Amanda L. Golbeck is a statistician, social scientist, and academic leader. She is known for her book, ''Leadership and Women in Statistics'', and her book on Elizabeth L. Scott, ''Equivalence: Elizabeth L. Scott at Berkeley''. She is known for her pioneering definition of health

numeracy Numeracy is the ability to understand, reason with, and to apply simple numerical concepts. The charity National Numeracy states: "Numeracy means understanding how mathematics is used in the real world and being able to apply it to make the bes ...

. Golbeck is a professor in the Department of Biostatistics and the associate dean for academic affairs in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She is chair of the AMS-ASA-MAA-SIAM Data Committee that oversees the Annual Survey of the Mathematical Sciences, as well as a member of the editorial board of Significance Magazine. Previously, she was the vice president for academic affairs at the

Kansas Board of Regents The Kansas Board of Regents is a body consisting of nine members that governs six state universities in the U.S. state of Kansas. In addition to these six universities, it also supervises and coordinates nineteen community colleges, five technic ...

and one of only seventeen American women statisticians known in 2016 to have ever held a senior academic leadership position.

Education

Golbeck received a BA in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

from Grinnell College in 1974, an MA in anthropology at the

University of California - Berkeley A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 1977, and an MA in

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...

from the University of California - Berkeley in 1979. She then earned her PhD in

biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) are the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experime ...

from the University of California - Berkeley in 1983 with Elizabeth L. Scott as her advisor. Her dissertation, Statistical Theory of a Life Table for Human Fertility, was supervised by Chin Long Chiang. She has certificates in negotiation from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School in 2006, leadership from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in 2001, and educational management at the

Harvard University Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first Harvard school ...

in 1997.

Awards and honors

In 1999, Golbeck received a Grinnell College Alumni Award. In 2011, she was elected to be a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The number of new fellows per year is limited ...

, “For highly influential leadership, especially for her significant organizational and system changes in several academic institutions; for her exemplary mentorship of junior faculty and students; for her pioneering work in health numeracy; and for important contributions to research in public health and medicine.” In 2011, Golbeck was elected to membership of the

International Statistical Institute The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is a professional association of statisticians. It was founded in 1885, although there had been international statistical congresses since 1853. The institute has about 4,000 elected members from gov ...

. In 2016, she received a Fulbright Specialist Award for the University of Latvia in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

. Golbeck was also awarded the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies

Elizabeth L. Scott Award The Elizabeth L. Scott Award is an biennial award given (in even years) by the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies and named in honor of Elizabeth Scott, an American statistician. This award recognizes an individual who exemplifies ...

in that same year, “for her outstanding efforts in enhancing the status of women and minorities, fostering new leadership opportunities for women and men, promoting diversity at all levels, and advocating for a more inclusive, open and supportive atmosphere in statistical sciences.” She was the 13th recipient of this award, which was initiated in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golbeck, Amanda L. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Grinnell College alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences faculty Elected Members of the International Statistical Institute Fellows of the American Statistical Association University of Montana faculty American women statisticians American biostatisticians