Stuart Arthur Rice (November 21, 1889 – June 4, 1969) was an American statistician and sociologist with a long and distinguished career in the

Federal Statistical System of the United States In the United States, the federal statistical system (FSS) refers to a decentralized network of federal agencies which produce data and official statistics about the people, economy, natural resources, and infrastructure of the country. It is led ...

Education and early career

Stuart A. Rice was born in Wadena, Minnesota, November 21, 1889. He earned a master's degree from the University of Washington in 1915 and a PhD in sociology from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1924. In his dissertation, he proposed a concept to measure the degree of agreement within a voting body, which is now known as the Rice index. He was instructor and assistant professor of sociology at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

(1923–1926), and professor of sociology and statistics at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

(1926–1933). In 1933 he served as president of the

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 27, 1839, and is the second-oldest continuous ...

Career in Government statistics

In 1933, Rice became Assistant Director of the

Bureau of the Census The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

. Recognizing the need to modernize parts of the statistical system, he was instrumental in the founding of the Committee on Government Statistics and Information Services (COGSIS) and served as its Acting Chairman, promoting modern techniques of survey sampling and mathematical statistics to federal agencies. In 1936 he moved from the Census Bureau to chair the Central Statistical Board. In 1940 the Central Statistical Board was restructured as the Division (later Office) of Statistical Standards in the

Bureau of the Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

(later Office of Management and Budget) and Rice became Assistant Director for Statistical Standards in the Budget Bureau. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he fostered the development of the Inter-American Statistical Institute. Rice was president of the

International Statistical Institute The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is a professional association of statisticians. At a meeting of the Jubilee Meeting of the Royal Statistical Society, statisticians met and formed the agreed statues of the International Statistical ...

from 1947 to 1953. He helped establish the Statistical Office of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and served as the first Chairman of the

United Nations Statistical Commission The United Nations Statistical Commission (StatCom) is a Functional Commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, established in 1946. The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). ...

. While spending a lot of his time on consulting work for foreign governments, he remained in his post at the Bureau of the Budget until he retired from governmental statistics in 1955.

Later life

After his career in official statistics, Rice founded Stuart A. Rice Associates (later Surveys & Research Corporation), a statistical consulting firm, and was still regularly present at scientific meetings. He died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on June 4, 1969. His papers are preserved at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.

Recognition

Rice was named a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The designation of ASA Fellow has been a sign ...

in 1933. The

District of Columbia Sociological Society The District of Columbia Sociological Society (DCSS) is a non-profit organization for professional sociologists, sociology students and others in the Greater Washington area of the US. It was founded in 1934. Purpose The Society aims to *promot ...

have named an award after him, the Stuart A. Rice Merit Award for Career Achievements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Stuart A. 1889 births 1969 deaths American statisticians Fellows of the American Statistical Association Presidents of the American Statistical Association