The ASA is offering a new department in Amstat News for our readers: Government News.
This department will include articles written by government employees about government
jobs, activities, and opportunities offered to professional statisticians. We hope you enjoy this
new section; please send any contributions via email to Amstat News Managing Editor
Megan Murphy at megan@amstat.org or ASA Director of Programs Martha Aliaga at
martha@amstat.org.
Government Statistics:
Bold Ventures,
Interesting Challenges
Chief Statistician Gives Tour of
Experiences Along the Road
I
t’s a wonderful world … and I, for the My purpose in accepting the ASA’s
past four decades, have been an “acci- invitation to pen a few words about the
dental tourist” in this world. “Accidental” federal statistical system, and my experi-
because no matter how carefully I analyze ences within, is not to write the abstract
my early beginnings (setting aside a friend’s for a forthcoming autobiography, but to
mother who opined that I was “always good acquaint you with the truly incredible
at math”), there simply was no plan on my breadth of activities we pursue as official
part to work in the field of statistics, nor, for statisticians and spark your interest in
that matter, to work for the federal govern- joining us in our expedition.
ment. “Tourist” because it has been my great
privilege to journey to such a fascinating
The Expedition
array of places and encounter so many Briefly, we have what is known as a “decen-
challenges and opportunities—all the tralized” federal statistical system in the
Katherine K. Wallman, Chief Statistician,
while in the fellowship of such wonderful United States. In the milieu of official
Office of Management and Budget
traveling companions. statistics, this essentially means we do not
have a single organization (such as Statistics
26 AMSTAT NEWS JUNE 2008
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76