World Statistics Day (October 20, 2010)

World Statistics Day 2010

The American Statistical Association was pleased to join the celebrations of United-Nations-declared World Statistics Day (WSD)—October 20, 2010. At the Capitol Hill breakfast briefing and open house that the ASA co-organized with many other organizations, moderator Katherine Wallman, chief statistician of the United States, read a World Statistics Day message from President Barack Obama. The program included comments from current U.S. Census Bureau director Robert Groves, former U.S. Census Bureau director Kenneth Prewitt, and Bureau of Economic Analysis director Steve Landefeld:

  • "Federal Statistics Anchor a Science-Based Understanding of Society and Economy," Kenneth Prewitt, former director, U.S. Census Bureau
  • "Statistics in a Democracy," Robert Groves, director, U.S. Census Bureau
  • "75 Years and the Future: Understanding the U.S. Economy through Statistical Data," J. Steven Landefeld, director, Bureau of Economic Analysis
  • Heads of 14 federal statistical agencies were also available during the open house portion of the program to speak with attendees.

Among the ASA’s other activities, Amstat News had three pieces in the print and online October issue: World Statistics Day, Sastry Pantula’s President’s column with a sidebar from Census director Bob Groves, and NHANES 50th Anniversary. The ASA also posted videos from our Distinguished Statistician series for the week of WSD, developed a World Statistics Day poster, and sent copies of the WSD poster and Statistical Significance pieces to 140 statistics and biostatistics departments.

Selected links to, and coverage of, WSD activities are available at Steve Pierson’s World Statistics Day Blog.