The Bureau of the Census, which became a political hotspot when President Obama nominated Judd Gregg to be Secretary of Commerce, has a new director.
As we know, Gregg backed out, and Gary Locke became Obama's Secretary of Commerce. Locke is now in his first week of the job, and there is news at Commerce. Today, Obama nominated University of Michigan statistician Robert M. Groves to head the bureau as it makes plans to conduct the 2010 Census of the United States.
Groves is currently director of the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center. A brief bio:
Dr. Groves studies how alternative research designs affect the utility of data collected. His current research focuses on social and cognitive theory development regarding decisions to participate in statistical surveys, as a vehicle to construct survey statistics with lower nonresponse errors. He has studied the impact of mode of data collection, interviewer behavior, and use of computer assistance on the quality of survey data.
He has experience at the census, having worked for the bureau from 1990 to 1992. While there, he argued that the census should be statistically adjusted as he suspected census takers had undercounted approximately 5 million American residents, mostly in densely populated urban areas. (Under the George H.W. Bush administration, this argument did not carry the day.)
Sampling will likely not be something the bureau does next year, but Groves's pick may mean census takers will pay particular attention to counting urban populations.
Census officials acknowledge that tens of millions of residents in dense urban areas — about 14 percent of the U.S. population — are at high risk of being missed due to language problems and a deepening economic crisis due to the financial meltdown that has displaced homeowners.
The government is devoting up to $250 million of the $1 billion in stimulus money for outreach, particularly for traditionally hard-to-count minorities.
But Hispanics, blacks and other groups are warning that traditional census outreach will not be enough, citing in particular rising anti-immigration sentiment after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, praised Groves as a well-regarded academic, calling the question of statistical adjustment in the 2010 census a "non-issue" because there are no plans for it.
Republican House members have already criticized the pick; it is unclear whether they will get support from their Senate colleagues to slow or stop it, or whether this is simply reflexive whining. Those of us interested in making sure all Americans are counted when it comes to analyzing the statistics of the nation (not to mention calculating how to reapportion House districts in 2012) are encouraged that Robert M. Groves will oversee these efforts.