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My Willamette

Heather Kitada Smalley

Albaugh Assistant Professor of Statistics

Headshot of Heather Kitada Smalley

Contact Information

Salem Campus

Address
Ford Hall 216
900 State Street
Salem  Oregon  97301
U.S.A.
Phone
503-370-6123
Email
hsmalley@willamette.edu

Biography

Dr. Heather Kitada Smalley joins the Mathematics department as the Albaugh Visiting Assistant Professor of Statistics. She is no stranger to liberal arts education in the Pacific Northwest. She completed her bachelors of mathematics with honors at Lewis & Clark college, where she did research with Dr. Naiomi Cameron on enumerative combinatorics. Dr. Smalley did her graduate work at Oregon State University where she earned a Certificate in College and University Teaching, MS in Statistics (with Dr. Charlotte Wickham), and PhD in Statistics (with and Dr. Virginia Lesser and Dr. Sarah Emerson). She taught for OSU for six years, at both the Corvallis and Bend campuses. She is coming to us from Reed College, where she taught for two years and advised several research projects. Dr. Smalley is an applied statistician and her research focuses on survey statistics and methodology. She has extensive experience in statistical consulting from diverse fields, so feel free to contact her for help with analyses.

Education

  • PhD in Statistics, Oregon State University, 2018
  • MS in Statistics, Oregon State University, 2014
  • Certificate in College and University Teaching, Oregon State University, 2014
  • BA in Mathematics, Lewis & Clark College, 2012

Research

Dr. Smalley is an applied statistician and an expert in data visualization using R and data science education. She enjoys research across a variety of applications, including surveys, political polling, elections, educational research, big data, and experimental design. Her research in public opinion and survey statistics has focused on developing and improving methodology for bias estimation and correction. She has found joint research with students to be very fulfilling and that work has received national recognition in paper and poster awards.

Courses

Book Chapters

Smalley, Heather Kitada (expected May 2020). “A Longitudinal Perspective on the Effects of Household Language on Data Quality in the American Community Survey.” The Essential Role of Language in Survey Research.

Smalley, Heather Kitada, Emerson, S. C., Lesser, V.  (expected Aug 2020). “The Implications of Functional Form Choice on Model Misspecification in Longitudinal Survey Mode Adjustments and Consideration of Underlying Trend.”  Measurement Error in Longitudinal Data.

Publications

Akeroyd, J., Kitada, Heather, Plauntz, L., & Lear, W. (2017). “Nurses’ Experience Removing Superficial Nonabsorbable Sutures From the Skin: Wound Overgrowth of Sutures Complicates the Procedure.” Journal of the Dermatology Nurses' Association, 9(1), 16-20.

Awards

  • 2017 - PAPOR Paper Competition  2nd Place (Pacific Association of Public Opinion Research)
  • 2013 ­to 2017 - Rose Hill Foundation Statistics Fellowship
  • 2017 - 1st Place ­AAPOR Research Hack Competition
  • 2015 - Joint Statistical Meeting 2015 Poster Award (American Statistical Association)

Awards with Students:

2019 - 1st Place Poster Award at the American Association of Public Opinion Research Conference for “Exploring Demographics of Voter Errors and Incomplete Ballots in Ranked Choice Voting” by Jay Lee (Reed ‘19) and Heather Kitada Smalley.