Announcing a New Chair for the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences

This message was sent by Dean Paul Goldbart on February 11, 2019 to faculty and staff in the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences and to college leaders.

It is my pleasure to inform you that Dr. Kate Calder will serve as the next chair of the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences, starting September 1, 2019. 

I am delighted that we shall have Dr. Calder's leadership at a time of exciting growth for the department. Dr. Calder is currently professor of statistics at The Ohio State University, where she serves as co-director of the Mathematical Biosciences Institute, one of eight National Science Foundation-funded Mathematical Sciences Institutes. She is a distinguished teacher and researcher who has served in elected leadership positions for professionals societies, including as chair of two sections of the American Statistical Association and as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis. Dr. Calder's research interests include Bayesian modeling and computation, spatial and spatio-temporal statistics, multivariate analysis, and network analysis, and she is a widely published expert in the field. 

A fellow of the American Statistical Association, Dr. Calder is also the recipient of its 2013 Section on Statistics and the Environment Young Investigator Award. She received the Thomas E. and Jean D. Powers Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Statistics at Ohio State, where she has served on the faculty since 2003. Dr. Calder received her B.A. in mathematics from Northwestern University, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in statistics and decision sciences from Duke University. 

I would like to express my thanks to all those involved in the search process, including associate deans David Vanden Bout, Nataša Pavlovic and Dean Appling as well as the members of the search committee. I am especially grateful for the contributions of Peter Mueller, who not only co-chaired the search with Shelley Payne but also has served the department since 2017 as interim chair. I deeply appreciate Peter's thoughtful leadership and excellent guidance throughout this time of transition. 

Attention to the importance of data science and statistics is increasing across campus and, as we are all aware, throughout society. At such a critical juncture, I am thrilled that we are able to bring a statistician and leader of Dr. Calder's caliber into our community. Please join me in welcoming her to the department and to the College of Natural Sciences leadership team. 

Link to article: https://cns.utexas.edu/news/announcing-a-new-chair-for-the-department-of-statistics-and-data-sciences