Summary

     In 1991, George H. W. Bush (1989-1993) was serving as the 41st U.S. President. (His son George W. Bush would become the 43rd U.S. President). That year Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. The U.S. military drove Iraq's army out of Kuwait and back into Iraq. Later in 1991, the Cold War officially ended and the Soviet Union was dissolved. Yugoslavia's states declared independence and a vicious, long-lasting civil war began. The U.S. immediately gave official recognition to the new Balkan countries as they separated from Yugoslavia.
      In 1992, William (Bill) J. Clinton (1993-2001) was elected U.S. President, thus denying President H. W. Bush a second term. President Clinton was elected to a second term in 1996 when he defeated Republican candidate Bob Dole. The MSNBC and Fox News channels were launched. In 1996, the "Unabomber" was finally identified and arrested at his cabin in Lincoln, Montana. In a separate event near Jordan, Montana, an 81-day standoff between the Montana Freemen and FBI agents ended with the Freemen’s surrender.
      The country was plagued by multiple government shutdowns. In 1998-99, because of lying about an extramarital liaison, Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives, but he was acquitted by the Senate. As the decade ended, the stock market was at a record high, the unemployment rate at a 30 year low, and the federal budget provided a surplus.

      In 1991, Stan Stephens (1989-1993) was the Montana Governor. He established the Education Commission for the Nineties and Beyond to review higher education in Montana. Based on recommendations of that commission, the Board of Regents (BOR) created two consortia of colleges and universities, one group headed by MSU and the other by UM. All the schools were renamed and MSU officially became “MSU–Bozeman;” however, most folks continued to use only "MSU" for the Bozeman campus, and we will follow that convention herein too.
      Governor Stevens declined to run for a second term. In 1992, Marc Racicot (1993-2001) was elected Montana Governor, defeating Democratic State Representative Dorothy Bradley of Bozeman in a close election. Racicot created a formula-based funding plan for the University System. MSU had been "dead last" in faculty salaries relative to other doctoral-granting institutions and the new funding plan improved faculty salaries. However, by 1999, the average level of state support per full-time-equivalent student at MSU was about half the support that other states provided to peer institutions. The University was forced to increase tuition charges, especially for non-resident students. Montana politicians deregulated Montana Power Corporation in 1997. MPC withdrew from the utility business, invested in digital technologies, and soon went bankrupt! Montana lost the benefits of jobs and tax revenue as well as reliable, low cost power for its residents.
      This era corresponds to the term of Dr. Michael P. Malone (1990–1999), MSU’s tenth President. At MSU, its long-standing motto "Education for Efficiency" was discarded in favor of "Mountains & Minds." MSU enrollment numbers rose from 10,392 in 1990, to 11,761 in 2000. The University strove to increase research activity and to increase outside support for research. President Malone and VP for Research Robert Swenson secured permission to retain 100% of the indirect costs charged on grants and contracts. Those monies were used to support research/creative activity at MSU. Federal funding for MSU increased greatly. By 1996, grants and external contracts accounted for 50% of MSU’s academic budget!
      Several campus construction projects were completed during the 1990s, including the Centennial Mall, a new tunnel system for utility services, the Alumni Foundation Building, the cupola on top of Montana Hall, Barnard Hall, Jefferson & Madison Resident Halls, the Plant Bioscience Building, Boosters West renovation of Bobcat Stadium, and removal of the landmark smokestack at the Heating Plant.
      MSU President Mike Malone suffered a fatal heart attack in December, 1999, the year when MSU was, for the first time, on the US News and World Report’s list of “America’s 100 Best College Buys.”
      In the early 1990s, voice mail technology reached the campus. Soon, the MSU community began to correspond using email, Then, when the World Wide Web became a reality, everyone used web browsers to gather information and make transactions. Google, Inc. was founded in 1998.
      Word processing and digital spread sheets became standard tools and the personal computer (PC) became more powerful and affordable. PC statistical packages were widely used for instruction and research. Digital projectors began to replace overhead or 2x2 slide projectors in the classroom and research seminars.

      In the statistical world, theory and methods were dramatically altered by the realization that many good ideas were no longer computationally impractical. Computer simulation became a useful tool for discovery and for checking theory and models. The Cochrane Collaboration was founded in 1993 to provide up-to-date, systematic reviews of all relevant randomized controlled trials of health care. The term “Big Data” was first proposed in print in 1997. “Data analysis” and “data analysts” became popular terms for those who managed big data and tried to uncover informative patterns. For example, the support vector machine (SVM) became a feasible method in the 1990s for cluster analysis and discriminant analysis. For big data analysis, the 1995 Benjamini and Hochberg paper on false discovery rates was widely applied.
      Data sets where many quantities were measured on each of few sample units were described by statisticians as “big p, small n”. Such data arose in biology when researchers began to collect “omics” data, including high-dimensional genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics observations for a relatively few samples. Another type of big data problem was modeling and analyzing digital images, perhaps from microscopes or medical diagnostic instruments or satellites. By the end of the 20th century, geographic information system software packages were consolidated and standardized for analyzing satellite data, and GIS data sets were viewable over the internet.

      On July 1, 1993 the mathematician Dr. John R. Lund (1993-2001) became Department Head, replacing Dr. Ken Tiahrt who had been in the headship for 16 years. Dr. Ken Tiahrt (1967-1994) retired from MSU in 1994. Before becoming an administrator, he was a successful teacher, researcher, and consultant. As Department Head, Ken was a proactive, decisive, generous, and an empathetic administrator. He created and managed the Statistical Center. He founded the Montana Chapter of the American Statistical Association and often represented Montana in the ASA Council of Chapters.
      During this era, two statisticians joined the faculty, Dr. James F. Robison-Cox (1991–2016) and Dr. John Stephen Cherry (1999–2017).
      Dick Lund (1969-1995) retired from MSU in 1995. At the time he retired, Dick was employed at the Montana Agriculture Experimentation Station (MAES) as the MAES Statistician, with tenure in the MSU Department of Mathematical Sciences. He steadily advanced statistical thinking at MSU, particularly through creative development of statistical methods courses, practical instruction, building computer tools for statistical calculations, and his dedication to broad-ranging consulting and collaborations, with a primary focus on agricultural research during his final two decades of service.
      During the 1991-1999 era, the Statistics Program conferred 44 MS and 9 PhD degrees in Statistics.
      The following changes were made to the STAT course offerings in the 1991-1993 MSU Catalog to accommodate the change-over to the semester system.
   Dropped courses included 120 Decision Making (Bayesian) and 5xx Combinatorial Design Problems.
   Revised courses included replacing 230 Elementary Statistics for Business with 217 Intermediate Statistical Concepts, and consolidating the eight 300-level Statistical Methods one-quarter courses into four 400-level single-semester courses.
   New Courses included 332 Introduction to Statistics for Scientists and Engineers (calculus-based), 501-502 Intermediate Probability and Statistics, 510 Statistical Consulting Practice, 520 Advanced Data Analysis, 522 Stochastic Processes, and 524 Biostatistics.
      Throughout the 1990s, the statistics curriculum and instructional strategies were routinely adapted to the changing digital environment.

Detailed Chronicle of the Statistics Program: 1991-1999


1991-1993 MSU Catalog
Statistics - Department of Mathematical Sciences: Head of Department: Dr. K.J. Tiahrt.
Professors: M.A. Hamilton, R.E. Lund, K.J. Tiahrt.
Associate Professors: R.J. Boik.
Assistant Professors: J.D. Banfield, P.M. Munholland, W.F Quimby, R.J. Rossi.

In 1991, two statisticians joined the faculty, Jim Robinson-Cox and John Borkowski.

Dr. James F. Robison-Cox (1991–2016)  received a PhD in Statistics from Iowa State University in 1991. His dissertation “Order Statistics Under Linear Trend” was supervised by Dr. Herbert Aron David. Jim was an MSU alumnus (1984) and had experience as a math educator in Montana.

Dr. John J. Borkowski, Jr. (1991–present)  received a PhD in Statistics from the University of Delaware in 1992. His dissertation "The Evaluation of Mixed Resolution Designs" was supervised by Dr. James Morgan Lucas.

Dick Lund wrote the final upgrade of MSUSTAT during 1990-1994. That version (5.25) includes a general linear model procedure for unbalanced data. It produces ANOVAs for balanced designs (and limited non-balance) by using a Wilkinson Sweep. It employs an innovative symbolic syntax for declaring design structure and provides graphical output. (Explanation and examples of this novel ANOVA procedure are provided under the topic Statistical & Computational Services for MAES, 1981-1995 in the navigation menu for this era.)

MSUSTAT continued to be used on campus through the 1990s.  However, the S-plus package was gaining popularity and the point-and-click Minitab package was favored by many, especially for its data plotting capabilities. The more mathematically inclined often used the MATLAB package.

The statisticians’ semester conversion work was completed in 1990.

That year I (MAH, Marty Hamilton) was awarded year-around part-time research support from the U.S. EPA.  The EPA funding was renewed multiple times and it provided continuous research support for me until retirement. For academic year 1990–1991, I accepted a 10% appointment to the WAMI medical education program to teach the biostatistics/epidemiology course. In the summer of 1991, I accepted a 50% joint appointment with the NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (now the Center for Biofilm Engineering) in the College of Engineering. In the 1991–1992 winter, during the terminal illness of the CBE founder Bill Charaklis, I served as Acting Director of the Center.
      My research activities allowed less time for teaching STAT courses. Until my retirement on December 31, 2002, I taught at most two courses per year and was less involved in the development of the statistics curriculum and department/college committee work. The grants that supported my research activity also included support for graduate students. Consequently, I maintained an active role in the statistics graduate program and thesis supervision. Because, in addition to the conventional teaching assistantships, there were research assistantships available through Lund’s MAES office and my EPA and CBE research grants, the Statistics graduate program was able to support more students.

For many years, including the decade of the 1990s, the Department of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) policy concerning academic year (AY) course loads for research-active faculty members was:

DMS course load formula for faculty with AY salary support
(1 course: 4xx/5xx level,  3 cr) Percentage of AY Salary+Fringe by source of support
Max DMS courses per AY DMS State Instructional Funds Outside  Grants or Contracts
4 100 0
3 80 20
2 58 42
1 35 65
0 10 90

 

Statistics Program 1991–1993 [first catalog under semester system]

When converting the statistics curriculum to the semester system from the quarter system, some courses were dropped, some were renamed or given new descriptions, and all courses were altered in some way. Important changes include:

  • 120 Decision Making (Bayesian) course was dropped.
  • 230 Elementary Statistics for business students was replaced with the 217 Intermediate Statistical Concepts course.
  • 332 Statistics for Scientists and Engineers, a new calculus-based introductory course, was added.
  • the eight 300-level statistical methods courses, totaling 150 class meetings, were arranged into four 400-level courses, totaling 180 class meetings, that included additional data analysis material. The 400-level course numbering allowed non-math/stat graduate students to earn graduate credit.
  • about half of the 400-level Mathematical Statistics courses moved to the graduate level.
  • 501-502, a new graduate sequence in Intermediate Probability and Statistics was added, to provide a theoretical foundation for MS degree students and to prepare doctoral degree students for 549-550.
  • four new graduate courses were added: 510 Statistical Consulting Practice, 520 Advanced Data Analysis, 522 Stochastic Processes, and 524 Biostatistics.
  • the graduate course on Combinatorial Design Problems was dropped.
  • 575 research or professional paper/project was added to provide credit for the writing project required for an MS under the non-thesis option.

 

Entire list of statistics courses created for the new semester system:

STAT 216 ELEMENTARY STATISTICS  F,S,Su 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: MATH 023 or Math Placement test.
Conventional notation and equations are used to explain traditional and robust estimates of location and variability, fundamentals of probability theory, confidence intervals and tests of hypothesis for normal and binomial distributions.
STAT 217 INTERMEDIATE STATISTICAL CONCEPTS   F,S,Su  3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: CS 150, STAT 216.
One- and two- sample t-tests and associated confidence intervals: one-way analysis of variance: F- tests; multiple comparisons; simple linear regression and correlation, contingency tables. Statistical analysis using the computer.
STAT 280 SPECIAL TOPICS   On Demand 1-3 cr. PREREQUISITE: None required but some may be determined necessary.
Courses not required in any curriculum for which there is a particular one time need, or given on a trial basis to determine acceptability and demand before requesting a regular course number.
STAT 332 STATISTICS FOR SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS F,S,Su 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: MATH 182, CS 150.
Methods of estimation, collection, analysis and presentation of quantitative information, hypothesis testing as applied in life testing, reliability and process control, methods of simulation, experimental design.
STAT 401 APPLIED LINEAR STATISTICAL MODELS   F,S,Su 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: CS 150, STAT 216.
Inference for one mean, differences between 2 means. and differences among k means, linear contrasts; estimation and hypothesis tests associated with linear models relating one response variable to one predictor variable: contingency tables, analysis using the computer.
STAT 410 APPLIED MULTIPLE REGRESSION & MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS F,Su alternate years. offered 1992 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: One of the following: STAT 217, STAT 332, STAT 401.
Multiple linear regression using matrix notation; diagnostics; transformations and dummy variables, principle components, factor analysis, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, Hotelling’s T2.
STAT 412 ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE & DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS  S,Su alternate years. to be offered 1993. 3 cr. LEC 3   PREREQUISITE: One of the following: STAT 217, STAT 332, STAT 401.
Two-way layout ANOVA, interaction, random effects, higher-way layouts, completely randomized designs, randomized complete block designs, 2p designs, Latin square designs.
STAT 420 PROBABILITY F  3 cr. LEC 3   PREREQUISITE: MATH 224.
Fundamentals of probability, discrete and continuous random variables. expected values, conditional distributions, conditional expectations, simulation techniques, random processes. reliability,
STAT 424 MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS   S 3 cr. LEC 3   PREREQUISITE: STAT 420.
Basic theory of estimation, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing; nonparametric methods, order statistics, decision theory, Bayesian methods and the multivariate normal distribution.
STAT 438 GRAPHICAL TECHNIQUES IN DATA ANALYSIS F 3 cr LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: STAT 217 or STAT 332.
Visual perception, elementary EDA methods, graphical presentation of data, graphical analysis of distributions. assessing regression models and elementary non-parametric regression. The course is designed for all scientists who want to effectively use graphics to explore and understand their data.
STAT 446 SAMPLING  F 3 cr. LEC 3   PREREQUISITE: STAT 217 or STAT 332.
Sources of bias and uncertainty, sampling in the natural sciences. polls and surveys, sampling for quality control or for audits, simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and cluster sampling.
STAT 470 INDIVIDUAL PROBLEMS  On Demand 1 – 3 cr. IND PREREQUISITE: Junior standing, Consent of instructor and approval of department head.   Directed research and study on an individual basis.
STAT 480 SPECIAL TOPICS   On Demand 1 – 3 cr. PREREQUISITE: Course prerequisites as determined for each offering.
Courses not required in any curriculum for which there is a particular one time need, or given on a trial basis to determine acceptability and demand before requesting a regular course number.

                           GRADUATE COURSES IN STATISTICS
There are certain implicit prerequisites for 500- and 600-level courses; see Graduate Course Prerequisites. for details.

STAT 500 SEMINAR  On Demand 1 cr. SEM Maximum 4 cr. PREREQUISITE: Graduate standing or seniors by petition. Course prerequisites as determined for each offering.
Topics offered at the graduate level which are not covered in regular courses. Students participate in preparing and presenting discussion material.
STAT 501 INTERMEDIATE PROBABILITY & STATISTICS  F alt years, to be offered 1992 3 cr. LEC 3  PREREQ: STAT 424
Special distributions, distributions of functions of random variables, limiting distributions, likelihood inference.
STAT 502 INTERMEDIATE MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS   S alt years, to be offered 1993 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQ: STAT 501
Estimation, statistical hypothesis tests, non-parametric methods. sufficient statistics, exponential families, Bayesian statistics.
STAT 505 LINEAR MODELS I   F alternate years. to be offered 1991 3 cr. LEC 3
PREREQUISITE: MATH 333, STAT 424, and either STAT 410 or STAT 412.
Special matrix theory for statistics, multivariate normal distribution, quadratic forms, estimation and hypothesis testing for the general linear model, one-way model, multiple comparison techniques, regression analysis.
STAT 506 LINEAR MODELS II   S alternate years, to be offered 1992 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: STAT 505.
Multifactor models, experimental design models, analysis of covariance, analysis of residuals, influence and multicollinearity, prediction.
STAT 510 STATISTICAL CONSULTING PRACTICE   F,S 1 cr. IND May be repeated. Maximum 6 cr.
PREREQUISITE: Graduate standing in statistics. Supervised practice at understanding and explaining statistical problems and solutions by working with researchers in various disciplines.
STAT 520 ADVANCED DATA ANALYSIS  F alternate years, to be offered 1992 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQ: STAT 420, STAT 438.
Advanced smoothing methods and validation techniques, non-parametric regression, non-parametric density estimation. ACE and projection pursuit. The course will combine the theory behind these methods with practical computer applications.
STAT 522 STOCHASTIC PROCESSES   S alternate years. to be offered 1992 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: STAT 420.
Conditional probability theory. Markov chains. Poisson processes. Markov processes and special processes.
STAT 524 BIOSTATISTICS   F alt years, to be offered 1991 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQ: One of: STAT 217, STAT 332, STAT 401.
Survival curves, vital statistics, bioassay, clinical trials and epidemiology.
STAT 526 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN   F alternate years, to be offered 1992 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQ: STAT 410 or STAT 412.
Randomization, inference, blocking, Latin square designs, factorial experiments, split-plot designs and fractional factorial experiments, incomplete blocking.
STAT 530 NONPARAMETRICS   F alternate years, to be offered 1991. 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: STAT 424.
signed rank test, Kruskal-Wallis test, confidence intervals, boot strapping and jackknife techniques, relative efficiency.
STAT 534 TIME SERIES & SPATIAL DATA   S alternate years. to be offered 1993 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: STAT 420.
Statistical methods of time series and spatial data analysis, smoothing techniques stationary random fields. spectrum analysis, forecasting and prediction. covariance structures, variograms, Kriging methods, spatial models.
STAT 537 CLASSICAL MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS  S alternate years. to be offered 1992 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQ: STAT 505.
Wishart distribution, Hotellings T2, multivariate regression, factor analysis, principle components, canonical correlation, multivariate graphical displays, robust estimation.
STAT 538 MULTIVARIATE & RANDOM EFFECTS MODELS   F alternate years. to be offered 1992 3 cr. LEC 3    PREREQUISITE: STAT 506, STAT 537.
Multivariate linear models, mixed & random effects models, analysis of covariance structures, repeated measures.
STAT 539 GENERALIZED LINEAR & NONLINEAR STATISTICAL METHODS  S alternate years, to be offered 1993 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQUISITE: STAT 502.
Multivariate central limit theorem. Pearson chi square, analysis of deviance, log linear models, logistic regression, measures of curvature, extra- binomial variation, quasi-likelihood.
STAT 549 ADVANCED MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS I    F alternate years. to be offered 1991 3 cr. LEC 3
PREREQUISITE: STAT 502, MATH 547.
Decision theory, Bayes analysis, sufficiency, exponential families, uniformly most powerful tests. Unbiasedness in testing and estimation. Bayes testing and estimation, foundations of statistical inference.
STAT 550 ADVANCED MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS II   S alt years, to be offered 1992 3 cr. LEC 3 PREREQ: STAT 549.
Predictive Inference, equivariance, conditional inference, large sample theory, robust procedures, maximum likelihood estimation, likelihood ratio tests, efficiency.
STAT 570 INDIVIDUAL PROBLEMS  On Demand 1 – 3 cr. IND  PREREQUISITE: Graduate standing, consent of instructor, approval of department head and Dean of Graduate Studies.
Directed research and study on an Individual basis.
STAT 575 RESEARCH OR PROFESSIONAL PAPER/PROJECT F,S,Su 1–4 cr. IND, Max 6 cr.
PREREQUISITE: Graduate standing.
A research or professional paper or project dealing with a topic in the field. The topic must have been mutually agreed upon by the student and his or her major adviser and graduate committee.
STAT 578 MODEL BUILDING & RESPONSE SURFACE DESIGN   S alternate years. to be offered 1993 3 cr. LEC 3  PREREQUISITE: STAT 526.
Non-linear mechanistic models, diagnostics, model selection, polynomial regression, transformations, optimization of the response function, method of steepest ascent, optimal experimental designs, central composite designs, orthogonal designs.
STAT 580 SPECIAL TOPICS   On Demand 1 – 3 cr. PREREQ: Upper division courses and others as determined.
Courses not required in any curriculum for which there is a particular one time need, or given on a trial basis to determine acceptability and demand before requesting a regular course number.
STAT 589 GRADUATE CONSULTATION   F,S,Su 3 cr. TUT PREREQUISITE: Master’s standing and approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies.
This course may be used only by students who have completed all of their coursework (and thesis if on a thesis plan) but who need additional faculty or staff time or help.
STAT 590 MASTER’S THESIS    F,S,Su 3 – 10 cr. IND May be repeated. PREREQUISITE: Master’s standing.
STAT 689 DOCTORAL READING & RESEARCH  On demand 3 – 5 cr. IND Max 15 cr. PREREQUISITE: Doctoral standing.
This course may be used by doctoral students who are reading research publications in the field Si preparation for beginning doctoral thesis research.
STAT 690 DOCTORAL THESIS  F,S,Su 3 – 10 cr. IND May be repeated. PREREQUISITE: Doctoral standing.

 

The Statistical Center and Statistics Option B.S. Program under the semester curriculum:3

Statistical Center

The Statistical Center, a subsidiary of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, is a service and research organization which promotes and fosters the use of sound statistical methods in University research. Its membership consists of statistics staff members and other quantitative professionals.

The Statistical Center cooperates closely with research scientists in all colleges of the University. Staff and facilities are maintained for statistical consulting, statistical analysis and data processing, sample survey operations, statistical design and analysis of surveys and experiments. These services are extended to off-campus groups when such activities are of mutual benefit or otherwise in the public interest.

Undergraduate Statistics Option

Statisticians are trained in principles of quantitative reasoning. They learn how to discover patterns in data, how to display data, how to construct mathematical models for data, and how to detect biases and uncertainties in data summaries or models. They are trained to design and analyze observational studies, surveys, and scientific experiments. The computer is an essential tool for statistical work.

Actuaries are statisticians who specialize in evaluating risks, calculating liabilities, and planning the financial course of insurance and pension plans.

Statisticians and actuaries are in demand; successful students should find that job opportunities are excellent. Although positions are available nationwide, the best employment opportunities are found in urban areas, industrial sites, and government agencies.

Typical Course Schedule for the Undergraduate Statistics Option

  Semester
Freshman Year F S
CS 120- Program Design   2
CS 159T – Computer Literacy   3
ENGL 121W – College Writing I 3  
MATH 181M – Calculus & Anl Geom I 4  
MATH 182M – Calculus & Anl Geom II   4
COM 110V 3  
Univ Core and Electives 6 7
Total credits 16 16

 

Sophomore Year F S
MATH 221 – Intro to Matrix Theory   3
MATH 224M – Calc Funct Sev Varib 4  
Either Option 1 3 3
   STAT 216 – Elementary Stat &    
   STAT 217 – Intermed Stat    
or Option 2    
   STAT – Stat-Scientist & Engr &    
   any 3 cr Math or Stat electives    
Science/lab electives 5 5
Univ Core and Electives 4 5
Total credits 16 16

 

Junior Year F S
MATH 333 – Linear Algebra 3  
STAT 438 – Graph Tech in Data Analysis   3
STAT 446 – Sampling   3
Science/lab electives 4 4
Univ Core and Electives 9 6
Total Credits 16 16

 

Senior Year F S
STAT 410 – Applied Multiple Regrs 3  
STAT 412 – Analysis Var & Desn Exp   3
STAT 420 – Probability 3  
STAT 424 – Mathematical Stat   3
Math or Stat Electives 3 3
Univ Core and Electives 7 7
Total Credits 16 16

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Of the 18 science/lab elective credits at least two must be laboratory credits (e g. labs in PHYS 212N, PHYS 213N, BIOL 100N , BIOL102N) The remaining credits can be in any science courses or in other courses approved by the student's adviser. A minimum of 128 credits are required for graduation, 43 of these credits must be in courses numbered 300 and above.
Actuary profession bound students are advised to take STAT 420 and STAT 421 during the Junior year in order to be prepared for the actuarial exams given during the senior year. For further guidance, see the Actuary Adviser in the Dept of Mathematical Sciences.
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Graduate Degrees Awarded: 1991–1993

MS in Statistics degrees were awarded in 1991 to John Alexander, Sarah(Lee) Hardy, and Lynn Marek, and in 1992 to Barry Olson, and in 1993 to Michael Amdahl, Kimberly Sinclair, and Paul Westberg.

The PhD in Statistics was awarded in 1991 to Christopher Todd Edwards.

  • Dr. Edward's dissertation “The combinatorial theory of single-elimination tournaments” was supervised by Dr. Warren W. Esty.6

 

1994–1996 MSU Catalog – Department of Mathematical Sciences9
STATISTICS

The course list is identical to the previous (1991-1993) catalog.

On July 1, 1993 the mathematician Dr. John R. Lund became Department Head. He replaced Ken Tiahrt who had been in the headship since 1977, a period of 16 years.

Ken Tiahrt (1967–1994) retired in 1994. Ken was a proactive, decisive, generous, and empathetic administrator. A representative example of his proactive and generous service was recounted by the historian Bob Rydell. He recalled a day in the 1980s,

“I vividly remember working in my office one weekend when I heard voices above the ceiling tiles. I looked around the corner, saw no one, nor any sign of anyone, and was getting ready to call the campus police when I noticed the door to the History Department was slightly ajar. I pushed it open, walked cautiously into the office, and saw to my amazement my Department Head holding a ladder. The voice from on high turned out to be that of Ken Tiahrt, head of the Math Department, who was on his hands and knees in the crawl space between the ceiling and roof, busily unrolling a coil of wires to connect the new computer system in Math to a few lucky (or not) individuals in History and Philosophy who found themselves swimming in an ocean of software manuals and oversized floppy disks that seemed better suited for Frisbee-tossing than memory storage and, no less important, information retrieval .”12

 

1992 photo of Hamilton, Lund, and Tiahrt

1992: Marty Hamilton, Dick Lund, Ken Tiahrt


Dick Lund (1969–1995) retired in 1995.At the time he retired, Dick was employed as Statistician, Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, with offices in Linfield Hall at MSU. I (MAH) observed how Dick steadily advanced statistical thinking at MSU through creative development of statistical methods courses, practical instruction, graduate student mentoring, building computer tools for statistical calculations, and dedication to broad-ranging consulting service and collaborative research, with a primary focus on agricultural science during his final two decades of service.
Dick Lund Vita;  Dick Lund Narrative

 

Graduate Degrees Awarded: 1994–1996

The MS in Statistics degree was awarded to Dustin Fasbender, Eric Lloyd, M'liss (Markham) Weisner, and Shaun Wulff in 1994, and to Deborah Carlson, Darcie (Hilton) Dunlap, Deborah (Carlson) Fagan, Eric Mott, Trenton Pamplin, Benjamin Peressini, and Jill Trimble, in 1995, and to Phaniraj Vedantham, Derek Webb, and Alan Willse, in 1996.

PhD in Statistics degrees were awarded to John Steven Cherry in 1994, to Charles Steven Todd in 1995, and to Miguel A Paz-Cuentas in 1996.

  • Dr. Cherry’s dissertation “Nonparametric estimation of semi-variogram functions” was supervised by Dr. William Quimby.15
  •  Dr. Todd’s dissertation “Analyzing repeated measures by employing mixed model/factor analytic hybrid estimators of the covariance matrix” was supervised by Dr. Robert Boik.18
  • Dr. Paz’s dissertation “Analysis of a mixture of fixed and random effects in a mixed model” also was supervised by Dr. Robert Boik.21

 

1996–1998 MSU Catalog
STATISTICS faculty not listed

The undergraduate courses are identical to the previous (1994-96) catalog except for two new courses:

STAT 489 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH/CREATIVE ACTIVITY INSTRUCTION  F,S,Su 1-2 cr. RCT
May be repeated  Max 4 cr. COREQUISITE: STAT 490
Classroom instruction associated with directed undergraduate research/creative activity projects.

STAT 490 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH/CREATIVE ACTIVITY F,S,Su 1-6 cr. IND May be repeated. Max 12 cr.
Directed undergraduate research/creative activity which may culminate in a research paper, journal article, or undergraduate thesis.

Two graduate courses were renamed (descriptions were unchanged):
STAT 537 CLASSICAL MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS was renamed MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS I and
STAT 538 MULTIVARIATE & RANDOM EFFECTS MODELS was renamed MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS II.

 

Graduate Degrees Awarded: 1996–1998

MS in Statistics degrees were awarded in 1997 to Matthew (Matt) Bodoh, Scott Cooley, Roberto Hernandez, David Mikelson, and Sharon (Cebula) Wunschel;and in 1998 to Joan (Hebblethwaite) Brenneman, (Jenny) Xiaohui Cai, Kamolchanok Choochaow, Donald Harder, Doug Helms, Scott Hyde, Nicola Tilt, and Virginia Weber.

PhD in Statistics degrees were awarded in 1997 to Donald Daly, Todd DeVries, and Wendy (Whitmore) Swanson.

  • Dr. Daly’s dissertation “Anderson-Darling Regression with two examples from biofilm engineering,” was supervised by Dr. Martin Hamilton;24
  • Dr. DeVries dissertation “Statistical methods in microbial disinfection assays,” was supervised by Dr. Martin Hamilton;27
  • Dr. Swanson’s dissertation “Negative binomial estimation and testing : comparison to minimum disparity method” was supervised by Dr. Martin Hamilton.30

 

1998–2000 MSU Catalog

Only two minor changes were made since the previous (1996-98) catalog. The description for STAT 401 now includes ”This course is intended for graduate students not majoring in a mathematical science.” The number of STAT 424 was changed to STAT 424C, where the C indicates that it is the “senior year Capstone course” for Statistics majors.

In 1999, Dr. John Stephen Cherry (1999 – 2017) joined the statistics faculty. Steve received his PhD in Statistics from Montana State University in 1994. His dissertation “Nonparametric Estimation of Semivariogram Functions” was supervised by Dr. William F. Quimby. Steve had five years of research and teaching experience prior to returning to a tenure-track position at MSU. In calendar year1994 he held a post-doc position with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO. From January, 1995 through June, 1997, Steve was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Statistics at MSU. In 1997, Steve accepted a tenure-track Assistant Professorship at Montana Technical University in Butte where he served until 1999.

Graduate Degrees Awarded: 1998–2000

MS in Statistics degrees were awarded in 1999 to Kristie Allen, Matthew Austin, Gael Decoudu, Eva Marquez, and Matthew Mitro; and in 2000 to Boonorm Chomtee, Frederick Holdbrook, Courtney (Cox) Kellum, Lee Sutton, and Ampai Ussawarujikulchai.

PhD in Statistics degrees were awarded in 1999 to Derek Webb and Alan Willse.

  • Dr. Webb’s dissertation “Randomization restrictions and the inadvertent split plot in industrial experimentation” was supervised by Dr. John Borkowski.33
  • Dr. Willse’s dissertation “Parametric classification with non-normal data” was supervised by Dr. Robert Boik.36
Stat Prog at MSU during Era 9
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Last revised: 2021-04-20