The American Statistical Association's San Antonio Chapter recently distinguished Indiana University-Bloomington's School of Public Health Dean David B. Allison with the 2020 Don Owen Award. The award was presented at the 2020 Conference of Texas Statisticians, held virtually from September 18-19 and hosted by Texas A&M University.

The accolade is given to a statistician who embodies the three-fold accomplishments of Dr. Donald B. Owen. Owen excelled in the areas of research, statistical consultation, and service to the statistical community.

Serving as Distinguished Professor of Statistics at Dallas-based Southern Methodist University, Owen was a prolific research contributor. He authored several textbooks and monographs, as well as more than 75 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Owen also shepherded graduate-level students, operated his own private consulting firm, and edited Communications in Statistics, among many other accomplishments.

"That this award is given by my fellow statisticians and that it is, in particular, for recognition of the tripartite contributions to research, statistical consultation, and service to the statistical community, is deeply gratifying," Allison says.

Among the factors contributing to Allison's nomination for the 2020 Don Owen Award were his advocacy for increased data transparency and a more rigorous approach to science. Like the award's namesake, Allison has published extensively as well. The School of Public Health dean has more than 600 articles in peer-reviewed publications, including the 2016 Nature piece, "A tragedy of errors: Mistakes in peer-reviewed papers are easy to find but hard to fix."

Allison's dedication to mentoring young scholars in the statistical sciences was also cited as an important factor in his nomination for the 2020 Don Owen Award. "I'm humbled by and grateful for this recognition," he concludes.