Faculty Meeting

The regular meeting of the faculty of the Department of Statistics was held on Zoom at 12:30pm, May 9, 2022. Abel Rodriguez, Department Chair, presided at the meeting. Kristine Chan was recording secretary. 

New Business 

Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) Presentation by Jayadev Athreya: J. Athreya, Interim Director of PIMS and Professor in Mathematics at UW, gave an overview presentation on PIMS – more specifically, how faculty can get involved in collaboration work, receive funding opportunities, etc. You can see details on his slides. You can also contact him directly at jathreya@uw.edu and international@pims.math.ca. 

Discuss postdoc/acting instructor title: The Chair discussed the differences between the Postdoctoral Scholar and Acting Instructor positions, including common practices in other Natural Sciences departments. The Chair also discussed the role of teaching in each of these titles, and requested that faculty reach out to him if they have questions about the appropriate title for a specific appointment. 

Open House / Visit Days 2023: Faculty reviewed a document summarizing a survey of students who participated in this year’s visitation day. The survey was conducted by the faculty and staff Graduate Program Coordinators, E. Erosheva and E. Reynolds, to gather information from prospective PhD students on why they have decided to decline the offer to our program, where they went instead, and if the virtual visit was a contributor to their decision. The purpose of this study was to spark a conversation on whether we should have both a virtual open house session and visit day. Most faculty voiced the importance of having in-person visit days.  There was also substantial discussion about how prospective students visiting the department should be accommodated (hotels vs. staying with current students), and about the level of funding required. 

Adjournment 

There being no other items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 2:00pm.