History of the Department of Statistics

Part 2a

Tom HettmanspergerJim Rosenberger

Part 1

Bill Harkness

1988-1990: Moving Forward on New Challenges

• 1988: Hettmansperger becomes new headFour major challenges:• negotiations with C. R. Rao to accept the

Eberly Chair in Statistics • hardening supplemental funds into

permanent support• a concerted effort to recruit female faculty • the plan for a departmental move from

Pond Lab to Thomas Building.

Negotiations with C. R. Rao

• Babu visited Rao at the University of Pittsburg-- found (early in 1988) that Rao might be receptive to coming to PSU

• February 1988, Rao made a visit to PSU & talked to Dean Zimmerman and Provost Richardson

• Issues: transferring Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Army contracts to PSU along with a large Vax computer

Negotiations with C. R. Rao

• Other issues that needed to be resolved: • bringing Journal of Multivariate Analysis with him• Rao needed 1 or 2 secretaries for the Center• space for 12 or so summer visitors each year &

about 6 research assistants and PhD students.• requested a 3 year appointment (he would be 70

in September, 1990 and would have to retire).

Harkness

Negotiations with C. R. Rao

• Difficult to get Rao to make a final commitment. • Summer, 1988, Tom called Rao with instructions

‘make every effort to get a final answer from him’• Tom said that PSU would meet all his requests;

said Provost was eager to make appointment. • Rao hesitated, excused himself briefly. Tom

said “I could hear him in discussion with Mrs. Rao”. He came back on the phone and accepted our offer!

Harkness

When a distinguished appointment is made and the appointment comes from a sister university:

5:30 pm Rao Accepts

5:35 I call the Dean

5:45 The Dean calls the Provost

6:00 The Provost calls the President

6:30 PSU President calls the President of Pitt

Negotiations with C. R. Rao

Effort to Recruit Female Faculty

• Early 1988: Georgia Thompson (University of Texas, Dallas) and Dawn Peters (U. of Florida) were interviewed (not appointed)

• Also in 1988Yvonne Zubovic was interviewed, offer was made & accepted.

• February, 1989, a second female appointment was made, to Susan Murphy

Harkness

Barbara Ryan 1968-

Currently President of Minitab

Janice Derr 1984-1998

Currently at the Food and Drug Administration

Yvonne Zubovic 1988-93

Currently at IPFW (Indiana-Purdue, Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Susan Murphy 1989-97

Currently at University of Michigan

Francesca Chiaromonte 1997-

The Chiaromonte Twins

Ingrid Van Keilegom 1998-99

Currently at Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium

Jia Li 2000-

Naomi Altman 2001-

Aleksandra Slavković 2004-

Damla Senturk 2004-2011

Will be at UCLA

Mosuk Chow

Pat Buchanan

Laura Simon

Linda Strauss

Graduate Dean and Vice Provost for Research at the University of Washington Executive Vice President and Provost of The Pennsylvania State University1984-1990

President of Johns Hopkins University

President of The W.K. Kellogg Foundation

William C. Richardson

Move from Pond Lab to Thomas Building

• In late 1989 Old Main informed us that we could move with the Dean’s offices to a new ‘Classroom Building’ (later named the Thomas Building).

• We were promised 9000 square feet of space. • Harkness and Rosenberger served on the new

space committee. We designed our new space: offices for faculty, instructors, and graduate students; space for clerical personnel, and seminar rooms. We moved into the new building in June, 1990

1990-2005: Dramatic Rise in Program

• 1990 Rosenberger becomes Acting Head and then Head in 1991

• Statistical Computing Facilities improve dramatically

• Statistical Consulting Support Solidified • Faculty Recruiting has big successes• Undergraduate Major Added• One Dean’s Assessment of ‘Essential” and other

Departments ??? at Stat Faculty Meeting