Harvard Statistics: Quintuple Celebrations
and Celebrating Quintuples
Xiao-Li Meng, Department of Statistics, Harvard University
history and future of this department. and insightful thinking with the study of
The choice of five was really not a choice, recent qualifying examination problems
but rather the obvious: current and past
associates of the department, the founding
Team teaching and collaborative course
generation, the previous department chairs,
design among faculty members and
current and ex-staff members, and those
between faculty and graduate students,
deans who understand the value of sta-
such as in the core graduate courses
tistics and/or statisticians.
team taught by Joe Blitzstein and Carl
What I could not possibly realize
Morris and in the newly introduced
then was how little time it would
Stat 105: Real-Life Statistics: Your Chance
take before another five toasts would
for Happiness (or Misery) (see the April
be in order, and how that five ignited
issue of Amstat News)
so many more fives.
The third toast is to our department
The first toast is to Samuel Kou,
for being the only department at Harvard
who just became the fifth senior pro-
to win the Derek C. Bok Award for
fessor in the department. The main
Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching
significance of this appointment is
of Undergraduates two years in a row, and
not making five of us, but rather that
during the first two years of the award’s
Kou is the first junior faculty member to
existence. The Bok award is given annu-
be promoted to tenure from within the
ally to five graduate students who have
department since Art Dempster, which
“demonstrated excellence in undergraduate
is truly a milestone in the 50-year history
teaching or advising beyond achievement of
of the department. Who says the depart-
the high quantitative evaluation score.”
ment does not promote its own junior fac-
In 2006–2007, Paul Edlefsen, our first
M
any believe good things come in
ulty? We now have established the existence
departmental teaching fellow (a new posi-
threes. Others are greedier, hop-
theorem—the next step is to prove it is
tion at Harvard for supporting departmental
ing for sixes or even sevens. For
not unique!
teaching excellence), won an inaugural award
Harvard University’s Statistics Department,
The second toast is to our graduate pro-
for his passion and devotion to teaching
the right number appears to be five. Of
gram, which just won a $25,000 Dean’s Prize
and, most significantly, for his effectiveness
course, human superstition about numbers
for Innovations in Graduate Education,
in training and motivating other students
is a great example of selection bias, or our
a recently instituted annual award to a
to become effective teaching fellows (see
almost innate tendency to mistake coinci-
department that has undertaken significant
www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/05.03/
dence for divine intervention. But whatever
innovations in the previous three years. Our
01teachers.html).
your tendency, I am inviting you to share
innovations include the following:
Not to be outdone, in 2007–2008,
with me—over five glasses of wine—my
Stat 303: The Art and Practice of Teaching
our second departmental teaching fel-
newly discovered appreciation of the quint-
Statistics, a year-long, required course for
low, Paul Baines, won a second Bok award
essential value of the number 5. (If wine is
all first-year PhD students designed with
out of more than 400 eligible candidates.
not your cup of tea, you could become
the dual goals of discipline-specific teach-
Baines won the award for his initiatives
equally intoxicated by reading this article
ing training and career development
and innovations in building departmen-
five times.) tal teaching infrastructures, including the
Harvard statistics celebrated its 50th Stat 399: Problem Solving in Statistics, creation of three teaching guides (see www.
anniversary last October (see the May issue a “transition toward research” course news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/05.01/
of Amstat News). During the banquet at this designed for second-year PhD students 07-teaching.html).
occasion, I made five toasts to five groups that bridges the gap from individual So, now the pressure is on our third
of individuals who have helped create the textbook knowledge to more integrated departmental teaching fellow. (Incidentally,
8 AMSTAT NEWS AUGUST 2008
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