Letters of support are generally the most important input to the committee's assessment. Nominators need to obtain convincing letters of support for the nomination from qualified individuals.
To be effective, a letter should describe the nominee's specific accomplishments, and their impact, based on the writer's personal knowledge. Letters should support the principal points made in the nominators narrative recommendation, or other points with which the nominator is not familiar. To be most helpful to the Committee, statements asserting the importance of a particular accomplishment or piece of work should include an informative explanation of why it is influential.
It is beneficial to demonstrate that the statistical contributions have been influential (not just responsive and useful) and can make a persuasive explanation for their judgment.
The most effective letters of support are direct, but specific. Assertions about the importance of a particular accomplishment should be accompanied by evidence of its impact, where possible. On the other hand, overly expansive discussions tend to detract from the persuasiveness of a letter. In any case, each letter of support is limited to two pages.
Supporting statements and CV may be retrieved from the bottom of this web page.
Address the heading of the support letter to Committee on Fellows, American Statistical Association. Do not include a mailing address in the addressee field.
Letters of Support should be sent to the Nominator who is responsible for including the support letters in the nomination package. (Copies or Faxes of letters are acceptable).
Please send hard copy to Frank E Harrell Jr Vanderbilt University School of Medicine S-2323 MCN 2158 Nashville TN 37232-2637 or E-mail an electronically signed letter on letterhead to mailto:f.harrell@vanderbilt.edu
Express mail address is FE Harrell Department of Biostatistics S-2323 Medical Center North 1161 21st Ave S Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville TN 37232-2158 (615)322.2001
Please send by 19 Feb 2009 at the very latest
Important! Do Not mail/send a support letter to ASA independently of the nomination package. Supporting letters that are received at the ASA office independently of the nomination package are not guaranteed to be review by the Committee on Fellows.
Draft Citation
William Dupont, Professor of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine: For excellence in leading biostatistical efforts in numerous areas of medical and epidemiologic research, for excellence in leading his own breast cancer epidemiology research program, for providing widely used tools for power and sample size computation, for excellence in teaching, mentoring, and writing, and for service to the profession.