Aryness Joy Wickens (January 5, 1901 – February 2, 1991) was an American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

statistician A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...

who served as acting commissioner of the US

Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of t ...

and as president of the

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...

, and who helped develop the

United States Consumer Price Index The United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a set of consumer price indices calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). To be precise, the BLS routinely computes many different CPIs that are used for different purposes. E ...

...

Education and career

Aryness Joy was born in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

. She did her undergraduate studies at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

, and earned a master's degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. At the University of Washington, she became a member of

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States a ...

. After teaching economics at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

from 1924 to 1928, she moved to Washington, DC to work for the

Federal Reserve Board The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the mon ...

. There, her work included the measurement of

industrial production Industrial production is a measure of output of the industrial sector of the economy. The industrial sector includes manufacturing, mining, and utilities. Although these sectors contribute only a small portion of gross domestic product (GDP), the ...

. She also worked for a precursor of the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

in the early 1930s. She joined the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1933, at first serving on an advisory committee of the

to the program, and then working as an assistant to the commissioner of the bureau. Her work at that time involved the investigation of monopolistic business practices. She was promoted to branch chief at the BLS in 1940, heading a group that studied prices and the cost of living. Later Joy became assistant and deputy commissioner of the bureau. During this time she also represented the US as an adviser at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and international conferences. In 1961 she became economic adviser to the Secretary of Labor. She retired in the early 1970s, but returned to duty at the Commission on Federal Paperwork as director of statistical studies there. At the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Joy served as acting commissioner in 1946,List of Commissioners and Acting Commissioners

, retrieved 2016-07-18. and again in 1954–1955. In her second term as acting commissioner, her $13,500 salary made her the highest-paid female federal civil servant..

Other activities

In 1935, Joy was considered as one of several candidates to be the president of

Mount Holyoke Mount Holyoke, a traprock mountain, elevation , is the westernmost peak of the Holyoke Range and part of the 100-mile (160 km) Metacomet Ridge. The mountain is located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, and is the ...

, continuing a tradition of female leadership at that school. However, instead, controversially, the trustees selected Roswell G. Ham to be president. In 1952 she became the president of the

Awards and recognition

Joy was elected as a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

in 1937, the second woman (after

Kate Claghorn Kate Holladay Claghorn (c. 1864 – May 22, 1938) was an American sociologist, economist, statistician, legal scholar, and Progressive Era activist, who became one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ...

) to be so honored. In 1960 she was one of the inaugural recipients of the US

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rou ...

's Federal Women's Award.

Personal life

Joy married David L. Wickens, an

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

lieutenant colonel, rancher, and member of the

South Dakota Senate The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district; it meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''92nd Legislature (2019)'' Officers Li ...

, on June 29, 1935.. Her husband died in 1970. After retiring, she moved to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

in 1986.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickens, Aryness Joy 1901 births 1991 deaths People from Bellingham, Washington University of Washington alumni University of Chicago alumni Mount Holyoke College faculty Fellows of the American Statistical Association Presidents of the American Statistical Association Bureau of Labor Statistics American statisticians American women economists Women statisticians Economists from Washington (state) 20th-century American economists Truman administration personnel