Introduction

he Department of Statistics of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS), the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics of the School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS), and its associated research facility, The Biostatistics Center, jointly offer a graduate program that offers curriculum leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biostatistics and in epidemiology. The graduate program was launched in 1995. The program is interdisciplinary and spans college lines within the University. This document describes the articles for governance of the program.

Program Direction

he biostatistics program is administered by a Program Director for Biostatistics who chairs the Biostatistics Program Committee. Likewise the epidemiology program is administered by a Program Director for Epidemiology who chairs the Epidemiology Program Committee. Overall program policy is addressed by a Program Management Committee that is chaired by the Graduate Program Director. The faculty of the program are designated the Program Committee.

biostatistician member of the faculty of either the Department of Statistics or the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics is appointed to serve as the Program Director for Biostatistics jointly by the deans of CCAS and SPHHS upon the recommendation of the Chairs of the two participating departments. Where feasible the position should rotate between faculty of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The appointment would be for a three year period, renewable thereafter.

he Dean of the SPHHS, with the recommendation of the SPHHS faculty, will appoint one of the epidemiologist faculty of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics to serve as Program Director for Epidemiology. The appointment would be for a three year period, renewable thereafter. The Program Directors of Biostatistics and of Epidemiology each advise the graduate students enrolled in the respective M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs, and administer the respective programs on a day-to-day basis with assistance from the administrative staff of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Members of the Program Committee (faculty) may also be designated to assist in these responsibilities.

he Biostatistics Program Committee is chaired by the Program Director for Biostatistics and consists of two members from the Department of Statistics with an interest in biostatistics, and two biostatistician members of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, one of these four being the Program Director for Biostatistics. Members are appointed by the respective department chairs annually for a one year term, renewable thereafter.

he Epidemiology Program Committee is chaired by the Program Director for Epidemiology and in addition consists of one epidemiologist and one biostatistician faculty from the department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and one statistics faculty with an interest in epidemiology or biostatistics. Members are appointed by the respective department chairs annually for a one year term, renewable thereafter.

ach program committee is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the program including academic advising, dissertation logistics, the content and grading of comprehensive examinations, organization of oral examinations, composition of dissertation research committees, appointment of dissertation advisors, and administration of doctoral examinations. Each Program Committee will review and approve faculty appointments to the Program Committee in the respective fields of biostatistics and/or epidemiology, and review the continuation of such appointments.

ach committee may also make recommendations for changes in program curriculum when appropriate. Such changes will reviewed and approved by the Program Management Committee.

Program Management Committee

he Program Management Committee will consist of the Program Director for Biostatistics, the Program Director for Epidemiology, the Chair of the Department of Statistics, the Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the other faculty members of the Biostatistics Program Committee and the Epidemiology Program Committee. The Program Management committee oversees the overall operation of the Program and sets overall program policy to be administered by the respective Biostatistics and Epidemiology Program Committees.

he Program Management Committee will elect either the Program Director for Biostatistics or the Program Director for Epidemiology to chair the committee and to serve as Graduate Program Director. The Graduate Program Director will be appointed for a three year term, co-incident with the terms of the Program Directors for Biostatistics and Epidemiology, renewable thereafter, and where feasible should alternate between the two program directors.

ne or more Admissions Committees will be designated by the Program Management Committee and members appointed by the respective Program Directors with guidance from the respective Program Committees. Presently there are separate admissions committees for the MS program in biostatistics and for the MS program in epidemiology, each appointed by the respective program directors. There is a single admissions committee for PhD applicants for admission to the biostatistics and the epidemiology PhD programs, whose members are jointly appointed by the respective program directors. The criteria for admission to each degree program are determined by the respective program committees in accordance with the general requirements of the CCAS and the SPHHS.

he admissions process is coordinated on behalf of the graduate program by the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics of the SPHHS in conjunction with the Office of Graduate Student Services of the CCAS.

Program Committee

he Graduate Program Committee consists of the full-time or part-time regular and research faculty of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, including the faculty of the Biostatistics Center, and interested full-time or part-time regular and research faculty of the Department of Statistics. Other University faculty with primary appointments in other departments may also be appointed to the Program Committee. Program Committee faculty teach courses for the program, serve as graduate advisors, readers, or examiners, and assist in the administration of the program. The Biostatistics and/or the Epidemiology Committees may also appoint other adjunct faculty who are not regular members of the University faculty to the Graduate Program Committee for a period of one to three years, renewable thereafter. Such adjunct faculty would also receive an adjunct appointment to the faculty of either the Department of Statistics or the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, as appropriate.

Graduate Advisors

niversity faculty members of the Program Committee, regular or research, may serve as the advisor of record for students undertaking dissertation research after completion of the written comprehensive examination. Adjunct faculty members of the Graduate Program Committee may also serve as graduate advisors with the review and approval of the respective Biostatistics or Epidemiology Program Committee.

Conflicts of Interest

embers of the graduate Program Committee who have a significant extra-curricular relationship with a student (e.g. a spouse) are enjoined from participating in the evaluation of a student's performance as an examiner, dissertation committee member, advisor or co-advisor. In such instances, the faculty member should declare that such a relationship exists so that he/she may be recused.

Modifications of Articles of Governance

odifications to the Articles of Governance must be approved by the Program Management Committee and ratified by the Department of Statistics and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The revised articles are then submitted to the Deans of SPHHS and CCAS for review and approval.

Committees

Program Management Committee:

• John M. Lachin, Sc.D., Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, and of Statistics, Graduate Program Director, Program Director for Biostatistics.
• Katherine Hunting, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Program Director for Epidemiology
• Dante Verme, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Tapan Nayak, Ph.D., Professor of Statistics and Chair of the Department of Statistics
• Other members of the Biostatistics Program Committee and of the Epidemiology Program Committee

Biostatistics Program Committee:

• John M. Lachin, Sc.D., Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, and of Statistics, Graduate Program Director, Program Director for Biostatistics.
• Others TBN

Epidemiology Program Committee:

• Katherine Hunting, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Program Director for Epidemiology
• Others TBN

Admissions Committee:

• Dante Verme, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Others TBN

Program Committee (University Faculty Only):

School of Public Health and Health Services

• Sean D. Cleary, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and of Biostatistics
• Virginia Foster, Assistant Research Professor of Epidemiology and of Biostatistics
• Sarah Fowler, Ph.D., Research Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
• David Goldsmith, Associate Research Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health, and of Epidemiology
• Robert Hirsch, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Katherine Hirst, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
• Daniel Hoffman, Ph.D., MSPH, Professor of Epidemiology and of International Public Health. Senior Associate Dean, Public Health Programs
• Katherine Hunting, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Jill G. Joseph, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Paul J. Kimmel, MD, Professor of Medicine, and of Epidemiology
• John M. Lachin, Sc.D., Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, and of Statistics
• Paul Levine, M.D., Research Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Madeline M. Rice, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Richard Riegelman, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology, of Medicine, and of Health Services Management and Policy
• Samuel Simmens, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor of Epidemiology and of Biostatistics
• Elizabeth Thom, Ph.D., Research Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
• Dante Verme, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Naji Younes, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences

• Srinivasan Balaji, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Statistics
• Bryan L. Boulier, Ph.D., Professor of Economics
• Efstathia Bura, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Statistics
• Sudip Bose, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Statistics
• Kaushik Ghosh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Statistics
• Subrata Kundu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Statistics
• Zhaohai Li, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Statistics
• Hosam M. Mahmoud, Ph.D., Professor of Statistics
• Reza Modarres, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Statistics
• Tapan Nayak, Ph.D., Professor of Statistics
• Nozer D. Singpurwalla, Ph.D., Professor of Statistics
• Curtis Tatsuoka, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Statistics