Ingram Olkin, professor emeritus of statistics and education at Stanford, died at home in Palo Alto on April 28 at the age of 91 of complications from colon cancer after a lengthy battle with the disease.
Ingram was born in Waterbury, Conn., on July 23, 1924; the only child of Julius and Karola Olkin, both immigrants from Eastern Europe. They moved to NY when Ingram was 10; he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx 1941. He enrolled at City College of New York (CCNY), but took a break to serve in the U.S. Army Air Force as a meteorologist during WWII. After completing his degree in mathematics at City, he obtained a master’s degree at Columbia University followed by a PhD in mathematical statistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, conferred in 1951.
Ingram then joined the Mathematics Department faculty at Michigan State University as an assistant professor and rose through the ranks to become a full professor. In 1960 he joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota to chair the formation of a new Statistics Department. One year later, he moved permanently to Stanford University, where he held a joint appointment with the Department of Statistics and the Graduate School of Education.
Ingram’s dedication to his profession was outstanding. He belonged to the editorial boards of numerous journals on statistics and other fields. He served as chair of the Statistics Department at Stanford (1973 –1976). He was president of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and chair, co-chair, or member of countless committees and panels at the national level.
Olkin’s outstanding record of accomplishment and service brought him international recognition and a long list of honors and awards. Including Wilks Medal and Founders Award from the American Statistical Association, a Guggenheim Fellowship, election to the National Academy of Education, and the Melvin Zelen Leadership Award from the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard .
Ingram also devoted considerable time and energy to increasing the number and status of women in graduate studies and in tenure-line academic positions. In recognition of his support for women in statistics, he became the first (and only) male recipient of the Elizabeth L. Scott Award from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies.
Ingram was an active participant in monthly faculty lunches at Stanford’s Hillel.
He loved theater, art, classical music and especially opera.
Ingram is survived by his wife Anita, with whom he was about to celebrate their 71st wedding anniversary; three daughters and six grandchildren.
Ingram made arrangements to donate his body to Stanford Hospital for science research; his wish was carried out.
Hannah R. Rothstein, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Research Synthesis Methods
Narendra Paul Loomba Department of Management
Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, CUNY
1 Bernard Baruch Way
New York, NY 10010
USA
Ingram was born in Waterbury, Conn., on July 23, 1924; the only child of Julius and Karola Olkin, both immigrants from Eastern Europe. They moved to NY when Ingram was 10; he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx 1941. He enrolled at City College of New York (CCNY), but took a break to serve in the U.S. Army Air Force as a meteorologist during WWII. After completing his degree in mathematics at City, he obtained a master’s degree at Columbia University followed by a PhD in mathematical statistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, conferred in 1951.
Ingram then joined the Mathematics Department faculty at Michigan State University as an assistant professor and rose through the ranks to become a full professor. In 1960 he joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota to chair the formation of a new Statistics Department. One year later, he moved permanently to Stanford University, where he held a joint appointment with the Department of Statistics and the Graduate School of Education.
Ingram’s dedication to his profession was outstanding. He belonged to the editorial boards of numerous journals on statistics and other fields. He served as chair of the Statistics Department at Stanford (1973 –1976). He was president of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and chair, co-chair, or member of countless committees and panels at the national level.
Olkin’s outstanding record of accomplishment and service brought him international recognition and a long list of honors and awards. Including Wilks Medal and Founders Award from the American Statistical Association, a Guggenheim Fellowship, election to the National Academy of Education, and the Melvin Zelen Leadership Award from the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard .
Ingram also devoted considerable time and energy to increasing the number and status of women in graduate studies and in tenure-line academic positions. In recognition of his support for women in statistics, he became the first (and only) male recipient of the Elizabeth L. Scott Award from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies.
Ingram was an active participant in monthly faculty lunches at Stanford’s Hillel.
He loved theater, art, classical music and especially opera.
Ingram is survived by his wife Anita, with whom he was about to celebrate their 71st wedding anniversary; three daughters and six grandchildren.
Ingram made arrangements to donate his body to Stanford Hospital for science research; his wish was carried out.
Hannah R. Rothstein, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Research Synthesis Methods
Narendra Paul Loomba Department of Management
Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, CUNY
1 Bernard Baruch Way
New York, NY 10010
USA