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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today the establishment of the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations and has named Bernie Miller as a member of the committee.

The National Advisory Committee will advise the Census Bureau on a wide range of variables that affect the cost, accuracy and implementation of the Census Bureau's programs and surveys, including the once-a-decade census. The committee, which is comprised of 32 members from multiple disciplines, will advise the Census Bureau on topics such as housing, children, youth, poverty, privacy, race and ethnicity, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other populations.

“We expect that the expertise of this committee will help us meet emerging challenges the Census Bureau faces in producing statistics about our diverse nation,” said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau's acting director. “By helping us better understand a variety of issues that affect statistical measurement, this committee will help ensure that the Census Bureau continues to provide relevant and timely statistics used by federal, state and local governments as well as business and industry in an increasingly technologically oriented society.”

The National Advisory Committee members, who serve at the discretion of the Census Bureau director, are chosen to serve based on expertise and knowledge of the cultural patterns, issues and/or statistical needs of hard-to-count populations.

Bernie Miller is the founder and pastor of New Covenant Fellowship Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., and a graduate of Covington Theological Seminary. He founded the church in 1996 using census data that allowed him to tailor the multiethnic church to meet the needs of his community. Miller has served as chairman on numerous boards and advisory panels. Recently, he served as chairman of the Census Bureau's African American Race and Ethnic Advisory Committee. He currently chairs the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Miller was the first to receive Covington Seminary's Alumnus of the Year award at its 2006 graduation ceremony where he received a doctorate of divinity. He has also received an honorary doctor of philosophy in theological studies from St. Thomas Christian College.