ASA Founders Award for Franklin

Christine Franklin, that is. It seems that every week is awards week for Franklin College faculty, as the American Statistical Association honored one of our best with its most prestigious award:

[ASA] recently presented its Founders Award to Christine Franklin, the Lothar Tresp Honoratus Honors Professor in the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of statistics.

The ASA is the nation's preeminent professional statistical society, and the honor is presented annually to ASA members who have rendered distinguished and long-term service to the association. Franklin was honored during the presidential awards session at the 2014 Joint Statistical Meetings in Boston.

One of three recipients of the Founders Award in 2014, Franklin was recognized for her leadership in curriculum development and teaching statistics, her research and her professional service in helping grow the field of statistics education. An active member of ASA, Franklin is a longtime leader and champion of national efforts in statistics education, particularly in the area of implementing statistics in K-12 education.

"Statistics integrated into the K-12 curriculum is key for students developing the statistical reasoning skills necessary to make sense of the massive data that surrounds them on a daily basis, much of which students generate themselves," said Franklin, who also serves as the undergraduate coordinator for statistics at UGA.

The era big data is fully upon us and Franklin has recognized the importance of statistics education in the K-12 grades. Educators whose research and teaching identify important refinements for our broader educational system see such outstanding contributions as part of their duty. We are lucky to have Dr. Franklin on campus, an inspiration to students and colleagues alike. Our best wishes to her during her upcoming Fulbright Fellowship in New Zealand, where she will continue to work on this very important issue.