Vermont Business Magazine The former Director of the U.S. Census Bureau – a career-long statistician and data scientist – will speak at Saint Michael’s College as part of an annual endowed lecture series.
The Honorable Robert L. Santos, the first Latino and person of color to serve as the Senate-confirmed director of the Census, will explore how considering culture and values in data have made him a better statistician and leader. Santos’ talk is part of the Sutherland Lecture Series, which brings leading thinkers and scholars to campus to speak about issues in the liberal arts and sciences.
The talk, “Telling our stories: How culture and values made me a better statistician and a better leader,” will take place at 4:30 p.m. on March 31, in the McCarthy Arts Center Recital Hall.
Much of Santos’ career has focused on making sure underserved populations are represented in data and research. At the Census, he worked on adding queries about sexual orientation and gender identity and worked to revise questions about race and ethnicity in official government collection.
In addition to his time with the Census from 2022 to 2025, he has also served as President of the American Statistical Association and the American Association of Public Opinion Research, as well as Chief Methodologist for the Urban Institute, a prominent, non-partisan research organization in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Santos will be available for interviews between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on March 31 (before his talk). In addition to his own experiences as a data scientist and statistician, he is able to speak about the following topics:
- Recent updates to the census/data collection practices under President Donald Trump’s administration.
- Collecting data on marginalized communities, including the impact of discontinuing collection.
- Gerrymandering.
- Accessibility and data quality.
About Saint Michael’s College
Saint Michael's College, founded in 1904 on principles of social justice and leading lives of purpose and consequence, is a selective, Catholic college just outside Burlington, Vermont, one of the country's best college towns. Located between the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain, our closely connected community guarantees housing all four years and delivers an internationally respected liberal arts education, preparing students for fulfilling careers and meaningful lives. Young adults here grow intellectually, socially, and morally, learning to lead with empathy and professionalism, and to be responsible for themselves, each other, and their world.
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Vermont Business Magazine