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Roger Herriot Award

Roger Herriot was the Associate Commissioner of Statistical Standards and Methodology at the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) when he died in 1994. Prior to his service at NCES, he also held several positions at the U.S. Census Bureau, including Chief of the Population Division. Soon after his death, the Social Statistics and Government Statistics Sections of the American Statistical Association (ASA) along with the Washington Statistical Society (a chapter of ASA) established the Roger Herriot Award for Innovation in Federal Statistics. The award is intended to recognize individuals or teams who, like Roger, develop unique and innovative approaches to the solution of statistical problems in federal data collection programs.

Nominations are sought annually for the Roger Herriot Award for Innovation in Federal Statistics. The award is intended to reflect the special characteristics that marked Roger Herriot's career including:

  • Dedication to the issues of measurement;
  • Improvements in the efficiency of data collection programs; and
  • Improvements and use of statistical data for policy analysis.

The award is not limited to senior members of an organization, nor is it to be considered as a culmination of a long period of service. Individuals or teams at all levels within Federal statistical agencies, other government organizations, nonprofit organizations, the private sector, and the academic community may be nominated on the basis of their contributions. As innovation often requires or results from teamwork, team nominations are encouraged. Team innovations often are more lasting, resulting in real paradigm shifts, not just one-off improvements. The award has been given to teams in 1998, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2021.

The recipient of the Roger Herriot Award will be chosen by a committee comprising representatives of the Social Statistics and Government Statistics Sections of the American Statistical Association, and of the Washington Statistical Society. Roger Herriot was associated with, and strongly supportive of, these organizations during his career. The award consists of a $1,000 honorarium and a framed citation, which will be presented at a ceremony at the Joint Statistical Meetings. The Washington Statistical Society will also host a seminar given by the winner on a subject of his or her own choosing.

Nominations for the 2025 award will be accepted until date TBA, likely sometime in April 2025. Nomination packages should contain:

  • A nomination letter that includes references to specific examples of the nominee's contributions to innovation in Federal statistics. These contributions can be to methodology, procedure, organization, administration, or other areas of Federal statistics, and need not have been made by or while a Federal employee.
  • Up to three supporting letters that further demonstrate the nominee's contributions.
  • A CV for the nominee with current contact information. For team nominations, the CVs of all team members should be included.

For questions on the award or the award process, and to submit nominations, contact the 2024 Roger Herriot Award Committee:

Guillermina Jasso (chair), Social Statistics Section, gj1@nyu.edu
Devi Chelluri, Washington Statistical Society, Chelluri-Devi@norc.org
Robert A. Tumasian III, Government Statistics Section, ratumasian@gmail.com

Past Award Recipients

  • 1995 - Joseph Waksberg (Westat)
  • 1996 - Monroe Sirken (National Center for Health Statistics)
  • 1997 - Constance Citro (National Academy of Sciences)
  • 1998 - Roderick Harrison (U.S. Census Bureau), Clyde Tucker (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
  • 1999 - Thomas Jabine (SSA, EIA, CNSTAT)
  • 2000 - Donald Dillman (Washington State University)
  • 2001 - Jeanne Griffith (OMB, NCES, NSF)
  • 2002 - Daniel Weinberg (U.S. Census Bureau)
  • 2003 - David Banks (FDA, BTS, NIST)
  • 2004 - Paula Schneider (U.S. Census Bureau)
  • 2005 - Robert E. Fay III (U.S. Census Bureau)
  • 2006 - Nathaniel Schenker (National Center for Health Statistics)
  • 2007 - Nancy J. Kirkendall (Office of Management and Budget)
  • 2008 - Elizabeth Martin (U.S. Census Bureau)
  • 2009 - Lynda Carlson (National Science Foundation)
  • 2010 - Katharine Abraham (University of Maryland)
  • 2011 - Michael Messner (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
  • 2012 - Paul Biemer (RTI International)
  • 2013 - 1973 Exact Match Team (Social Security Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, and Internal Revenue Service)
  • 2014 - Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics study - John Abowd (Cornell), John Haltiwanger (University of Maryland), Julia Lane (AIR)
  • 2015 - Jennifer Madans (National Center for Health Statistics)
  • 2016 - Thesia Garner (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and Kathy Short (U.S. Census Bureau)
  • 2017 - John Eltinge (U.S. Census Bureau)
  • 2018 - Bill Bell (U.S. Census Bureau)
  • 2019, 2020 - no award
  • 2021 - Statistics of Income Division, Internal Revenue Service
  • 2022 - Tim Smeeding (University of Wisconsin)
  • 2023 - no award
  • 2024 - Susan Fleck (Bureau of Labor Statistics) 2024 award announcement