The Department of Statistics hosted alumni and friends for its 50th Anniversary Celebration October 6-8, 2024. The events included two days of presentations, receptions, and friendly competitions culminating with a Golden Anniversary Banquet.
The Connection Day activities were held at The Blackwell Inn and began with a panel of Department Chairs: pictured Tom Santner, Elly Kaizar, Doug Wolfe, Prem Goel and Steve MacEachern. This presentation highlighted the history and legacy of the department. The day progressed with presentations from alumni who hold positions in the fields of academia, industry and government or non-profit institutions. In addition, a poster presentation was held, where many current students, faculty, and alumni had the opportunity to present their research.
There were more than 200 attendees at the banquet on Monday evening, many of whom are alumni who traveled to Columbus for the event. The banquet featured the department's inaugural Alumni Award, received by Tommy Wright and Gary Koch. Tommy Wright also delivered a Keynote lecture, during which he reminisced on the university's impact on his life and career. The momentous occasion gave many the opportunity to reflect on their time with the Department of Statistics at The Ohio State University and to reconnect with fellow alumni, faculty, and friends.
Tuesday events featured panels of alumni as well as faculty and employees of Ohio State, starting with a Career Panel geared towards undergraduate students. This panel, moderated by Andrew Richards, gave student attendees insight regarding career paths, interviews, and networking in statistics-related fields. Following, the department hosted a panel of female faculty in conjunction with the International Day of Women in Statistics and Data Science. This panel, moderated by Asuman Turkmen, focused on the department's legacy of promoting equity in the fields of statistics and data science as well as current challenges that women face in such fields. The final panel, moderated by Kellie Archer, discussed the department's impact on the university broadly as well as strategies for inter-departmental collaboration.
A webpage dedicated to the occasion has been created and will be continually updated to highlight the department's history, impact, and achievements.