UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Robert M. Groves, executive vice president and provost and Gerard J. Campbell S.J. Professor in the Department of Math and Statistics and the Department of Sociology at Georgetown University, will present the 2018 Clifford C. Clogg Memorial Lectures on March 26 and 27 at the Penn State University Park campus. The free public lectures are sponsored by the Penn State Department of Statistics and Department of Sociology and Criminology.
The lecture series includes a free public lecture intended for a general audience, titled “Promoting Evidence-Based Policymaking at the National Level,” at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 26, in 102 Thomas Building. Groves will also give a specialized lecture in statistics and sociology, titled “One Way Forward for Official Statistics in the New Data World,” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27, in 117 Osmond Laboratory.
Groves has served as the executive vice president and provost at Georgetown University since 2012. His research has focused on the impact of the method of data collection on responses in sample surveys, the social and political influences on survey participation, and the use of adaptive research designs to improve the cost and accuracy of statistics. He also studies public concerns about privacy affecting attitudes toward statistical agencies.
Groves has authored or co-authored seven books, including "Survey Errors and Survey Costs," which was named one of the 50 most influential books in survey research by the American Association of Public Opinion Research. Two of his co-authored books have received the AAPOR Book Award: "Nonresponse in Household Interview Surveys" in 2008, and "Survey Nonresponse" in 2011.
Groves served as the director of the U.S. Census Bureau from 2009 to 2012. He currently serves on several boards and advisory committees including the National Research Council Board of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, the Pew Research Center Board, the Population Reference Bureau, the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, and the Statistics Canada Advisory Committee. He is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academies, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the International Statistical Institute.
The Clifford C. Clogg Memorial Lecture honors the late Clifford C. Clogg, a distinguished professor of sociology and professor of statistics at Penn State from 1979 to 1995. He was a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also provided editorial service to several journals, contributed his expertise to numerous associations and review boards, and supervised master's and doctoral students while balancing his responsibilities to his two departments at Penn State. The lecture series was created in 1996, when funds contributed by colleagues and friends were used to establish an endowment for its support.
The organizing committee for the 2018 lectures include faculty and staff from the Department of Statistics and the Department of Sociology and Criminology, including Laura Burghard, Jonathan Daw, Ethan Fang, Runze Li, Liying Luo, Sheri Miller, Kathy Smith, Bharath Sriperumbudur, Ashton Verdery, Scott Yabiku and committee chair Lingzhou Xue.