Xing Wu
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Heather Kitada Smalley, assistant professor of statistics at Albaugh, has been named the recipient of the 2022 Renjen Award for Faculty Excellence.
Created through a generous gift from Punit and Heather Renjen, the Renjen Prize supports academic and creative endeavors and is awarded annually to a faculty member of the College of Arts and Sciences or the Atkinson Graduate School of Management. The award recognizes the achievements of faculty members early in their careers, particularly those whose work has been widely publicized and recognized in the public sphere.
An applied statistician, interdisciplinary researcher, and teacher, Smalley views statistics as an essential part of liberal arts education and has revolutionized the way these courses are taught at Willamette since her debut in 2019.
His teaching and mentoring spans the curriculum extensively – from upper and lower level statistics courses for undergraduates, to a graduate course on data visualization and presentation, to research projects. high-level thesis in data science. She also has a thriving research program, with a peer-reviewed paper every year since she started at Willamette. Her main interest is in the area of survey methodology and sampling, and she is particularly interested in data quality issues and the development of statistical adjustment tools. Her work has broad implications in many areas of public policy and, in addition to her own scholarship, she engages in statistical consulting on a wide range of academic and non-academic research topics.
During the few years she taught at Willamette, Smalley’s contributions brought her significant recognition. Originally named Albaugh Visiting Professor of Statistics in 2019, Smalley was offered a direct tenure appointment in 2021. This year, she has a joint appointment with the Study Committee in Computing, Data, and Human Sciences. information and helped build its undergraduate and graduate programs from the ground up.
About Punit Renjen
Born and raised in India, Punish Renjen graduated in 1987 from the Atkinson Graduate School of Management. Renjen is Deloitte’s Global CEO and, over a career spanning more than 30 years, has held numerous leadership positions within Deloitte. A former Willamette University board member, Renjen is active on several boards. It was named one of the 100 most influential business leaders graduates from schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.
