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2. The Fragile Beginnings at Oklahoma State University

Perhaps it is because of the influence of Pearson’s biometry school that the first course in statistics in statistics at OSU was called biometry, not statistics. In the 1926-1927 catalog the Department of Field Crops and Soils listed the course 342 Biometry. The brief course description says simply, “The principles of statistical method as applied to biological data.” The only instructor listed for this course, which disappeared from the catalog in 1933, was Joseph C. Ireland. Ireland, with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wabash College, held the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago.

The following year after the introduction of the biometry course a second course appeared in the catalog. The Department of Business Administration offered the course, 333 Statistics, in 19127-1928. The title of this course was quickly changed to Business Statistics and was taught for many years by Morris Myers Blair. Mr. Blair held the M.A. degree from Missouri State Teachers’ College and the M.A. from the University of Missouri.

In 1928-1929, the School of Education added to the statistics offering under Education Administration the course, 582 School Statistics. This course was taught by Mr. Marlin Ray Chauncey with an A.B. degree from Kansas State Teachers college and the A.M. degree from Columbia University.

In 1929-1930 the catalog lists the first course in statistics offered by the Mathematics Department; 543 Theory of least Squares. The course description for this course reads, “Determination of the most probable value of observations by the method of least squares.” Today, of course, few statisticians would describe the method of least squares as giving the most probable value. This course was taught by Dr. William Van Nest Garretson who was appointed Associate Professor of Mathematics in 1929. Dr. Garretson held the B.A. degree from Rutgers, the M.S. degree from Yale and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan.

Last update: 08/18/2002

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