Chief Statistician of the United States
{{Short description|U.S. federal statistical agencies}}
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The chief statistician of the United States is a position in the U.S. federal government's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Chief Statistician is charged with providing coordination, guidance, and oversight for U.S. federal statistical agencies and activities.
The Chief Statistician heads the Statistical Policy Branch of the OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The Chief Statistician is appointed by the Administrator of the OIRA.
Katherine Wallman was the Chief Statistician from 1992 to January 2017.{{cite web | title = Statistical Programs of the United States Government | author = Wallman, Katherine K. | publisher = Office of Management and Budget | url= https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-wallman.pdf | access-date = March 19, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170123064244/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-wallman.pdf | archive-date = 2017-01-23 | url-status = live }} Nancy Potok held the position from January 2017 to December 2019.[https://www.amstat.org/ASA/News/Nancy-Potok-Named-Chief-Statistician-of-the-United-States.aspx Nancy Potok Named Chief Statistician of the United States] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116165625/https://www.amstat.org/ASA/News/Nancy-Potok-Named-Chief-Statistician-of-the-United-States.aspx |date=January 16, 2017 }}, American Statistical Association web site, Jan 2017 After Potok left office, a job posting was listed on USAJobs to find a replacement.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=June 2, 2020|title=OMB seeks new chief statistician|url=https://www.fedscoop.com/omb-seeks-new-chief-statistician/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=www.fedscoop.com}} Dominic (Dom) Mancini was the acting replacement. The position remained vacant until April 2022, when Karin Orvis was appointed.{{Cite web |title=OMB Appoints Permanent Chief Statistician to Oversee Data Goals |url=https://www.meritalk.com/articles/omb-appoints-permanent-chief-statistician-to-oversee-data-goals/ |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=www.meritalk.com |language=en-US}}
History
The current position of Chief Statistician was created by the Paperwork Reduction Act in 1980.* United States General Accounting Office (GAO). [http://www.gao.gov/assets/160/155105.pdf Statistical Agencies Adherence to Guidelines and Coordination of Budgets]. GAO/GGD-95-65. August 1995. pp. 44–45.
An earlier U.S. chief statistician, Stuart Rice, chaired the nuclear session of the United Nations Statistical Commission in 1946.Jim Cochrane. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160307024550/http://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2016/02/01/wallman/ ASA Leaders Reminisce: Katherine K. Wallman]. Amstat News. American Statistical Association. 1 Feb 2016.{{cite web | url=https://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2022/04/01/infrastructure-series-csotus/ | title=Infrastructure Series: Challenges Loom for Chief Statistician of the US | Amstat News | date=April 2022 }}
= List of chief statisticians =
- Stuart Rice (1939–1955)
- Raymond Bowman (1955–1969)
- Julius Shiskin (1969–1973)
- Joseph W. Duncan (1974–1981)
- vacant (1981–1983)
- Dorothy Tella (1983–1988)
- Herman Habermann (1988–1992)
- Katherine Wallman (1992 – January 2017)
- Nancy Potok (January 2017 – December 2019)
- Dominic (Dom) Mancini (acting, December 2019 – April 2022)
- Karin Orvis (April 2022 – present)