While it is by far easier, though not easy, to describe the past than to predict the future, looking ahead is critical if a department is to succeed. Unfortunately, as too many recent lean budget years have shown, any timetable for goals that require significant levels of funding is highly uncertain. In AY12, the Department has 24 faculty, of which 18 are tenure track. In view of the growing number of students and credit hours taught by the Department, and in view of the increasing complexity of the rapidly growing collaborative research opportunities, a midsize statistics department like ours will need to grow in order to meet the on-campus demand for statistical training and research expertise. Such growth is more likely to occur, especially during leaner years, by working with deans and vice-presidents to address priorities and problems for the College and University. In addition to the opportunities already mentioned in Section 5, there are other areas of priority for the University, which include bioinformatics, computational science, environmental science (especially energy use and sustainability), and increasing the workforce in the STEM disciplines. These are all areas where Statistics can and must play a role, and where it can greatly benefit from doing so. The Department’s most recent strategic plan, which was produced in 2004, emphasizes five broad goals: (1) Increase visibility in the profession; (2) increase visibility and role on campus; (3) modernize curriculum and instructional technology; (4) increase activity in statistics education, with the goal of a statistics education graduate degree program; and (5) improve recruiting of undergraduate and graduate students. While the Department has made great progress on most of these goals, there remains ample room for further improvement. There is a relatively simple recipe towards success in most of these areas: Recruit talented, prolific faculty who are (i) outstanding researchers, whose work is driven by important problems in modern science; (ii) outstanding teachers and advisors; and (iii) willing to make sacrifices for the good of the Department. The 2010 NRC rankings (based on data collected in 2005) show that the Department is one of the better Statistics departments in the southeast. However, the NRC overall interval rankings of 15-43 (R ranking) and 21-36 (S ranking) also indicate that the envisioned summit has not been reached yet. The continued development of junior faculty, their retention, and the opportunity to recruit and compete for the best available talent will be critical factors in determining whether the Department can continue its ascent. With kind permission from Springer Science+Business Media: <Strength in Numbers: The Rising of Academic Statistics Departments in the U.S., A Brief History of the Department of Statistics at the University of Georgia, 2013,381-393, John Stufken and Robert L. Taylor, editors Alan Agresti and Xiao-Li Meng>
