Viola's 2013 Fall Calendar

Title: Telling Our Stories: How culture and values made me a better statistician and a better leader

Abstract: Academia offers curricula to prepare aspiring scientists, analysts, researchers for a successful career.  Technical training plays a prominent role in the mathematical sciences, in research and in many other fields of study.  Analytic tools can be complex, and they take time to learn well. But sometimes, the most important tool one needs is not that of a method, but of self-awareness. Critical thinking is best used at all stages of the research process, and indeed for learning.  It is particularly challenging yourself to understand not only the theoretical aspects of statistics and research, but if it’s application to real problems in society – which are all-too-often “messy human problems.”  All too often, research team members “stay in their lanes” of technical expertise, and this misses a great opportunity for mutual learning, insight, and knowledge gain.  I have witnessed this over and over as a statistician in policy research over the years. We -- the statistical and data analytic experts -- were brought in “when needed” as briefly as possible (to conserve budget) to secure specific advice on a narrow issue or problem.  Sometimes we were consulted at the beginning to be asked how large of a case count is needed. Sometimes we were brought in at the end of a study to execute an analysis that may or may not address the study objectives.  And sometimes were consulted in the middle of study when something went wrong, to help salvage some modicum of scientific rigor in the analysis.  This talk will leverage a few stories from my career to illustrate the scientific value of utilizing perhaps the most important tool anyone can bring to a research study: their brain – i.e., critical thinking combined with their ‘whole selves’ (values, cultures, life and work experiences, etc.) to offer unique perspectives and contributions to just about any scientific endeavor, regardless of one’s specific area of expertise.

Bio: The Honorable Robert L. Santos is a nationally renowned statistician. He served as the 26th Director of the U.S. Census Bureau – the largest federal statistical agency -- between January 2022 and February 2025.

Before the Census Bureau appointment, he spent 15 years as vice president and chief methodologist at the Urban Institute, Washington, DC, and was executive vice president of NuStats, Austin, Texas.  Santos also held leadership positions at the University of Chicago’s NORC, the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research and Temple University’s Institute for Survey Research.

Santos served as the 2021 president of the American Statistical Association (ASA), is an ASA fellow, and recipient of ASA’s Founder’s Award. He served as president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) in 2014 and received the 2021 AAPOR Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement. He also received the 2022 Ohtli Award by the Mexican government and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s 2023 Excellence in Community Service Award.

Santos earned a BA in mathematics from Trinity University, San Antonio and an MA in statistics from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  In 2023, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Sciences by North Carolina State University and an honorary Associate of Science from San Antonio College.