Census chief: Community engagement key to problem-solving

Robert Santos, the 26th director of the U.S. Census Bureau, visited UTRGV’s Sociology Department to speak with students and faculty about being your “whole self.”

“If you bring your whole self … and you add that to your technical training … you will be better at whatever it is you’re doing,” Santos told 30 attendees gathered Feb. 6 in Edinburg Liberal Arts Building North.

Introduced by Associate Professor Steven Foy, Santos emphasized the importance of authenticity and personal experience.

He discussed the benefits of virtual clusters and community engagement in research, advocating for bringing one’s “whole self”–values and life experiences–to the table.

Santos, an elected member of the International Statistical Institute and former president of the American Statistical Association and American Association for Public Opinion Research, stressed the value of diversity in data collection and analysis.

He shared his journey from aspiring mathematician to statistician, highlighting his experiences as a Latino in decision-making rooms.

“I often found myself to be the sole Latino or person of color,” Santos said.

As an expert in survey research spanning 40 years, he recalled receiving the phone call inviting him to meet with the Senate to consider him for the directorial position.

“I had to make a decision,” Santos said. “… It’s a huge responsibility. … But it’s public service … and I decided yes, I want to make that commitment.”

As the first Latino director, Santos recounted preparing for the Senate meeting and wondering if he should change his appearance.

“Do I get a buzz cut?” he recalled asking himself.

Santos told the audience that he instead decided to be his “whole self,” as he proudly showed off his ponytail to the audience.

Santos said he is a champion of diversity and emphasizes the importance of community engagement in problem-solving.

He illustrated this point with an anecdote from his graduate studies, where he identified a potential flaw in a seemingly perfect health-care proposal that could exacerbate inequality.

In a study section for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Santos said he was a statistician graduate student in a room filled with famous medical doctor researchers.

He recalled a proposal that he reviewed in the study section for alternative therapy to reduce the financial burden on hospitals and help patients without health insurance, which was a seemingly perfect “win-win,” he said.

But it had a problem that only he was able to spot.

“I don’t think we should approve it as it’s written,” he told researchers. “If we approve this application, we will be contributing to the two-tier health system.”

Santos told the audience that the only reason he was able to spot that issue “is because I came from San Antonio, I came from the barrios. I’m just another vato loco, and I didn’t want my tía or my abuelita to miss the opportunity of getting the same health care as everyone else.”

The event concluded with a Q&A session, allowing students and faculty to engage with the director on various topics related to the Census Bureau and data-driven research.

Graduate student Samantha Segura, a presidential research fellow, asked about addressing institutionalized biases in data collection.

Santos emphasized understanding data’s strengths and limitations, considering cultural context and being informed about potential biases.