Mr. Robert Santos

Robert Santos is Vice President & Chief Methodologist at the Urban Institute, Washington, DC. Santos is also President Biden’s nominee for Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, currently awaiting senate floor confirmation vote. He is an expert in survey sampling, survey design, and more generally in social science/policy research, with over 40 years of experience. His career includes: Director of Survey Operations, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan; VP Statistics and Methodology, NORC University of Chicago; and Senior Study Director at ISR Temple University. Between 2001 and 2006, he was a co-owner and Executive Vice President of Nustats, an Austin, Texas, social science research firm.   

Santos is the 116th President of the American Statistical Association (ASA), serving in 2021. He is an elected ASA Fellow and a recipient of the ASA Founder’s Award, the association’s highest recognition for distinguished service and leadership. He is past President of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and was the 2021 recipient of this association’s highest award, the AAPOR Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement. He is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, and has served on numerous National Academies’ panels, the Census Advisory Committee for Professional Organizations (2001-2006), and the CDC National Center for Health Statistics’ Board of Scientific Counselors (2017-2020). He is a longtime member of Feeding America’s Technical Advisory Group (2004-2021).