Rate My Professor Heather Kitada Smalley

Dr. Heather Kitada Smalley is the Albaugh Associate Professor of Statistics and Data Science and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education at Willamette University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Statistics from Oregon State University (2018) and B.A. degrees from Lewis & Clark College. Prior to Willamette, she served as a visiting assistant professor of statistics at Reed College. An applied statistician, Dr. Smalley specializes in data visualization and data science education, with research interests in sampling, surveys, public opinion polling, educational research, and experimental design. Her scholarly work emphasizes developing methodologies for bias estimation and correction in public opinion and survey statistics, as well as investigating survey nonresponse patterns using machine learning techniques to analyze trends over time and within individual respondents. She has presented at national conferences such as AAPOR and JSM, and international venues including ESRA, WAPOR, and BigSurv. Recent projects include collaborations applying data science to archaeological data, such as marble isotope analysis from Greece and geochemical soil studies from the Ness of Brodgar in Scotland.

Dr. Smalley is deeply committed to undergraduate research, mentoring students through Willamette’s Science Research Collaborative Program (SCRP) from 2022 to 2025, which has yielded national recognition through paper and poster awards. She led the creation of Willamette’s data science program in 2018, chaired curriculum committees for data science and computer science, secured nearly $2 million via a Title III Department of Education grant, and contributed to establishing the School of Computing and Information Sciences. Her excellence has been honored with the Renjen Prize for Faculty Excellence (2022), Julie Abendroth Professor of the Year Award (2023), Phi Beta Kappa Professor of the Year (2025), and Oregon State University College of Science Early Career Alumni Award (2025). Since 2016, she has been a Science Communication Fellow at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, engaging in outreach and education.