IRGINIA
ECH
DePArTmeNT oF sTATIsTICs
CELEBRATES
60
YEARS
brooke marshall (’09); Jean Gibbons (’62); stephanie Pickle (’06); Kathryn Tucker (’00);
and eric smith, Head of virginia Tech Department of statistics
s
tudents, faculty, and alumni celebrated the
60th anniversary of the Virginia Tech
Department of Statistics during the Joint
Statistical Meetings in Washington, DC, this past
August. More than 60 people attended the dinner for
fellowship and remembrances, including alumni from
graduating classes spanning the past several decades.
Established in 1949 by Boyd Harshbarger, the
Virginia Tech Statistics Department was one of the
first in the nation. Harshbarger also helped organize
the first Regional Statistics Summer Session in the
United States, which preceded the founding of the
Statistics Department by two years and included
such speakers as George W. Snedecor, Gertrude M.
Cox, and W. Edwards Deming.
When the department was established, a Master
of Science degree in statistics was offered. Courses
such as Statistical Methods, Probability, Statistical
Inference, and the Theory of Least Squares were
Hutcheson Hall, home of the virginia Tech Department of statistics
required. Similar fundamental courses are still the
basis of the master’s program today. By 1952, stu-
dents could formally enroll in a Doctor of Philosophy
degree program and, in 1957, a Bachelor of Science
degree in statistics was offered.
Harshbarger and Milton Terry were the only
faculty members during the first year of the depart-
ment’s existence. Between 1950 and 1952, four fac-
ulty members joined, including Ralph Bradley, who
later left to found the Department of Statistics at
Florida State University, and David Duncan, who is
widely known for his multiple comparison method.
6 AmstAt News NOVEMBER 2009
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