Statistics at St. Olaf
When Julie Legler came to St. Olaf in 2001 after eight years as a statistician for the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), she brought with her a first-hand understanding of how joint efforts feed scientific progress. During NIH research projects, she explains, "we would have several different experts at the table: nutritionists, statisticians, oncologists and epidemiologists." Now an associate professor of statistics at St. Olaf, Legler exposes undergraduates to the same interdisciplinary work model. As director of the college's statistics program, she guides students through work that contributes directly to research conducted by other departments. "To me, it's like being in a candy shop," she says. "I love to learn about all these different areas."
After developing a solid grasp of the subject matter under examination, statisticians do much more than simply answer questions posed to them. Often, they come up with new ways for statistics to provide unanticipated
FACT: St. Olaf graduates have gone on to pursue advanced degrees in statistics at Harvard, Purdue, Oxford, Columbia University and the University of Minnesota — and to careers at the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C., and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Statistics work has become indispensable in many circles — from universities to pharmaceutical companies to government institutions. Fortunately, St. Olaf is well situated to respond to this burgeoning interest. "There are very few statisticians at liberal arts schools," says Legler. "Having a well-established statistics program like we have at St. Olaf is pretty unusual."
Learn more about statistics at St. Olaf. Download the statistics PDF (Requires Adobe Acrobat).
Visit the statistics department website.
