Donna Brogan

Donna Brogan had a 34 year academic career as a biostatistics faculty member, first at UNC School of Public Health in Chapel Hill and then at Emory University in both the School of Medicine and the Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH).  She taught graduate courses in biostatistics and in her specialty area, sample survey design and analysis.  She conducted methodological and collaborative research, frequently working with epidemiologists, physicians, sociologists, and psychologists.  She is a fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and received the Elizabeth Scott award for fostering opportunites for women in statistics.  Gettysburg College, Purdue University and Iowa State University selected her for distinguished alumni awards.  She received the Thomas Jefferson Award from Emory for outstanding service to the university over many years.  After retirement from Emory in 2004 she continues to teach short courses on analysis of data from complex sample surveys, consult on design and/or analysis of complex sample surveys, and work with attorneys on legal cases that involve analysis of health or employment data.  Over 2500 profesisonals in epidemiology, biostatistics and related disciplines have attended her 135 continuing education workshops since 1990.  Recently she has presented seminars and published papers about her nonlinear path to a biostatistics academic career, which began in the late 1950's when few women pursued undergraduate or graduate work in mathematics or statistics.  The RSPH Biostatistics & Bioinformatics Department has sponsored the annual endowed Donna J. Brogan Lecture in Biostatistics since 2006, featuring each year a well-known and esteemed biostatistician or statistician.  In 2020 the endowed Donna J. Brogan Professorship in Biostatistics was established at RSPH, and Dr. Amita Manatunga was named as the inaugural Donna J. Brogan Professor of Biostatistics.  In 2022 the Donna J. Brogan Scholarship in Biostatistics for MSPH/MPH students was endowed.  Cyen Peterkin was the first scholarship recipient for 2022-2023, and Chenyang Li was the second scholarship recipient for 2023-2024.  In late 2023 Dr. Brogan made a financial contribution to Gettysburg College to aid in establishing the Donna J. Brogan Center for Quantitative Learning, which is housed in the Mathematics Department.  The Center empowers students throughout Gettysburg College to gain analytical skills and knowledge for success in a data-driven world.