The Morris Hansen Lecture series was established by the Washington
Statistical Society (WSS) in 1990 with a financial grant from Westat,
Inc. It was set up to honor Morris Hansen, whose pioneering
contributions to survey sampling and related statistical methods during
his long and distinguished career at the Census Bureau and at Westat
established many standards and methods, mostly still in use, for the
conduct of surveys. In later years, Westat has made periodic financial
contributions to WSS so that the Hansen Lecture series could continue.
The Morris Hansen Lecture usually is held in the fall of the year, typically
October or November. The usual format is to have a primary speaker of
outstanding merit cover an important topic of wide interest, and two
discussants, one local. The Hansen Lecture series seeks to achieve
balance between theory, applications, and policy; and to highlight the
diversity of disciplines that inform survey practice. There were no lectures in 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2014
Hansen Lecture: Danny Pfefferman, John Czajka, Larry Brown, John Eltinge
The first lecture was held at the National Academy of Sciences and
was co-sponsored by the Committee on National Statistics, with
tentative plans to rotate the series, and co-sponsorship, among various
government agencies. However, when arrangements worked very well in
year two, the National Agricultural Statistics Service became a
co-sponsor, and it has hosted sessions at USDA's Jefferson Auditorium
and Whitten Building Patio ever since. Typically,
the Hansen Lecture is held at 3 or 3:30 p.m. and is followed by a catered
reception. The speaker receives an honorarium of $1000. Expenses are
paid for the speaker and discussants.
Annual Lectures
Topics and speakers for the Hansen lectures have covered an
appropriately broad range of statistical applications. Some
presentations specifically focused on review and extension of Morris's
work. Others represented topics that Morris likely would have pursued,
either through his own efforts or by asking questions. Most
presentations have been by traditional lecturers with discussants. In
2002, a 3-person panel spoke on Privacy and Confidentiality.
Most lectures have been published. The first five lectures were
published in the International Statistical Review. The majority of the
subsequent lectures have been published in the Journal of Official
Statistics, but several of the lectures have been published
elsewhere. Abstracts for each lecture can be obtained via the
appropriate link below.
Year
Speaker(s)
Lecture
2024
Connie Citro, CNSTAT; Marina Gindelsky, Bureau of Economic Analysis; Jonathan Rothbaum, U.S. Census Bureau
The committee consists of a total of 6 members: 2 special members
and 4 regular members. The special members represent the sponsoring
organization, Westat, and the cosponsoring host organization, currently
NASS. The 4 regular members are appointed to serve staggered 4-year
terms. One of the regular members is appointed annually by the WSS
President. The appointment occurs in the Fall of the year, in time for
the new appointee to participate in the Hansen Lecture. Members will be
selected to represent a broad view of statistical and survey
methodology. The regular members should include government experts and
at least one academic expert. The regular member serving the third year
of his/her term will be Chair of the Committee.
Responsibilities
The committee organizes the Morris Hansen Lectures. This includes
selecting and inviting the primary speaker and discussants; making
arrangements for the Lecture facility and the reception facility;
assuring that WSS has made the arrangements for catering of the
reception; inviting the Hansen
family to the event; and organizing the participant dinner following
the reception. It also includes publicizing the event through the WSS
newsletter and the preparation of a special brochure; and
arranging for publication of the papers from the event (if appropriate).
The National Academy of Sciences has included a biography of Morris
Hansen
in its 1996 volume entitled "Biographical Memoirs" (vol. 70) published
by the
National Academy Press. The memoir of Morris Howard Hansen was
co-authored by
Joseph Waksberg and Edwin D. Goldfield and is available at the NAS site.
Historic pictures and items from Morris Hansen's life were shown at
the 2018 lecture.
