The Rustagi Lecture was established in 1988 by Jagdish Rustagi, a longtime faculty member and former chair of the Department, in honor of his parents. Each year, a prominent statistician is invited to present the lecture. The lecturers for the years 1988-2024 are listed in Table 8.
Department faculty have been very active in organizing or co-organizing research and education conferences over the years. Although many of these have been held in other locations, a number were held on the Ohio State University campus and are listed in Table 9.
In October 1999, a two-day anniversary conference was held at OSU to celebrate the first 25 years of the Department. The first day, with over 150 participants, included reminiscences from alumni and faculty. The second day, with over 250 participants (including 90 high school students), was a dual event which incorporated the 16th Annual Ohio Statistical Conference. The 2000 Department of Statistics newsletter provides a report on the conference.
In October 2024, the Department hosted alumni and friends for its 50th Anniversary Celebration. The events included two days of presentations, receptions, and friendly competitions culminating with a Golden Anniversary Banquet which attracted 200 participants.