Staff Spotlight
there for years, knows everything about the
day-to-day workings of his department. I
Jim Dickey
hope I will always be able to use my knowl-
edge to help the ASA’s members achieve
their goals and to make the system operate
as smoothly and efficiently as possible. It is
I
’m Jim Dickey, the committees coordi-
something I hope to continue doing until
nator for the American Statistical
my formal working life has ended. ■
Association. I came to the ASA purely
by chance. When the political organization
for which I had been working disbanded
because its original goals had been achieved,
I decided I was through spending hours each
day commuting and started looking for a
job in Old Town Alexandria, where I have
lived for the past 20 years.
I found such a job at the American
Statistical Association, which is within
walking—or at least biking—distance of
my apartment, and have been grateful ever
since for the workings of blind chance.
Similar to 95% of the people who work at
the ASA headquarters, I am not a statisti-
cian (In fact, I have to confess that math
was always my worst subject in school.).
Nonetheless, my almost nine years at the
association have been the happiest of my
working experience.
I began working here as an assistant to
Mary Fleming, who was then the programs
manager. I assisted her in a number of proj-
Jim Dickey, ASA committees coordinator
Photo by Lídia Anna Vigyázó
ects, including cataloguing the ASA library
and bringing up to date the bound volumes
of ASA journals.
Within a year, then Executive Director ASA / NCHS
Ray Waller asked me to take overall respon-
sibility for the association’s more than 50
Research Fellowship Program
committees. I was a little apprehensive at
first about taking on such a massive task,
“
bridge Th e ASA, in cooperation with the National
but found that once I got things organized
the gap Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), created
(a process that did take some time), things between
the ASA/NCHS Research Fellowship Program
went remarkably well.
academic
to bridge the gap between academic scholars and
As committees coordinator, I have two
scholars
government health research programs. Fellows
major areas of responsibility. First, I work
closely with the Committee on Committees,
and
work to solve methodological problems and study
the committee that oversees the day-to-day
government
analytic issues relevant to NCHS programs, data,
activities of all the other ASA committees.
health
and facilities. Applicants should have a recognized
The second major committee task I han-
research record and considerable expertise in the
research
dle is assisting each year’s ASA president-
area of proposed research.
programs
elect in making about 150 appointments
”
and reappointments to the committees.
For fullest consideration, the application
Through organization and careful record-
deadline is May 15, 2008; however,
keeping, I have been able to streamline this applications will be accepted throughout the year
process.
until positions are fi lled. For more information,
I sometimes think of myself as Sir
visit
www.amstat.org/nchs.
Humphrey Appleby on the British TV
series “Yes, Minister.” Sir Humphrey is the
head of the civil service in the Ministry of
Administrative Affairs and, having been
MAY 2008 AMSTAT NEWS 21
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