Staff Spotlight
Keith Crank
A
n introduction should not have any (qualified) applicants. A
be necessary, as I’ve been few days later, my application was
writing an Amstat News in the mail, and a month later, I
column for almost three years learned I had been chosen.
now. But, the editors insist they The fellowship was for nine
need this, and I’ve found that it’s months, and evidently I did okay,
a good idea to keep them happy. as they then hired me for a regu-
I grew up in Illinois, in a small lar position. This turned out to be
town along the Illinois River, very good for me, because a couple Crank takes a look at the newly
about 35 miles north of Peoria. of years later, the USDA sent me to
published Making Sense of Statistical
After graduating from high Indiana to work and go to school
Studies.
school, I went to Michigan State (at Purdue University). After three
University, where I earned a BS years in Indiana (just enough time
A few years in academia were
and MS in mathematics. I then to complete the course work I
followed by a long period as a
‘converted’ to statistics and start- needed for a PhD), I returned to
program director at the National
ed the PhD program there, but a Washington, DC, with plans to
Science Foundation (NSF). Most
chance encounter in the hallway continue working while I wrote
of my time at NSF was in the
one day changed my course. I my thesis. All did not turn out as
Statistics & Probability Program,
learned about a new fellowship I had planned, though, and I gave
but I also worked on broader
program at the U.S. Department up my job to go back to Purdue
activities, such as the mathemat-
of Agriculture (USDA) that didn’t and finish my thesis.
ics postdoc program, a joint activ-
ity with the National Institute of
General Medical Sciences, and
the Human and Social Dynamics
priority area.
I joined the ASA full-time in
October 2006. I am responsible
for research and graduate educa-
tion. On the research side, I pro-
mote statistical research and do or
find research that is useful to our
discipline. My job includes writ-
ing a monthly column for Amstat
News, working with the Caucus
of Academic Representatives, and
helping to coordinate a writing
workshop for junior researchers.
On the graduate education side,
I have worked to encourage stu-
dents to pursue graduate degrees
in statistics and written about
the professional science master’s
degree (see the December 2008
issue of Amstat News). In Master’s
Notebook this month, I raise
questions about graduate statis-
tics and biostatistics programs. If
you have ideas for other activities
that would promote statistics,
feel free to send me an email at
keith@amstat.org. ■
16 AMSTAT NEWS MAY 2009
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