Campbell Award

2024 Recipient: Lisa Thomasen

Lisa has been, and continues to be, a powerful advocate for students, early-career, and professional statisticians, ensuring their voices are heard, that they are supported, and that their contributions are recognized both within our Association and beyond.

From 2016 to 2021, Lisa served as the student and early-career representative on the NZSA Committee, demonstrating remarkable dedication and engagement to this role. Among her many contributions, Lisa organized highly successful networking events, founded a network of regional representatives, and built stronger connections with early-career statisticians in Australia. Lisa’s good works and exemplary service have provided the next generation of statisticians with opportunities for professional development, engagement, and leadership.

Over recent years, recognising the need for structured support and guidance for student and early-career statisticians, Lisa developed, and continues to lead, the NZSA’s highly successful mentoring programme. This programme has become the cornerstone of the NZSA’s efforts to support the professional development of early-career statisticians, with participants consistently praising its effectiveness and value. Additionally, Lisa pioneered the “Lean In Circles” initiative, another innovative programme designed to support and foster peer-to-peer mentorship within the NZSA community. These circles provide a platform for members to exchange experiences, offer peer support, and expand both personal and professional networks. Like the previous programme, it has been incredibly successful, receiving high praise from participants for its practical benefits and impact.

The success of the Mentoring programme and the Lean In Circles underscores Lisa’s remarkable ability to cultivate environments that promote collaboration, community building, and the overall well-being of statisticians at all stages of their careers.

Lisa’s unwavering advocacy for early-career statisticians, along with the mentoring and community-building initiatives she has developed and led, make her a truly deserving recipient of the Campbell Award.

The citation above from is Jie Kang and Matt Parry

The purpose of the award is to promote statistics within NZ and to recognise an individual’s sustained contribution to the promotion and development of statistics.

Next Round

  • Next round opens: TBA
  • Next round closes: TBA

Nominations should be sent to the Convenor of the NZSA Awards Committee, by email at vanessa.cave@auckland.ac.nz.

Award Details

The criteria for the award are:

i) publication of an exceptional body of original statistical research undertaken within NZ; or,

ii) a prolonged and outstanding contribution to statistical education; or,

iii) playing a key role in consulting on major, innovative research projects that has direct relevance to NZ; or,

iv) making a leading contribution to the promotion of statistics within NZ over a sustained period.

  • The award is known as the NZSA Campbell Award.
  • One award will be given annually, at the NZSA annual dinner in conjunction with the annual conference. In exceptional circumstances, more than one award may be given in a year.
  • An award may not necessarily be given out each year.
  • Nominations can be made by individuals or groups of individuals. Nominators may be non-NZSA members. Nominations will include a statement of support from the nominator and may include names of suitable referees.
  • The award may only be given to fully paid up members of the NZSA. All membership categories are eligible.
  • Normally the award will only be given to a member once in their lifetime.
  • An awards convenor will be selected from the current executive who will oversee the process of calling for nominations. The executive will elect an awards panel consisting of the awards convenor and no fewer than two other fully paid up members of the NZSA. The panel will decide on that year’s recipient. The panel may call for any additional information from the nominators.
  • The awards panel will use suitable measures for each of the four criteria. These may include: for research, the publication record, and the originality, applicability, impact of the research; for contribution to statistical education, development of innovative teaching practices and curricula, development within other subjects, and development of links with other practices; for consulting, the project size, profile, application in a new area, rigour, relevance to solving real problems; and in promotion, the appropriate use of statistics and demonstrating the relevance of statistics. In all cases a record of achievement over an extended period is expected.

As the Campbell Award is usually presented at the Conference dinner, the deadline for nominations will usually be late in September.  A call for nominations will be sent to all NZSA members about two months prior to that. To make a nomination, please contact the Convenor of the Awards Committee. The Awardee is presented with a plaque and a certificate, and is a guest of the presentation event.

Recipients of the NZSA Campbell Award are:
YearRecipients of the Campbell Award 
2024Lisa Thomasen
2022Len Cook
2020Chris Triggs
2018Rachel Fewster
2017Jennifer Brown
2016Mike Camden
2015Maxine Pfannkuch
2014Shirley Pledger
2013John Harraway
2012Chris Wild
2011Roger LittlejohnNewsletter 74, March 2012
2011Alastair ScottNewsletter 74, March 2012
2010Stephen HaslettNewsletter 72, October 2010
2009David Vere-JonesNewsletter 70, September 2009
2008Sharleen ForbesNewsletter 68, September 2008
2006Jeffrey HunterNewsletter 64, September 2006
2003Harold HendersonNewsletter 58, September 2003
2001Murray JorgensenNewsletter 55, April 2002
1999Stan Roberts