History

Notable Alumni

James F. Holmes

James F. Holmes: Following Martha Riche's resignation, Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley named James F. Holmes acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau on January 30, 1998.

Holmes began his census at the Census Bureau as a survey statistician in the Detroit, MI, regional office in 1968. In the years that followed, he held managerial positions at regional offices in Kansas City, KS, and Los Angeles, CA, before being named director of the Philadelphia, PA regional office and most recently the regional office in Atlanta, GA. During these years, he was instrumental in developing the Census Bureau's first Computer Assisted Telephone Interview facility and won a number of awards, including the Morehouse Research Institute's 1996 "Research in Action" award and the U.S. Department of Commerce's bronze, silver, and gold medal awards.

Holmes led the Census Bureau during the critical period of Census 2000 planning that included budget requests before Congress and arguing in favor of the agency's proposal to use statistical sampling for nonresponse followup. He returned to the Atlanta Regional Office after the U.S. Senate confirmed President William J. Clinton's choice of Kenneth Prewitt to fill the position of Census Bureau director in October 1998.