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Kurt Lang, professor emeritus of communication and sociology at the University of Washington, died on May 1, 2019. He was 95 years old. In 1989, AAPOR awarded Kurt and Gladys its highest honor, the AAPOR Award for Exceptional Achievement in Public Opinion Research. In 1994, the Political Communication Section of the American Political Science Association bestowed upon them the Murray Edelman Distinguished Career Award.2019 has been a busy year so far for the Washington-Baltimore Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research – better known as DC-AAPOR. In March, DC-AAPOR hosted their annual Public Opinion Quarterly Special Issue Conference: “The Psychology of Politics and Elections”. The event featured presentations from the authors in the POQ special issue including: Richard R. Lau (Rutgers University), Lilliana Mason (University of Maryland), Marzia Oceno (University of Michigan), Markus Prior (Princeton University), Kathleen Searles (Louisiana State University) and Patrick D. Tucker (Yale University). Scott Keeter and Jocelyn Kiley of the Pew Research Center were the discussants. DC-AAPOR also hosted a happy hour event: “Meet the National AAPOR Executive Council” in downtown Washington, DC. Then in April, DC-AAPOR and the Washington Statistical Society (WSS) co-sponsored the seminar: “Role of Statistics in Today’s Changing Society: 2020 Census”. The speakers were Julia Coombs and Marisa T. Hotchkiss from the U.S. Census Bureau and the seminar was chaired by Martha McRoy of the Pew Research Center.
Murray Edelman tells the story of his AAPOR Presidential Address in 2001 – that part of the audience knew he was gay before he walked up on that stage, but everyone knew when he was done. He said that he worked on that speech for months, because he saw it as a real gift to address all of his colleagues that he respected so much. Murray describes this as a highlight of his career, was thrilled by the enthusiastic standing ovation, and by people, years afterwards telling him how much it touched them.
Do you have ideas or suggestions about the type of conference experience you are looking for? I’d love to hear from you! Connect with me via www.mandysha.com or tweet to @MMandySha using #aapor and #aapor2020. I really enjoy feedback that includes the why behind it and personal impact. I consider my ‘job’ as Conference Chair to be a servant leader and I serve you by giving AAPOR voices like yours a platform at the 75th annual conference. Let's make the conference fun, too!
This year, AAPOR’s Webinars and Short Courses have continued to offer amazing learning opportunities on both hot topics and core areas in survey and public opinion research presented by top scholars and practitioners in our field! Our Online Education and Short Course Subcommittees are starting to work on the topics and speakers for our 2020 Webinars and Short Courses. Calls for both 2020 Short Courses and Webinars (with links to online submission forms) will be distributed in mid-July and proposals will be due in late summer. If you have an idea for a great Webinar or Short Course, please consider submitting a proposal. Submissions will need to include the proposed presenters, topic, and a brief description of what will be covered and what participants will learn.
Last year was my first back on Council in a while, so I could see with fresh eyes how much things have changed behind the scenes at AAPOR in the intervening years. I spent the year amazed at the sheer volume of work that these 15 volunteers – and the subcommittees and many other volunteers and staff – accomplishes for AAPOR members. The generosity, inspiration, and energy in AAPOR are remarkable and contagious. There is a lot to do this year, so I am counting on catching as much energy as possible from those around me!
New England AAPOR continued to build off the work of previous leadership in 2018/2019. In the fall we held a midterm post mortem at University of New Hampshire with UNH polling Director Andy Smith and Michael Graham, Politics Editor at InsideSources/New Hampshire Journal. We had our third winter mixer where students, academics and practitioners had a chance to talk shop and and enjoy each others company.
The AAPOR Career Center connects employers with job seekers interested in applied research opportunities. Click here to learn more about the AAPOR Career Center.
Below are jobs featured on the AAPOR Career Center.
Research Assistant, Public Opinion and Survey Research
Kaiser Family Foundation - San Francisco, California, 94107
HR Generalist
Mathematica - Princeton, New Jersey, 08540
For those of you that don’t know us, we’re a subcommittee of Membership and Chapter Relations, and while we were formerly known as the Student & Early-Career Subcommittee, we’ve changed our name to better reflect all of the great new(er) AAPOR folks we help welcome into our membership and annual conference. You can get to know us more here.
John P. Robinson, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Maryland, died March 24, 2019. John played key roles in AAPOR over five decades (including service as the 1976 conference committee chair, publication chair from 1980 to 1982, and POQ editorial board member from 1972 to 1982).
Read more about John P. Robinson