Jeffrey MervisLast month, the U.S. statistical science community was shocked to learn that Nathaniel Cogley had assumed the new position of deputy director for policy at the Census Bureau.Most researchers had never heard of Cogley, a political scientist who earned a Ph.D.
from Yale University in 2013 and is now on unpaid leave from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. He is one of a handful of political appointees at Census.
And his newly created job title seemed out-of-place for an agency dedicated to the accurate, impartial, and timely collection and dissemination of data on U.S.
demographic trends.In a terse statement on 23 June, Census Director Steven Dillingham said Cogley would “help the Census Bureau achieve a complete.