History

Notable Alumni

Barbara Ann Bailar

Barbara Ann Bailar: Born in 1935, Dr. Barabara Ann Bailar dedicated her life to numerous statistical agencies and public service over the course of her 43-year professional career as a statistician and executive at a host of private and public statistical agencies. Two years after earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Albany, Dr. Bailar joined the Census Bureau as a GS-7 mathematical statistician in the Statistical Methods Division. Quickly distinguishing herself among her colleagues and transferred to the Statistical Research Dr. Bailar co-authored at least six papers discussing various methodological elements of the 1960 and 1970 censuses and ways they could be improved for future census operations before earning her first promotion in August 1972.

In addition to working as a mathematical statistician during this early phase of her career, Dr. Bailar earned her master’s degree in statistics from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1965) and he Ph.D. in statistics from American University in 1972. During her studies at American University, she met, and later married, John Christian Bailar III, a noted American biostatistician, civil servant, and professor.

Following her first promotion in August 1972, Dr. Bailar continued her rapid rise through the ranks of the Census Bureau. She served as Chief of the Center for Research for Measurements from 1974-1979, before earning another promotion to Associate Director for Statistical Standards and Methodology. Within these two leadership roles, Dr. Bailar:

• Initiated the Census Bureau’s use of important new data collection technologies, such as computer-assisted interviewing.
• Created an organizational unit to develop and test new data collection tools and methodological techniques.
• Started the Census Bureau’s Annual Research Conference.
• Authored or co-authored more than 86 articles, papers, book chapters, and reports during her time at the Census Bureau.

Furthermore, citing her “contributions leading to the reduction of non-sampling errors in censuses and surveys” the Commerce Department awarded Dr. Bailar the Silver Medal for meritorious service in 1980. As an award-winning civil servant, Dr. Bailar continued leading her directorate, until she retired from the Census Bureau in 1987 amid controversy surrounding how the Census Bureau planned to mitigate the undercount of various “hard-to-count” groups in the 1990 census and beyond.

After her retirement from the Census Bureau, Dr. Bailar continued to take an interest in the decennial operations of the Census Bureau and contribute to the larger statistical community. She served in a host of leadership positions at influential statistical institutions and societies. Dr. Blair served as the both the Executive Director and President of the American Statistical Association (ASA) (the only person to have ever held both positions), President of the International Association of Survey Statisticians, and Vice President of the International Statistical Institute. She eventually left the ASA to become the Senior Vice President for Survey Research at the National Opinion Research Center in Chicago. She retired from professional life in 2001 and returned to Washington, D.C. with her husband. Dr. Bailar passed away on June 13, 2023, at the age of 88.

Her work influenced generations of statisticians and will continue to shape the field for decades to come. We are grateful for her contributions to our nation, the Census Bureau, and the statistical community.