It's funny sometimes how things work out.
Dean Isaacson had no intention of becoming head of the Department of
Statistics and director of the Statistical Laboratory. But after H.A.
David stepped down as the department's chair in 1984, the search was on.
"The faculty voted to look outside the department for a new chair,"
Isaacson recalled. "But since there was no open faculty position
in the department, we had to conduct an internal search."
Thing was however no one wanted the job. Faculty members were asked to
vote for their top internal choices with the top five candidates interviewed
for the job. Isaacson was one of the five.
"All five of us said we didn't want the job," Isaacson said.
"We all talked with the various deans and the search committee tried
to 'twist a few arms,' but still no one was interested."
At that point, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences said they would
run the Department of Statistics through the Dean's Office.
"I was the first of the five of us to blink," Isaacson said.
"I agreed to take the job for one year on an interim basis."
That one year eventually led to another interim year and later onto four,
four-year terms. Isaacson's run as the head of the department and director
of the Statistical Laboratory will end this semester as he steps down
from the positions.
"The department is at a stage where it needs to go to the next level,"
he said. "I've done all the things I could and should do for the
program."
Isaacson was only the third permanent head of the Department of Statistics,
which was founded in 1947. After having an interim head, T.A. Bancroft
and H.A. David served from 1950-72 and 1972-84 respectively. Isaacson
is also believed to be currently the longest serving academic department
chair on campus.
A reception for Isaacson will be held Wednesday, May 1, from 2-4 p.m.
in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union. A program is scheduled for
3 p.m.
For a man who didn't want the job in the first place, what made Isaacson
stay in the position for so long?
"The faculty have been and continue to be so cooperative, it's been
easy to administer this department," he said. "We all have a
great appreciation of what others do and have done in the department.
"That mutual respect that the faculty have for each other's work,
whether it is in their area of expertise or not, that's what makes this
a great job."
As Isaacson looks back on his tenure, he says he is proud of several
accomplishments including the hiring of outstanding faculty members, the
success the department has had in distance education and the recent National
Science Foundation VIGRE grant which is designed to increase the level
of interdisciplinary research opportunities for faculty throughout the
campus.
The level of interdisciplinary activity between statistics faculty and
other departments on campus goes far beyond the VIGRE grant.
"One of the things I've really enjoyed is the interactions our department
has had with the entire campus," Isaacson said. "We have several
joint faculty appointees who add so much diversity to the department and
keeps us in touch with the rest of campus.
"We're not an isolated department with boundaries around it."
The cooperation between faculty and other departments has made Isaacson's
job so much easier he said.
"We have a great faculty and staff. Throughout my tenure we have
had outstanding leadership from our senior faculty members," Isaacson
said.
Now Isaacson will be in a position to provide that type of leadership
after he returns to the teaching ranks full-time. He hopes to continue
to work with the new department chair on several daily departmental operational
activities, including corresponding with many of the alumni he has taught
and come to know over the past 34 years.
And he will return to his "first love of teaching."
"Sometimes you hear that phrase, it's not always true," Isaacson
said. "But there is a lot of truth in that phrase for me. I have
taught a course each semester for the past 18 years and that’s what
I will go back to."
