U.S. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt to speak on politics and the census Oct. 5

Census Bureau Director Prewitt speaks on politics and the census

ANN ARBOR—In the midst of a growing political controversy over the best way to reduce the undercount of minorities in the 2000 Census, U.S. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt visits Ann Arbor Oct. 5 to discuss how to disentangle politics and the science of census-taking. The event is free and open to the public.

Prewitt will speak on “Political Questions/Scientific Answers” at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 in Rackham Auditorium, 915 E. Washington St., on the University of Michigan campus. His talk is sponsored by the U-M Institute for Social Research, the world’s largest academic survey and research organization, and the U-M Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Before he was nominated by the president to head the U.S. Census Bureau in 1998, Prewitt served as president of the Social Science Research Council, senior vice president of the Rockefeller Foundation, and director of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. A political scientist, he is the author or co-author of a dozen books and more than 50 articles and book chapters.

Prewitt will be introduced by Barbara Everitt Bryant, a research scientist at theU-M Business School and the director of the 1990 U.S. Census. His talk will be followed by a panel discussion and an opportunity for public questions and comment. Among the scheduled panelists are:

Margo Anderson, professor of American history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and co-author of “Who Counts? The Politics of Census-Taking in Contemporary America.”

Vincent Hutchings, assistant professor of political science at the U-M, whose research interests include African American politics and public opinion.

Robert Teeter, president of Coldwater Corpration, an Ann Arbor business consulting and research firm, and former president of Market Opinion Research, a Detroit consumer research firm, who coordinated political polling strategies for Richard Nixon and Gerald R. Ford.

John Kingdon, professor emeritus of political science at the U-M, and the author of an award-winning book on the behavior of interest groups in setting political agendas.

2000 CensusInstitute for Social ResearchSocial Science Research CouncilBarbara Everitt BryantBusiness SchoolMargo AndersonVincent Hutchings