Statistics in the Community (STATCOM) is a student-run volunteer organization endorsed and supported by the University of Minnesota’s School of Statistics. Our mission is to provide free statistical consulting to local non-profit, governmental, and community service organizations*, by engaging students in voluntary, service-oriented statistical consulting and leadership.
STATCOM was originally founded in 2001 at Purdue University. In 2006, a grant from the American Statistical Association (ASA), helped start a network of STATCOM programs in universities throughout the United States. Now in 2014 we are proud to introduce the University of Minnesota chapter.
Our vision is to apply statistical methods and principles to have a positive impact on communities and the institutions who serve them. We are working to develop interdisciplinary communication and collaboration and provide outreach to increase understanding and acceptance of statistics in our community.
* Statcom’s mission is to help improve the local community through statistics. Therefore, we will not be offering our services to any departments and research labs / programs within the University of Minnesota unless there is a clear benefit to the community and we have approval from the statistics department and the statistical consulting center. If you are within the U of M and need statistical analysis, please contact Aaron Rendahl at the consulting center: http://www.stat.umn.edu/consulting/.
STATCOM in the UMN news: Stories by the Number