Susan Paddock Named Executive Vice President and Chief Statistician of NORC at the University of Chicago
CHICAGO, April 11, 2019 – Susan Paddock, expert statistician and data scientist, will join NORC at the University of Chicago as the incoming executive vice president and chief statistician based in Chicago this May. In this role, Paddock will oversee NORC’s statistics and methodology team, ensuring the organization continues to strengthen its statistical capabilities that already set the company apart from its competitors. She will also join NORC’s executive council, helping liaise between project teams and the Board of Trustees, ensuring the daily work NORC’s teams accomplish is strategically aligned with the company’s mission and vision.
“This is an exciting time for our statistics and methodology team,” said Dan Gaylin, president and CEO of NORC. “Susan’s expertise in the industry will provide great insight into the work we do for our clients, while also playing a key role on our executive council. We’re thrilled to have her on board.”
Paddock comes to NORC from RAND Corporation, where she spent the last 20 years, most recently as a senior statistician. From 2008 to 2013, she led the RAND Statistics Group. Her research at RAND included developing innovative statistical methods, with a focus on Bayesian methods, hierarchical (multilevel) modeling, longitudinal data analysis, and missing data techniques, all of which Paddock will continue to focus on in her role at NORC.
“Susan’s credentials alone would have been more than enough to qualify her for this position,” said Kirk Wolter, outgoing executive vice president and chief statistician for NORC. “But it’s her tenacity and dedication to leveraging her knowledge to make an impact on the larger population that makes her such a strong fit for NORC.”
“This is an exciting time for our statistics and methodology team. Susan’s expertise in the industry will provide great insight into the work we do for our clients, while also playing a key role on our executive council. We’re thrilled to have her on board.”
Paddock is most interested in research areas surrounding health services delivery, substance abuse treatment, drug policy, mental health, quality of health care, and health care provider performance assessment.
“The team Kirk built over his tenure with the organization is such a strong one,” said Paddock. “I look forward to learning from the group, while providing my experience to continue making an impact for each of our clients and the American population overall.”
In addition to her project work, Paddock has served on a number of editorial boards, including the Annals for Applied Statistics, Journal of the American Statistical Association, and Medical Care. She has played a role on committees for the American Statistical Association and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
About NORC at the University of Chicago
NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, we have studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, we partner with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.
Contact: For more information, please contact Eric Young at NORC at young-eric@norc.org or (703) 217-6814 (cell).