistics posters to fill the current void. A contest will be conducted to solicit poster ideas. Posters will be judged at the Fall 2000 ASA-NCTM and ACQL meetings.

CRAFTY Disciplinary Workshop in Statistics - $16,500:

CRAFTY (Calculus Reform and the First Two Years) is a subcommittee of the Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM) of the Mathematical Association of America. As part of its role, CRAFTY has initiated a series of disciplinary workshops. This initiative proposal is to help support a three-day workshop.

DDM Leadership Institute - $20,000:

This is to help support a two-day DDM (Data Driven Mathematics) leadership institute.

Initiative to Increase Chapter Sponsored Careers in Statistics Activity - $10,000

Chapters are the natural organizational units to provide local development and implementation of Association programs devoted to Careers in Statistics and Membership. Since only a small proportion of Association members attend the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) and an even smaller number of students and professionals outside of the Association attend the JSM our best chance to contact such individuals is with Chapter sponsored outreach programs devoted to careers in statistics. In spite of the value of such events, fewer than 10 Chapters sponsor activities that they classify as a careers day in statistics (from the annual Chapter Activities Report (CAR)). The primary objective of this initiative is to increase Chapter activity relating to careers. Initiative funds will be used to identify and develop relevant presentation materials to be displayed at the Council of Chapters Information Booth at JSM 2001 for the purpose of interesting Chapter members in the concept and value of getting their Chapter to sponsor a Careers Day during the ensuing seven months. Initiative funds will also be used to offer a limited number of small grants for the purpose of assisting Chapters who are planning to offer a Careers Day for the first time.

Public Outreach and Promotion of the Statistical Profession - $23,700

The purpose of this prototype of a new statistics magazine is to increase public awareness of statistics as a discipline, its uses in topical and informative issues, and its contributions in other decision-making by officials as well as by the public. The intent is to focus on the general public and professionals in many disciplines that are involved in measurement, quantitative analysis, and experimentation. Assuming a demonstrated interest by the various professional societies, the prototype will be circulated and produced and become a source of outreach for ASA. This new magazine will be suitable for and of interest to a general audience which supports the visions and goals of the ASA Strategic Plan for outreach to the public and non-statistician professionals.

Planning for the Enhancement of Teachers (PET) - $50,000

In accordance with its charge, the Advisory Committee on Teacher Enhancement proposed a set of four member initiatives, all of which were approved for funding. If we are to enhance the prestige and influence of the statistics profession and assure that statistics is taught correctly and with an appreciation for its utility, we must provide opportunities for the enhancement of teachers at all levels. Since each of the initiatives addresses a different audience for teacher enhancement, together they form a unified attempt to reach all teaching levels. Specifically, these initiatives call for:

1. Planning for a Conference on Statistics in Teacher Preparation Programs
2. Planning for Web Infrastructure to Support ASA Educational Programs.
3. Planning a Funding Request for New AP Statistics Teacher Training.
4. Planning for an Institute for Undergraduate Statistics Education

The American Statistical Association (ASA) and, in particular, the Committee on Women in Statistics (COWIS) is very interested in collecting demographic information on all ASA members. This information will allow the committee to better serve the current membership through more targeted efforts and to develop outreach programs to entice new members. To date, only about 60 percent of ASA members have completed their demographic information. This initiative is an aggressive attempt to reach the nonresponders and achieve the goal of a rich data resource on our membership.

Establishing a Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE) - $14,000

Start up funds to establish a Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE) and to support it during the first year. During that year we will initiate projects and apply for funding to support future activities. The mission of CAUSE will be to support and advance undergraduate statistics education, building on the ASA Undergraduate Statistics Education Initiative (USEI) in four target areas: resources, professional development, outreach, and research.

Privacy, Confidentiality, and Data Security Training via the Internet - $19,000

Now, more than ever before, professionals who work with identifiable data are seeking guidance in understanding Privacy, Confidentiality, and Data Security (PCDS) issues. In response to this need, the American Statistical Association's Committee on Privacy and Confidentiality proposes to develop a Privacy, Confidentiality and Data Security Training web site. Its goal is to provide instruction and resources to both statisticians and nonstatisticians on PCDS topics, including HIPAA Privacy, Human Subjects Protection and Bioethics, and Data Safeguarding Best Practices. This site will serve as a repository for existing Internet-based PCDS information and resources. However, more importantly, it will serve as user-guided instructional center on these important policy topics using newly created content.

Educational Outreach to Potential Minority Statistics Students - $6,000

Additional funding for small conferences at different minority schools/colleges on applications of statistics in various areas, government, industry, and academia and travel for speakers to conferences to reach Native American and Hispanic/Latino students.

Organizing the Stat/Math TEAMS Conference on Statistics In Teacher Preparation Programs - $23,200

The ASA Advisory Committee on Teacher Enhancement believes that one way to improve the teaching of statistics in K-12 over the long-term-including the connection of statistics with mathematics and science-is to focus on pre-service teachers through K-12 teacher preparation programs. One response is the proposed Stat/Math TEAMS (Teacher Education: Awareness, Methods and Strategies) Conference. This proposal is for funding to continue the work necessary to organize and seek outside funding to support the conference.

BCASA High School Outreach Program - $1,000

The Boston Chapter of the ASA is sponsoring a high school outreach program for the 2002/2003 school year. The program will be based on a 'buddy system', matching up local area statisticians with high school statistics teachers. The goal of the program is to provide a resource to both new and experienced statistics teachers. Type of statistical support may include (1) answering questions, (2) helping with project ideas, (3) being a guest speaker, and (4) consulting with students working on projects. The amount of support will depend on the statistician and the teacher.

Short Course Development: "Journalists-the Bridge to Understanding" - $15,000

A short course is to be developed to help journalists present accurate and useful summaries for their audiences by teaching them to read and interpret statistical information in medical literature. This course will be designed as a model for future courses designed for different audiences

Encourage Professional Ties of Statistics to Science through AAAS - $4,000

This initiative will support travel for JSM 2003 AAAS session presenters to attend the 2004 American Association for the Advancement of Science meetings in Seattle. This grant will allow the JSM presenters to adapt and present their papers in a symposium at the AAAS meetings.

JSM Student and First-Time Attendee Program and Reception - $3,000

This program targets students, individuals in the early stages of their careers, first-time JSM attendees, and others who may need orientation assistance with the ASA or the JSM. Instead of a purely social mixer, this program provides career-enhancing strategies and guidance on getting the most out of the JSM and getting more involved in the ASA.

Participant Travel Funding for the First TEAMS Conference - $15,000

The inaugural Math/Stat Teacher Education: Assessment, Methods, and Strategies conference will be held October 30-November 1, 2003, in Athens, Georgia. This initiative will fund partial travel expenses for 30 attendees.

Guideline for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education - $15,500

The ASA is strengthening its focus on K-12 statistics education. This funding will allow a small group of researchers to collect and assess data, meet to write a report, in order to suggest K-12 guidelines to the ASA. If these guidelines are approved, they will be posted on Amstat Online and submitted to professional organizations.

SEAQL: Upgrade and Outreach - $4,500

The Science Education and Quantitative Literacy project will be reviewing its Statistics in Science manual and posting it on Amstat Online. It will also prepare a promotional booklet of 10 laboratory experiments exemplars and plan a distance learning course on quantitative methods for science teachers

Statistical Issues in Counterterrorism - $6,700

This initiative will support a two-day conference in Washington, D.C. on statistical issues in counterterrorism.

Research Experience for Undergraduates Program in Applied Statistics and Biostatistics - $3,000

The ASA is providing some base funding for an ongoing REU project at The Ohio State University.

A proposal to support travel and subsistence for five students to participate in the "Sampling, Surveys, Monte Carlo and Inference" summer program at the University of Michigan.

Strengthening Connections between Liberal Arts Colleges and Graduate Programs in Statistics - $7,600

A proposal to hold a two-day planning conference to bring together liberal arts college statisticians and faculty from graduate programs in statistics for the purpose of developing a plan to strengthen connections between the two groups. Such strengthening will address two inter-related problems:

• Graduate programs find it hard to attract American students.
• Liberal arts colleges have difficulty recruiting Ph.D. statisticians onto their faculty

Developing a Capstone Experience in Statistics for High School Students - $8,500

The ASA/NCTM Joint Committee proposed to develop a capstone module in statistics that could be used in conjunction with the Data-Driven Mathematics books or by any school that has chosen to integrate statistics into traditional math courses. This module would be designed so that it could be taught as a separate unit over a three to four week period in a junior or senior level mathematics course.

Outreach to Isolated Colleges/Universities in New England - $3,000

The program will have distinguished statisticians travel to and lecture at colleges and universities in New England that are either isolated geographically or have limited statistical personnel and resources. The objective is to promote statistics by introducing students to statistics and statistical careers.

Developing the Next Generation of Biostatisticians - $5,000

Provide partial funding for pilot projects aimed at innovative approaches to academic or community outreach. The ultimate goal is to attract larger numbers of students to pursue advanced training in biostatistics.

Short Course Development: "Journalists - the Bridge to Understanding" - $15,000

Two developers, a statistician and a journalist, working together to create a half-day course for journalists. The focus of the course will be on reading and interpreting statistical material in the medical literature with the goal of helping journalists present accurate and useful summaries for their audiences. This course will be used as a model for future courses designed for different audiences with very little modification.

Promoting Collaboration and Outreach between Statisticians and Practitioners in National Security and Homeland Defense - $4,600

This initiative seeks to connect statisticians with practitioners during an annual, one-day conference. The goal of the conference is to foster personal interaction and collaboration between the two communities so they can work together to solve problems in national security and homeland defense (NS/HD). Attendance will include members of the ASA, the Section on Statistics in Defense and National Security (SDNS), mathematicians, operations researchers, and policymakers.

San Diego ASA High School Teachers Statistics Fair - $2,000

The two goals of this pilot project are to (1) stimulate interest and create excitement among statistics teachers about the profession of statistics and (2) generate ideas about how the San Diego Chapter of the ASA (SD ASA) can assist teachers in improving the level of introductory statistics education. To achieve these goals, a one-day Teachers Statistics Fair for 20 San Diego-area high school and community college teachers is planned. The event includes three 45-minute talks and an extended lunch period when teachers will have an opportunity to speak with the presenters and SD ASA members in small-group forums.

A Training Program to Promote a Secondary Level "Statistics for Everyone" Course - $10,000

This program aids the process of developing alliances between the four Michigan ASA chapters and the MCTM (Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics), the DACTM (Detroit Area Council of Teachers of Mathematics), and the MDSTA (Metro Detroit Science Teachers' Association) in order to support training programs in statistics for teachers. The program includes training that provides teachers and future trainers with background and classroom materials to teach a "Statistics for Everyone" course.

Support of Short Courses for ISBIS-5 - $5,000

The Fifth International Symposium on Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS-5) will be held January 9-13, 2006, in Lima, Peru. This initiative supports the courses offered and provides an opportunity to expose Latin Americans to such topics as Six Sigma, design of industrial experiments, statistical quality control, and reliability.

Education Outreach Short Course Development: "Statistics for the Legal Profession" - $3,000

This initiative supports the creation of a half-day course for attorneys and judges that aids their understanding and interpretation of the statistics underlying the use of evidence.

Outreach and Education through Mentoring - $5,000

This program establishes a professional mentoring relationship between statistics students and successful professional statisticians-or those professionals in a quantitative field with a major focus and/or interest in statistical science. The program offers an opportunity for professionals and educators to become more actively involved in facilitating educational opportunities and increases awareness of the American Statistical Association, encouraging membership and participation in the Nevada Chapter.

Preparation of Two-Year College Mathematics Instructors to Teach Statistics with GAISE - $11,500

The goal of this initiative is to prepare mathematics instructors to teach an introductory statistics course using the GAISE guidelines as well as to normalize statistics courses at two-year colleges, bringing them into conformity with AP and four-year college courses.

Adopt-a-School - $2,500

The New York Metropolitan Area Chapter is adopting the Norman Thomas High School (NTHS) for the 2005-2006 school year. The planned activities include attending the NTHS Career Day, establishing a presence on the school advisory board, visiting the school, inviting students to the Chapter's Annual Career Day, and providing field trips for students.

Support for the U.S. Conference on Teaching Statistics - $10,000

This initiative supports the first U.S. Conference on Teaching Statistics (USCOTS) being held in Columbus, Ohio, May 19-21, 2005. USCOTS is planned as a biennial event focused on undergraduate statistics education and targets statistics teachers from diverse backgrounds and institutions. The conference has an innovative participatory format and has drawn registrants from both the regular statistics education community and from those traditionally underserved by such conferences.

Expansion of ASA Membership by Educational Ambassadorships between the US and Other Nations - $12,800

In order to welcome additional new international members to the ASA and create a trust for cooperation, this initiative helps recruit a series of educational ambassadors from foreign countries.

First-Year Basics: Getting Started with College Counseling Statistics - $5,000

This initiative will result in a half-day workshop for high school counselors, teachers, and administrators that will help them better use and interpret information in statistical reports. The workshop will consist of a PowerPoint® presentation and a booklet to be shared and used as a lesson example with students in AP Statistics classes. The project’s goals are to help counselors, teachers, and administrators better understand and interpret summary statistics so they can use that information for advising and preparing documents.

A Pipeline Issues Workshop for Faculty of Women’s Colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities - $20,000

Meant for statistics and mathematics professors from women’s colleges and historically black colleges and universities, this initiative will help foster discussion about issues affecting the pathway of students from smaller colleges to graduate statistics programs. The initiative will result in a workshop organized into four sessions that address excellent opportunities in statistics, undergraduate training needed to be successful in statistics graduate programs, mentoring and partnership opportunities, and resources available for instructors at smaller colleges.

Improving Statistics Education through Sponsorship of “Best Practices in Statistics Education” Symposia - $1,000

This initiative will result in a one-day symposium that will be held at a selected university for up to 20 professors. The symposium will provide a forum for an exchange of ideas on the best practices of teaching statistics within an academic community, foster cross-disciplinary collaboration among faculty in improving students’ learning of statistical concepts, and promote greater involvement of statisticians with nonstatisticians in statistics practice at their institution.

An Elementary School Statistical Reasoning Fair - $1,400

The goal of this initiative is to provide a fun extracurricular statistical literacy experience for all elementary students, regardless of their demonstrated mathematics aptitude. The experience will take place through a half-hour statistics fair made up of about 10 stations that will highlight everyday occurrences where statistical literacy can be used.

Statistics in the Community - $35,000

This initiative will help promote the development of student-driven programs that provide statistical consulting as a community service. A packet of materials, available by CD-ROM and online through the ASA web site, will be developed to assist interested groups in establishing programs similar to Statistics in the Community (STATCOM) at Purdue University. An intern will promote the concept and materials. Engagement in community service–oriented statistical consulting will be explored at all levels of higher education and by professional statisticians through ASA organizations.

A Partnership with High School - $2,500

Through this initiative, the Oregon Chapter will implement a pilot project that establishes partnerships between high schools and the Chapter. Planned activities include developing a CD-ROM distribution of R, developing a tutorial and examples by using R, visiting classes, and providing field trips. For the pilot project, the Chapter will organize two groups of volunteers to work with two high schools in Portland. The Chapter will make any development materials freely available to the public, including the special distribution of R.

Web-Based Workshop on Statistical Consulting Tools and Tips to Applied Statisticians - $10,000

This initiative will offer an avenue for applied statisticians to learn useful tools/topics and exchange ideas and experiences on statistical consulting. Specifically, the initiative will result in two-hour online workshops led by prominent statisticians and consultants being given quarterly to approximately 100 attendees. Attendees will be required to be ASA members, and at least half of the attendees will have to be members of the Section on Statistical Consulting.

Webcasts of JSM Sessions - $14,400

This initiative will result in a pilot project that provides access via webcast to three plenary sessions from JSM 2006. The webcasts will be available to ASA members with disabilities, international members, state and local statisticians, and others who were unable to attend JSM 2006. The project will help determine whether there is sufficient demand for such webcasts and whether users would be willing to pay for the service.

Workshop on Modifying Surveys in Response to Disruptions - $5,000

The purpose of this initiative is to reach out to members of the Survey Research Methods Section, Government Statistics Section, and Washington Statistical Society who are outside the federal statistical community through a workshop that focuses on a review of current methodologies. Issues addressed will include definitions of impacts and measures used to assess the impact, collection disruptions and their impact on estimation, estimation strategies used to deal with disruptions, remotely training field agents on the fly, adding questions to software on the fly, and addressing coverage problems.

Expert Panel on Detection of Aberrations in Surveillance Data - $10,000

This initiative will result in a panel of subject matter and statistical experts convening to evaluate and summarize statistical methods for detection of aberrations in surveillance data, particularly data from syndromic surveillance systems. The panel will decide on a common set of datasets and methods, and then plan and execute an evaluation of relevant algorithms on the datasets. A final report will be published that recommends how to best address the aberration detection problem and identifies areas requiring additional research.

First Meeting of the Chairs of Programs in Statistics and Biostatistics - $19,500

This proposal organized a workshop for Chairs of programs in Statistics and Biostatistics. The goal of the two-day workshop was to provide information to new chairs and to stimulate discussion between new and experienced chairs on a range of topics as broad as development of long-range planning goals to topics as specific as recommendations for dealing with the media. The format of sessions included individual speakers, panels, and open discussions. Speakers and panelists in the program included experienced chairs, program officers from federal funding agencies, senior administrators, ASA officers, and representatives from industries and government who have had successful collaborations with academic departments.

Support for the Infinite Possibilities Conference: Increasing Diversity in the Statistical and Mathematical Sciences - $15,000

The Infinite Possibilities Conference (IPC) took place on the campus of North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh. This unique and special event assembled women statisticians and mathematicians from underrepresented minority groups from all over the country in a two-day conference in November, 2007. The purpose was to promote, educate, encourage and support minority women interested in statistics and mathematics.

Supporting Math and Science Teachers' to Improve Their Skills in Teaching Statistics by Building Connections for Sustainable Change - $5,000

ASA sponsored the first "Meeting Within a Meeting" (MWM) for middle school and junior high math and science teachers during the Joint Statistical Meetings in Salt Lake City in 2007. Its primary goal was to assist teachers to enhance their understanding and teaching of statistics in accordance with state education standards. This initiative built connections between teachers and mentors to provide a support network so new teaching skills can be fully mastered and implemented in a way that brings sustainable change after MWM.

Washington Statistical Society Design of Experiments Interactive CD/DVD Instructional Materials - $7,000

The purpose of this was to assist with planning and designing of a student-centered set of materials on the Design of Experiments (DOE) in a multimedia resource for all age groups.

Strategic Activities to Recruit Underrepresented and Nontraditional Students to The Statistical Sciences - $12,200

This project was in support of various activities at the 2007 SACNAS National Conference in Kansas City, MO, in October 2007. SACNAS is the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. This provided opportunities to recruit students from the various scientific disciplines.

Strategic Planning Activities for the Section on Statistical Education - $3,000

This project was in support of strategic planning activities in conjunction with JSM 2008, using the ASA strategic planning process as a model. A small group representing all segments of statistical education met with a facilitator during JSM The refined Operational Goals were presented at the Section's Business Meeting for further discussion. After JSM, the working Operational Goals were to be sent to all Section members for review and comment. Upon reaching consensus, the Section will approve the Operational Goals.

Workshop on Statistics Education Graduate Programs - $15,000

This goal of this proposal is to nurture the new and high impact field of statistics education research, starting with a workshop to develop a shared vision of the key components of a quality statistics education graduate program. The proposal was to host a small national workshop to draw up a vision statement defining the need and outlining key components that a quality graduate program in statistics education might have. This group will discuss and examine different models for graduate programs (e.g., within one department, or jointly offered by multiple departments; Ph.D. programs, Masters programs or concentrations; desired depth versus breadth of curriculum across a matrix of interdisciplinary subject matter). These discussions will form the basis for a white paper that will also address issues and recommendations related to placement and support of new PhDs in statistics education as well as for faculty hires in the area.

Section on Statistics in Defense and National Security's Visiting Speakers Program -$4,000

This initiative focused on outreach, seeking to connect statistics undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty with practitioners and problems in national security and defense. It is a result of the 2006 ASA President's Task Force on Defense and Security which recommended that the Section on Statistics in Defense and National Security (SDNS) should develop a one-year trial of a Speakers Program in Defense and Security. The goal of this program is to develop ties between statisticians working in defense and security and academic statistics programs.

Early Career Profiles for Bachelor-level Statistics Students - $4,000

The goal of this project was to assist the ASA-MAA Joint Committee on Undergraduate Statistics in creating a website with profiles of bachelors-level statistics students who are early in careers that illustrate the opportunities for students who do an undergraduate statistics program.

Pre-JSM workshop to Foster Diversity in Statisics - $37,700

This initiative is to fund the a pre-conference workshop (corresponding with JSM) to foster diversity in the profession. The workshop consists of interactive sessions to impact both the current talent pool and the pipeline of future talent. Objectives of the workshop include (1) increasing the active participation of U.S. minorities in ASA and its activities, (2) establishing critical mentoring and networking relationships for statisticians at all career levels, and (3) increasing the number of minorities entering graduate study in statistics (i.e., student recruitment) and the number of minorities successful in graduate work (i.e., student retention) and in professional careers. Workshop participants will include minority graduate students in statistics or biostatistics programs, minority undergraduates in statistics, math, or related disciplines, minority statisticians in academia, government, and the private sector, and key faculty from minority-serving institutions who advise and mentor undergraduates in math or related disciplines.

Meeting within a Meeting - Defense and National Security - $1,000

The purpose of this initiative is to support a Meeting within a Meeting (MwM) workshop for those who make decisions and set policy in the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This new workshop will be based in part on the successful MwM concept for teachers held during previous Joint Statistical Meetings. One of the main goals of this MwM workshop is to educate decision-makers who might not be familiar with how statistics and statisticians can help them in their profession.

"Census@School" in the USA - $20,000

The Census@School Program (http://www.censusatschool.atu.ac.uk/) is an internationally developed school program for grades four through twelve that began in the United Kingdom (U.K.) in 2000 after a proposal was developed and tested in New Zealand. It is now fully operative in the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and in Japan. It has been successfully demonstrated that the program improves the understanding of school age children of surveys and censuses. Through a data collection about the students in their classroom they learn data analysis as well as statistical concepts in tested lesson plans. The program has been demonstrated to improve the collective statistical literacy of students. This program would provide a comprehensive introduction to students throughout the U.S. to surveys and censuses and issues related to data collection and handling. Through analyzing their own data students learn about the results of surveys. They also learn statistical concepts in structured lesson plans that will expand the statistical literacy of school children. They will also learn about children from other places as they expand their analyses nationally and internationally. Thus, the program will promote broader domestic and international understanding.

Statisticians Influence Climate Change Deliberations on Capitol Hill: A Case Study - $6,800

The goals of this initiative are (i) to contribute to the deliberations of the U.S. Congress regarding climate change policy, and (ii) relate our experiences to the ASA as a pilot study for how statisticians can advise Congress and indicate how statisticians can make contributions. A crucial step in these activities is to meet with Congressional staffers and present a briefing on uncertainty management, decision support and other roles of statistics in climate change science

Increasing the Value of the First Course in Statistics - $20,000

This initiative is in support of the Increasing the Value of the First Course in Statistics conference, geared towards faculty in two-year and smaller four-year institutions in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. Faculty at these institutions are less likely to attend JSM, USCOTS, or MAA meetings where the SIGMAA on Statistics Education is very active and so they do not have many opportunities to benefit from the enthusiasm and the expertise of the leaders in the field of Statistics Education.

Connecting the ASA to Young Statisticians through Outreach to High School Statistics and Mathematics Teachers: A First Step - $3,000

The Middle Tennessee (MT) Chapter of the ASA seeks to establish b connections between local high school statistics and calculus teachers and the chapter, which can allow the MT Chapter to successfully recruit young statisticians.

The project will establish connections between the Middle Tennessee Chapter and local Advanced Placement (AP) mathematics and statistics teachers, whose support is vital to the success of future direct-to-student outreach activities by sponsoring a teacher’s retreat. This retreat will forge these connections through engaging presentations, lively interactions with chapter members, and valuable take-home materials. Additionally, this
retreat can provide our chapter with the connections we need to launch a successful recruiting campaign aimed at mathematically inclined youth. The collaboration between high school teachers and the chapter has the potential to enhance the teacher’s classroom/professional experience and to open young minds to the plethora of opportunities available in statistics.

Methodology for Measuring the Quality of Graduate Programs: A Workshop Focusing on Programs in the Statistical Sciences - $20,000

Assessing the quality of academic programs is becoming an increasingly important issue in the US and elsewhere. Such assessments can have major impact in terms of the quality, viability and relative ranking of graduate programs both across and
within universities, choice of graduate program for students, careers of individual researchers, and funding opportunities.

None of the existing methodologies developed to carry out these assessments appears to be satisfactory, possibly because few if any statisticians have been involved in the area despite the fact that many of the issues are statistical in nature.

We envisage our proposed study as a two-stage project. The first stage involves conducting a workshop to evaluate current methodologies and develop initial findings. The workshop will focus attention on Biostatistics and Statistics graduate programs. We expect that the findings are likely to be applicable to other scientific and technical disciplines, and it will also provide a fine illustration of the importance of bringing Statistics and statistical thinking to bear on problems of this type. We will use the workshop to assemble a research team and develop a proposal on methodology for assessing graduate programs. The proposal will have a broader scope and will be submitted to NSF and/or other suitable agencies for funding. If successful, the study will have important implications for several different groups: university departments and colleges, students, researchers, and funding agencies.

JSM Conference Mentoring Program - $2545

African American, Native People, and Latinos are severely under-represented among Statistics Department faculty nation-wide. This under-representation has serious consequences for our profession as well as for the groups involved. Our profession, and society, cannot afford to do without the talents of a third of the population. At the same time, the Statistics profession is rated as one of the best professions in America, and it is important that all groups have the opportunity to enter this profession.

Faculty, role models, mentoring, and peer groups all play important roles in the success and career choices of minority students. This project aims to increase the number of faculty in Statistics from under-represented groups by working with graduate students and post-doctoral scholars on one hand and with current Statistics faculty on the other.

Enhancing K-12 Statistical Education - $1,000

The Detroit Chapter will sponsor a "Conference Within a Conference" in cooperation with the Detroit Area Council of Teachers of Mathematics (DACTM) for the purpose of supporting statistics education at the K-12 level.

The need for a conference on teaching statistics evolved as a result of involvement of Detroit Chapter members in developing the state test for a course in Probability and Statistics. The Chapter Education Co-chairpersons were part of a committee of four  which wrote items for the test and another member of the chapter was part of the group that selected items from the test bank created.

Efficient Development and Targeting of Skills in Survey Methodology and Survey Management - $3,000

The Washington Statistical Society will sponsor a 1.5 day workshop in the Washington, DC area. This workshop will provide integrated coverage of four closely related
topics:

A. Specific ways in which methodologists and survey managers add high levels of value to large-scale statistical programs.

B. Methodological and management skills required to produce the value identified in (A).

C. Efficient ways in which to develop and sustain the skills identified in (B), including recruitment, training and retention policies and related investments.

D. Efficient ways in which to integrate methodological and management work into the full survey process.

The report and recommendations based on (A)-(D) will make an important contribution to the ongoing efforts to strengthen training, professional development and management of personnel in federal statistical agencies and other large-scale survey organizations. This workshop is consistent with ASA’s recent efforts to highlight and strengthen work by the survey community.

Video Recorded Interview with Prof. J. Stuart Hunter - Contributions of Industrial Statisticians - $4,000

A set of 3 to 5 interviews of approximately 90 minutes each will be recorded. The intent is to preserve the memories and contributions of many past industrial statisticians whose work and influence may have gone unnoticed or may not have received the attention deserved. A list of candidate names will be given to Prof. Hunter in advance with the hopes of jogging his memory regarding contributions, personalities and humorous anecdotes.

Conference on "What Statistics Should Do for Public Policy" - $10,000

Funding for a conference that will identify and discuss novel ways in which statistics should contribute to policy research and policy debates. The topic of the proposed conference falls squarely within the purview of several recent ASA efforts to play a greater leadership role in prompting statistical input to federal decision-making.

Workshop to Plan a 'Women in Statistics' Conference - $10,000

This proposal aims to bring together leaders and emerging leaders in statistics to participate in a two-day workshop during early summer 2011. Workshop participants will plan a conference, to be held in 2013, that brings together statisticians from academics, government, and industry to celebrate the contributions of women in statistics and promote the status of women in the field through increased visibility and enhanced professional skills.

Statistical education in the Pacific Islands - $12,500

Funding for this proposal will help establish the first International Conference for Health Statistics in the Pacific Islands. There are significant challenges for any developing nation community (in particular with respect to resource planning within the education, health, and agricultural sectors). Statistics plays a pivotal role in meeting these needs as local policy-makers strive to assess the state of their community and evaluate intervention programs proposed for the community's advancement. However developing nations often lack adequate statistical expertise to meet these technical challenges facing their country.

Pre-JSM Diversity Workshop and Mentoring Programs - $7,000

The ASA Committee on Minorities in Statistics (ASA CMS) requests funding in partial support of a 2011 Pre-JSM Diversity Workshop and Mentoring Program (Pre-JSM DWMP). This planned JSM activity is based on two successfully implemented programs: the 2009 Pre-JSM Diversity Workshop and the 2010 Cavell Brownie Scholars program. Feedback from each of these previous programs was extremely positive, with participants requesting that these become regular opportunities at JSM. The current proposal leverages the concomitant missions of the two previous programs and responds to participant feedback which suggested that the mentoring activities initiated in the Diversity workshop be extended beyond the single-day event.

Supporting and Connecting New Graduate Programs in Statistics Education - $15,000

This proposal seeks to establish a professional/institutional network within ASA to develop, support, and promote graduate coursework and degree programs in Statistics Education. Despite much interest in the creation of such courses and programs, and the recognition of their importance, to date there is only one such graduate program and only a handful of courses at other institutions.

Integrating Spatial Statistics into the Undergraduate Curriculum - $7,000

Spatial statistics is an area of statistics that utilizes techniques to analyze spatial data, those collected at geographic locations defined by their coordinates (longitude and latitude). These types of data can stem from earth and environmental sciences, defense, cartography, biology, ecology, hydrology, epidemiology, sociology, and so forth. Many fields have contributed to the realm of spatial statistics and spatial analysis' usefulness has been implicated in many historical events and continues to hold significance in its modern form. Furthermore, spatial statistics is relevant in our efforts to address various problems in our society today. Many environmental hazards such as pollution and the effects of global warming are becoming increasingly pressing and the field of spatial statistics can provide the appropriate analytical tools to help solve these issues. Spatial statistics' real-world applications has important ramifications in the future of many public policies and social issues.

Spatial data is a topic often neglected in introductory level statistics and is usually taught at the graduate level using advanced statistical techniques like variogram fitting and kriging (a method of spatial prediction). With the use of visualization tools (maps, scatterplots, etc.) along with introductory statistical analysis techniques, we can teach the topic at any level of study. For example, Google Maps or similar applications (e.g. GIS software) can facilitate the teaching of spatial data because due to their accessibility.

Because of spatial statistics pertinence, the goal of this initiative is to raise awareness in the statistics community that inclusion of spatial data in introductory statistics courses can greatly engage students, enhance their learning experience, but more importantly, equip them with the appropriate tools to help them in their professional endeavors.

Identifying the Perceived Value of Statistical Consulting in a University Setting- $5,200

The aim of this proposal is to determine the perceived value of statistical consulting among statisticians and collaborators within a university setting. Surveys will be administered to senior statisticians and their collaborators in land-grant institutions to identify their perceptions on how statistical consulting is and should be valued within the university. The results of the study will directly benefit members of the American Statistical Association and the Consulting Section of the ASA by providing evidence of the value of statistical consulting services to help educate university administrators and faculty review committees. Awareness of the value of consulting activities will encourage collaborative efforts in the scientific community.

Statistics in Value-Added Modeling for Educational Evaluation- $5,000

Funding was requested to bring together five experts on Value-Added Modeling (VAM) and its use in evaluating teachers and schools to finalize a statement on the topic from a statistical perspective. The group hopes to present the statement to the ASA Board of Directors for approval, just as has been done for climate change, risk-limiting audits, and forensic science reform. VAM is widely used for evaluating teachers, schools and related educational reform programs, but remains a controversial topic. While much has been written on its validity and limitations, a statistical perspective is often lacking. This statement is aimed at addressing this need.

Teaching Statistics in the health Sciences Resources Portal - $9,000

The Section on Teaching Statistics in the Health Sciences (TSHS) community is collaborating with the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE, CAUSEweb.org) to establish an extension called the Teaching Statistics in the Health Sciences Resources Portal (TSHS Portal). Support was requested for a meeting of 12 developers on May 17-19, 2013 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; these dates and location were selected to coincide with the 2013 United States Conference on Teaching Statistics; http://www.causeweb.org/uscots/), a biennial meeting hosted by CAUSE. CAUSE arose from a strategic initiative of the American Statistical Association (ASA) with the mission 'to support and advance undergraduate statistics education, in four target areas: resources, professional development, outreach, and research'. The 2013 Conference will focus on the theme of "Making Change Happen" in these target areas. This meeting offers an ideal environment to facilitate collaboration between CAUSE and the TSHS Portal Developers.

The proposed meeting of TSHS Portal developers will consist of three sessions, during which we will define and initiate our 2013-2014 development work: (1) TSHS Portal design and its integration with CAUSE; (2) establishment of the portal's infrastructure with respect to governance, peer review, management, and quality assurance; and (3) planning for future funding. Tentatively, our portal's architecture is envisioned to be centered in a simple website, with a distinct health sciences focus, leveraging appropriate CAUSEweb resources and infrastructure, from which will extend a hierarchy of easy to navigate branches containing conveniently organized clusters of resources. We plan to launch our first cluster of resources in late 2013: "vetted" health sciences related data sets with accompanying background information and illustrations of their analysis.

Developing and Piloting a Partnership ASA Mentorship Program - $11,700

The Committee on Applied Statisticians (CAS) proposed to develop an ASA Applied Statisticians Mentorship Clearinghouse Program. Mentorship initiatives targeted to practicing statisticians have been made in a variety of ASA units, including some sections, some chapters, and some committees. Yet, dozens of people have come to CAS asking if such a program exists. Thus, the proposal is to develop and pilot a program to support ASA members who self-identify as applied statisticians and seek mentoring. The committee will i) plan a program including clearinghouse, consultative, and selected hands-on mentoring activities, ii) pilot these activities in consultation with the Membership Council and other units of ASA which have or have had mentorship initiatives targeting applied statisticians, iii) perform hands-on mentoring for selected individuals, iv) monitor the program's results, and v) make recommendations for a continuing ASA mentoring program.

Raising Oregon's Statistical Literacy at School - $9,400

This proposal was to develop Oregon's K-12 math teachers into more effective statistics teachers. The proposal outlined the methods the Oregon chapter feels will be most effective to improve the statistics instruction skills of all math teachers in the state, as they strive to cover the statistics elements of the Common Core mathematics standards.

Chapter members partner with OCTM (Oregon Council of Teachers of Mathematics) master teachers to develop three hour professional development workshops for state middle and high school math teachers for statistics material contained in the national math standards. OCTM has previously done this for other focus areas such as problem solving and geometry. These master teachers are retired Oregon math teachers, who volunteer their time, developing these workshops, and then travel around the state to deliver them.

Trainings will be delivered 20 times, at least once in each of the 14 regions of the state. Workshop participants are lead math teachers in the school districts around the state. A speaker proposal form was submitted to present the contents of the workshops at the Oregon Math Leaders Conference in August 2013. Workshop materials and sample lessons presented will heavily leverage existing materials available from ASA, primarily the GAISE report and "Making Sense of Statistical Studies." Workshops will explore topics very familiar to statisticians, but new to many math teachers, whose past "statistics" practice focuses on computing means, medians and modes as well as the probability of various combinations. A final step in the process is to have one of the workshop leaders apply to present Oregon's approach and experiences at the 2014 NCTM national conference and one of the ASA chapter members present the material at the 2014 JSM.

Graduate Training in Statistics from the 2014 IISA Conference Participation -- $10,000

Graduate students in Statistics at a particular program get exposure in their statistics learning through their course work, practical training, attending the JSM as well as the other meetings. Not all graduate students can afford to participate at the meetings that require long distance air travel and hotel staying. Although the ASA local chapters organize some major educational events throughout the year, an efficient system demands more exposure in statistics to train our statistics graduate students more effectively.

The 2014 IISA conference in Riverside, California proposes to select 28 graduate students from a Student Competition for presenting their papers and participating at the conference by attending the sessions and engaging in discussions with inspiring speakers. Each of these 28 students will be paid $250 for their registration fees as well as the other conference expenses from the requested budget if approved.

The 30 additional local graduate students will also be selected based on their GPAs and their department recommendations. These 30 local graduate students will not present any paper but will attend the sessions but will engage in discussions with inspiring speakers and interact with the other speakers. Each of these 30 students will be paid $100 for their registration fees from the requested budget if approved.

Updating the GAISE College Report for an Increasingly Data-Centric World -- $11,370

The GAISE (Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education) report has had a profound impact on the teaching of statistics, and the American Statistical Association played a key role in its creation and dissemination. In an increasingly data-centric world, statistics is increasingly important as a way to use data to make decisions. This proposal seeks funding to update and augment the GAISE College Report through organization of meeting to draft changes and disseminate the resulting report.

A MOOC to Train G7-12 Teachers the Probability and Statistics Common Core -- $10,000

With 45+ states passing the common core educational standards, much of what has been the AP statistics curriculum will now be common core curriculum for all students. Yet, there are few teachers trained to teach the probability and statistics pieces of the Common Core curriculum and states do not have funding to do sufficient training. This project will be collaboration between faculty and students at Duke University, high school statistics teachers (including NC School of Science and Math), industry leaders from SAS Institute's JMP Division, and the Education Outreach personnel at the American Statistical Association to create a Massive Open On-line Course (MOOC) that trains junior high and high school teachers the probability and statistics content of the Common Core. Parallel projects are creating an open on-line textbook and supplementary teaching materials that can be used in grade 7-12 classrooms.

Promoting the teaching and learning of statistics through a national postsecondary statistics project competition and e-conference -- $8,560

As demand for a statistically literate society rapidly increases, unprecedented opportunities are available for recruiting the next generation of statisticians. Enrollment in introductory statistics courses at the undergraduate level nearly doubled from 1995 to 2010. Current efforts to capitalize on the influx of students taking introductory statistics yearly include (1) documenting and evaluating the pipeline of recruiting, training, and placement in statistics, (2) developing course materials for second courses in statistics and beyond, and (3) increasing the number of research and internship opportunities for undergraduates in statistics.

Leading this development and implementation effort is a leadership team representing a diverse mix of statistics educators who (a) have substantial experience working with undergraduate students in and out of the classroom, (b) have designed and implemented innovative programs for undergraduate statistics students and (c) represent numerous stakeholder organizations within and beyond ASA. The success of the current ASA-sponsored, K-12 poster competition, which now receives approximately 2000 poster submissions per year, provides a model of best practices for this undergraduate focused effort, as well as a benchmark for the potential impact of such a program at the undergraduate level.

The ASA Boston Public Library Collection -- $10,000

This proposal is to identify, as a first stage, the Association's Boston Public Library (BPL) Collection. This project is a component of the charge of the Committee on ASA Archives and Historical Materials, which is:

• To identify, collect, preserve, and make accessible the permanent records of the American Statistical Association and its committees, chapters, and representative bodies, as appropriate.
• To serve as the American Statistical Association representatives to review and advise on contracts relating to historical and archival material.
• To determine the collection's titles, along with their current locations, this project will identify the ASA BPL documents from catalogue cards, present in wooden trays, by examining both sides of individual cards and recording relevant information.

A Community Statistics Fair -- $2,500

While there has been extensive research on describing statistical literacy, there have been few documented efforts to motivate people to want to improve their statistical literacy. This project aims to use a statistics fair to motivate community members to improve their statistical literacy and help them understand why statistical literacy is important in their lives. During the event, data will be collected through short surveys to further understand motivations to improve statistical literacy as well as inform potential future fairs. An important outcome will be to finalize a framework for others to implement statistics fairs. This framework will be made freely available online and through other dissemination efforts.

A Virtual Repository to Improve Statistics Teaching in High Schools in Puerto Rico -- $11,000

Official statistics in PR suggest that English proficiency in public-high schools is low and mathematics literacy is staggering low (40% and 8% were proficient in 2011, respectively). Moreover, math proficiency is lower than in the US; score of 379 for students in PR compared to 481 for those in the US, according to PISA 2012. In 2014 the PRDE implemented the Puerto Rico Core Standards in Mathematics. These standards were implemented in all the high schools across the island. While the content of the PR Common Core Standards are quite similar to the Common Core Standards in the US, high school teachers here do not have access to supplementary materials in Spanish to teach statistics and probability in their classrooms. In the U.S., some high school teacher training initiatives provide supplementary Spanish language teaching materials that are aligned with the recently implemented Common Core Standards, such as the 2014 Member Initiatives: STEW and the NCTM website (http://www.nctm.org/resources/ ). However, according to our experience with high school teachers, there are two reasons for the limited use of resources in English for teaching statistics and probability in PR. First, students' English proficiency in the island, particularly in public high schools, is considerably low, which is clearly a limitation for using these materials. Second, many of the materials developed in English include data sets and topics that might not be culturally relevant for students in PR.

We propose to address the lack of materials in Spanish for teaching statistics and probability by creating a repository of supplementary materials in grades 9-12 aligned with the PR Common Core Standards. This repository will contain materials in Spanish that will be designed by the project team, as well as materials adapted from existing libraries containing materials in English. In the latter case we will fortify the materials already available by making them more culturally relevant to students in PR. The repository will be hosted in a website administered by the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM). In terms of statistics literacy we will give workshops to high-school teachers and talks to students in public high-schools about the use and importance of statistics. The materials developed by this team will be used in professional development workshops. In the visits to schools we will use real datasets from data.pr.gov to discuss statistical concepts such as: sampling/census, descriptive statistics, visualization, and errors in data. By visiting schools we will personally engage with teachers and students, promoting the optimal use of the materials, while simultaneously promoting careers in statistics. This project will be a joint effort between the PR Chapter of the ASA, the Department of Mathematics at the UPRM and AFAMaC-Matemáticas (Alliance for the Strengthening of the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics and Sciences), a project funded by the PRDE

Assessing Local Student Involvement in the ASA -- $14,000

Goal: To provide a set of recommendations to the national organization for flexibly engaging students in the ASA in ways beyond University-based Student Chapters. By building on the current program, the proposed flexibility will be aligned with the ASA's Big Tent vision, as it will facilitate retention of regular members, attract new student members, and foster mentorship opportunities. Of particular importance, the flexibility will lend to a more sustainable and generalizable student model.

Building the LISA 2020 Team to Train Statisticians from Developing Countries to Create a Network of Statistical Collaboration Laboratories -- $9,000

LISA (Virginia Tech's Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis) has started a program called "LISA 2020" to train statisticians from developing countries to become collaborative statisticians and support them to create stat labs at their home universities to help researchers, government officials, and local industries and NGOs apply statistical thinking to make better decisions AND to train the next generation of collaborative statisticians. The goal is to create a network of 20 such stat labs in developing countries by 2020.

Each of these new stat labs will foster education in collaborative statistics and will promote the proper application of statistics to solve real-world problems. With a strong mentoring network, just one statistician trained to communicate and collaborate with non-statisticians can enable and accelerate 50 or more research projects per year. Each research project can impact hundreds or thousands of people. With ASA's support we will unlock the collaborative potential of technically trained statisticians, who in turn will unlock the research potential of their collaborators and teach other statisticians to do likewise. These research collaborations, now with the power of statistical thinking open to them, will be key to improving human welfare worldwide.

STAT-KC -- $6,000

Specific Aim 1: To develop an effective and efficient program to engage, expose and encourage students (high school, undergraduate, and post-graduate) in the Midwest to pursue educational experiences and careers in statistics. We will apply a multidisciplinary approach to program development that will include (1) engaging high school educators and administrators and statistics faculty from regional academic institutions, and (2) building upon our strategic partnerships with working professionals, regional employers of statisticians and local non-profit organizations whose missions include promotion of education and careers in STEM fields.

Specific Aim 2: To establish, evaluate and refine the program as an annual opportunity for students (high school, undergraduate, and post-graduate) in the Midwest to learn about educational and career opportunities in statistical science. This program will also establish a much-needed link between high school math and science teachers, higher education statistics faculty from regional institutions, and regional and national professionals who work as or employ statisticians.

Specific Aim 3: To disseminate the details of the development and implementation of the program to the statistics education community.

Training A New Generation of Statistics Educators (TANGO Stat Ed) -- $10,000

The objective of the TANGO Stat Ed Member Initiative is to improve the current state of teaching introductory statistics at the community college level and to create professional learning communities that support sustained engagement in professional development activities.

Training a New Generation of Statistics Educators (TANGO Stat Ed) is a three-year, $571,000 NSF-funded grant that address this need of training community college statistics instructors. Often these teachers and the institutions they serve lack sufficient resources or connections to take advantage of all that is offered by the growing statistics education community. The TANGO Stat Ed grant will facilitate the creation of four regional hubs around the country, beginning in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and expanding to two more areas in the second year of the grant. The TANGO Stat Ed grant will match six mentors in each hub with 18 community college statistics instructors and support two hours per month of time between the mentor-mentee dyads. In addition, it will create ongoing professional learning communities (modeled after Minnesota's StatChat and Philadelphia's PASTA), provide training workshops, and introduce instructors to the larger statistics education community by paying for their attendance at the US Conference on Teaching Statistics.

Over the past few months, Co-PI Dabos and I began to share the news of the TANGO Stat Ed grant in the community. We received inquiries from many individuals and groups (including the ASA/AMATYC Joint Committee) who offered their support or volunteered to serve as mentors or help identify mentors. We realized that aligning a national campaign with the focused regional efforts of the TANGO Stat Ed program was a worthwhile endeavor to pursue. This is the impetus for this MI proposal.

This member initiative will support the solicitation of mentors and mentees at a national level, provide support for professional learning communities, and evaluate the effectiveness of the program in comparison with the NSF-funded TANGO Stat Ed project reaching four regional hubs.

Workshop on Teaching to a Data-Rich Society -- $7,800

With the support of Grinnell College, we plan to create an experimental workshop-style course for high school and community college instructors. This course will require participants to attend a three-day course on campus and then continue to meet monthly throughout the academic year via online meetings. Our goal is to provide resources, training and connections in order to assist statistics instructors in using modeling, simulation, conceptual understanding and technology that addresses the needs of a data-rich society within their courses.

This proposal is to show the new 1-hour movie Navajo Math Circles during the lunch hour at the Meeting Within a Meeting: Statistics Workshop for Mathematics and Science Teachers. It describes how Math Circles have been used recently in Navajo Nation to help K-12 Navajo students learn mathematics and build comfort with problem solving in mathematics.

This initiative has several motivations. A key motivation is to enable the Statistics community to understand innovative ways that Native Americans can learn about the Mathematical Sciences. We also anticipate new innovations in the teaching of Statistics will develop as a result of this event. After seeing the movie, we anticipate that teachers of Statistics courses will be rethinking ways to use problem solving and exploration as ways to introduce concepts in probability and data science. The resulting impact in the broader Statistics community will be a more welcoming and innovative atmosphere for K-12 students to be introduced to Statistics, as well as an acceleration in the time when K-12 students start getting interested in Statistics.

Research On Statistics Attitudes (ROSA) Symposium 2016 -- $10,000

The main purpose of this symposium is to develop a strategic plan to answer the four research priorities set forth in the 2012 report title Connecting Research to Practice in a Culture of Assessment for Introductory College-level Statistics, Section 2, Affective Constructs as well as create an executive board which will shepherd the work proposed during the symposium over the next several years. During the three day conference, participants will (1) form working groups to understand the problems set forth in the report and develop plans to answer the research priorities, (2) learn about teaching strategies which research has shown to improve cognitive learning in students, and (3) have the opportunity to increase their technology and data analysis skills through analyzing a data warehouse of several statistics attitude data bases. Coordinators will seek participants who are currently researching attitudes (which includes Statistics Education researchers as well as researchers in other fields such as Measurement, Evaluation, Assessment, Psychology, etc.), and who are new to this field of research. This would include graduate and undergraduate students as well as two-year college instructors.

A Networked MOOC for Teaching Statistics Through Data Investigations: An initiative of HI-RiSE at the Friday Institute at NC State -- $15,000

HI-RiSE is a new initiative at the Friday Institute at NC State to serve as a Hub for Innovation and Research in Statistics Education. Our goal is foster a variety of development and research efforts that improves education in K-16 towards developing future data scientists, statisticians, and all citizens who are ready to make data-informed decisions. There are increasing demands on teachers to prepare students for understanding statistical content, how to effectively use data in a variety of careers, and being ready to make data-based arguments and decisions in daily life. However, many middle and secondary mathematics teachers feel unprepared to teach the content related to statistics, and do not often have access to professional development focused on learning and teaching statistics and data investigations. The Statistical Education of Teachers report (Franklin et al. 2015) not only suggests coursework for preservice teachers, but makes it clear that practicing teachers need high quality professional development focused on teaching statistics.

Our hope is that the TSDI MOOC-ED experience not only impacts teachers’ classroom practices related to teaching statistics, but that participants would be inspired to assist others in their school or district. The purpose of the Networked-MOOC-ED for Teaching Statistics Through Data Investigations is to help facilitate these past participants to become local leaders of a professional learning team focused on teaching statistics and to develop a sustainable way that the TSDI MOOC-ED can continue to be used by local professional teams for many years to come.

Improving the usefulness to the community of open data portals -- $8,500

The proposed project will help promote statistics and statistical methods in Puerto Rico among those having an interest in or being concerned with such methods; one of the goals of the Puerto Rico Chapter of the ASA. Furthermore, the work will increase the visibility of the chapter and the ASA in Puerto Rico, and set the tone for a more efficient implementation of open data portals in other locations across the United States. Table 1 below summarizes the goals of the project and measurable outcomes.

Data Science Initiative Targeting High Schools (DSITHS) -- $10,025

Dr. Jessica Utts, President of the American Statistical Association (ASA), identified that one of her initiatives for the upcoming 2016 year is to “develop methods for ensuring that information and resources about careers in statistics are made widely available in high schools”. Aligning with ASA’s mission in “promoting the practice and profession of statistics”, this project proposes to develop a comprehensive strategy to raise awareness amongst high school students, particularly those of underrepresented backgrounds, to careers in Biostatistics/Informatics/Data Science. It has been well established in the literature that women, racial/ethnic minorities, and individuals from low socioeconomic status have been underrepresented within the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). According to the US Census Bureau, the average racial and ethnic distribution of the STEM workforce in 2011 was 71% White, 15% Asian, 7% Hispanic, and 6% Black, with notable variations amongst each discipline. Although women compose nearly half of the working population, they also remain underrepresented by comprising only 26% of STEM occupations. In an attempt to address these disparities, the Biostatistics, Evaluation, Collaboration, Consultation, and Analysis (BECCA) Lab will partner with local high schools to promote statistical careers through: (1) development and piloting of a tailored, culturally relevant workshop curriculum that could serve a prototype for other statistical consulting centers to emulate and (2) creation and dissemination of a marketing video and online resource guide that will be made available publicly to interested instructions of higher learning.

The purpose of this initiative is to bring together two groups – West Tennessee Chapter of the ASA (WTASA) members and local area high school students. The goal will be to use the WTASA members to reach out to students in the Shelby County School System in order to provide information and resources about the profession and practice of statistics. The WTASA will accomplish this goal by 1) asking for members to volunteer to visit local area high school classrooms to talk with students and teachers about the profession and the role it plays in everyday life, 2) selecting students from high schools in SCS to participate in a “Bring A Student to Work” day with volunteer mentors from the WTASA membership, and 3) hosting a special WTASA meeting that will include a poster competition for students who participated in the project.

Documenting the Careers of 25 Early U.S. Women of Statistics and Data Science -- $15,000

This proposal will create a video in the genre of the PBS documentary series Makers: Women Who Make America. The PBS series has six episodes on Women in Comedy, Hollywood, Space, War, Business, and Politics. This proposal will create a video in a similar vein, but the focus will be Women in Statistics and Data Science.

Developing and Executing an ASA Applied Statisticians’ Collaboration Program -- $16,600

This proposal, submitted by the ASA Committee on Applied Statisticians (CAS), seeks to develop a collaborations program targeted to practicing statisticians in a variety of ASA units, including JSM continuing education courses and the work being done by the SPAIG Committee. The scope of the program will focus on applied statisticians who frequently need to collaborate across multi- functional groups.

Proposed by the Arizona Chapter of ASA, this is a science fair competition where high school students stand by their project poster boards and explain their projects to judges. The format creates excitement for students as they await their chance to explain their work to an expert. The format provides judges a chance to tailor their questions to not only understand the project better but also to help the student toward better understanding or new avenues of investigation.

International Data Science in Schools Project -- $10,000 (partially funded)

The purpose of this project, a collaboration between several national statistical societies (including the ASA, NZSA, RSS, SSA and SSC) and computer science societies, is to transform the way education in Data Science is carried out in the last two years of school, to ensure that school children acquire a sufficient understanding and appreciation of how data can be acquired and used to make decisions so that they can make informed judgments in their daily lives and to instill in more mathematically able school students sufficient interest and enthusiasm for Data Science that they will seek to pursue tertiary studies in Data Science with a view of making a career in the area.

ASA Committee on Membership Retention and Recruitment Speaker's Bureau -- $5,000

Sharing the value, importance and relevance of statistics and the profession is one key way to help recruit new ASA members. Speaker lists/bureaus have long been used by universities, corporations, agencies and non-profit groups to offer presentations to the community. We see an ASA Committee on Membership Retention and Recruitment (CMRR) speaker’s bureau as an excellent recruiting tool to show the value of the profession to college students. It would be a group of speakers who are willing and available for speaking to student chapters and statistical clubs, smaller universities, chapters with smaller memberships, and to departments or groups of geographically isolated statisticians who might meet once or twice a year and call the ASA asking if speakers are available.