Statement of Director Steve Murdock on
Retirement of Deputy Director Jay Waite
Preston Jay Waite, Deputy Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, is retiring after
nearly 38 years of service to the Bureau. Having devoted his adult life to public
service, Jay has decided with his wife to return home to his family and to Utah.
His absence will be noticed every day. However, I am pleased to say we expect
to be able to rely on Jay's expertise as we move forward with the reengineered
2010 decennial.
Jay has been a driving force during times of great change, innovation, difficulty
and growth. With a record of distinguished service, Jay was instrumental in
completing the very successful 2000 Decennial Census. His vision and contributions,
particularly in the development and execution of the American Community survey,
will be a fitting legacy in the years to come. Jay is also one of the major
architects behind the 2010 reengineered census, which will dramatically change
the way censuses are conducted for decades. Among his many awards are two Department
of Commerce Gold Medals, one for his work in overseeing the redesign of demographic
surveys in 1990 and the second for his leadership and management of Census 2000.
In 1999, Jay received the Hammer Award for his work in the development of the
American Community Survey. He also received two Presidential Rank awards, one
for Meritorious Executive in 1997 and one for Distinguished Executive in 2005.
Jay has provided outstanding leadership at the Bureau during his tenure, and
there is no way to honor him adequately or thank him sufficiently for all he
has done. However, on behalf of the Bureau and myself, I wish to convey our
sincere gratitude to him for a career of dedicated and exemplary service to
the Bureau and to the American people. We at the Bureau wish him a long and
happy retirement.
Associate Director for Economic Programs Thomas L. Mesenbourg will assume the
position of Acting Deputy Director and will serve until a permanent Deputy Director
is named. Tom brings to this assignment a wealth of managerial experience and
over 36 years of service at the Census Bureau.
He served as the Assistant Director for Economic Programs since 1994 prior to
assuming his current position in 2005. Tom is responsible for the Economic Directorate's
myriad programs including the Economic Census and the Census of Governments
and over 100 monthly, quarterly and annual surveys. In 2004, Mesenbourg was
the recipient of a Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Senior Executives,
the government's highest award for career executives. He received his Master's
degree in economics from Penn State and did his undergraduate work at Boston
University.
