Department of Statistics Annual Report, May 1, 1987 to April 30, 1988

              May 1, 1987-April 30, 1988
Department of Statistics - Dr. Dean L. Isaacson, Department Head
Highlights:
Several changes are being made to keep the undergraduate statistics offer­ings
current to meet the needs of majors in other fields.
A new course is being developed specifically for transfer students who
want to satisfy statistics requirements for the College of Business Ad­ministration.
Money from the Graduate College was used to support Scott Vander Wiel,
working with Stephen Vardeman, to develop a course in probability and
statistics, Stat 333x, for students in electrical engineering and computer
engineering. The course was offered this spring; faculty in electrical
engineering and computer engineering were very pleased with the results,
and the course will probably be offered both semesters next year.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering now plans to start requiring that
its majors take Stat 305, beginning fall 1989, instead of continuing
to teach some statistics in its own courses. This will cause an enrollment
increase of approximately 75 students per semester in Stat 305.
The Department of Statistics is workfng on improving the teaching in 400-
level courses on statistical computer applications by acquiring new work
stations equipped with up-to-date statistical software. Also word proces­sing
equipment and software are being updated for secretarial support
staff and additional equipment for faculty and graduate research is being
sought.
Iowa STAT-ers, the graduate student club, continued to take an innovative
approach to professional and social activities. A reading group discussing
classic and contemporary statistical papers was launched. To help ac­quaint
new students and older ones, a calendar was developed with photos
reflecting their birthday months. To provide more opportunities for inter­action
between international and U.S. students, Iowa STAT-ers sponsored
the first of several proposed cultural theme parties--this one focusing on
the Central/South American cultures. The Iowa STAT-ers seminar series was
continued as a complement to the regular Statistical Laboratory series.
Students also took an active role in recruiting efforts of the department.
Graduate grant support from the Shell Oil Company Foundation, Dow Chemical,
Procter & Gamble, and Corning Glass was used to enhance assistantship
offers in statistics and has attracted some outstanding students. Our
ties with Mayo Clinic were strengthened by their agreement to support two
summer internships in statistics each year.
Stat Lab News, a new newsletter for statistics alumni and friends, was
launched in 1987 and met with favorable response. It is a joint publica­tion
of the Department of Statistics and the Statistical Laboratory, with
Jauvanta Walker as editor.
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