interview, I visited the department unannounced A few bits of advice to females planning an academic
and met with the chair. He said he hadn’t answered career in statistics:
my letter since he never thought he would be inter-
ested in hiring a female. We had a pleasant inter-
— Keep your maiden name for professional
view, although he did ask me whether my husband
purposes, no matter how much you love
and I planned on having children. I received a let-
your husband.
ter offering me a position as assistant professor two
— Spend all of your spare time writing; the
weeks later.
more writing you do, the easier it becomes.
So there I was at age 25 on the faculty at Penn.
On my first day, I very hesitantly walked into the
— When you work with a co-author, do at
classroom of 35 all-male students. Apparently, one
least 70% of the work.
young man thought I was a coed and grumbled — Seek out opportunities to actively partici-
loudly, “There goes the curve.” Everyone was quite pate in as many ASA activities as possible;
dismayed when I walked up to the lectern at the you will be richly rewarded, both person-
front of the room. ally and professionally.
Later that same year, I was invited by Joe Gastwirth
— Always behave as a professional person,
to give a paper at The Johns Hopkins University.
which is not the same as a professional
Several of the faculty and I went to lunch at the
woman.
Faculty Club and were told females were not allowed.
They sneaked me in to eat, and I suspect the rules And advice to all, especially journal editors: The
were changed shortly after my visit to the campus. word “data” is plural. n
NOVEMBER 2009 AmstAt News 17
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