FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                   FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2002


Robert Bernstein                                                   CB02-114
Public Information Office                                          
(301) 763-3030/457-3670 (fax)
(301) 457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: pio@census.gov                                   
                                
              Census Bureau Opens Data Laboratory 
                   at University of Michigan
                                
  Census Bureau Director C. Louis Kincannon will cut the ribbon Monday
(Sept. 9) opening a new Research Data Center (RDC), jointly sponsored by
the Census Bureau's Center for Economic Studies and the University of
Michigan, on the university's Ann Arbor, Mich., campus.

  "The RDC program has allowed us to engage research communities outside
of Washington. RDCs are the proverbial 'different set of eyes.' This helps
the Census Bureau's mission by increasing the quality and by uncovering
the strengths and weaknesses of the Census Bureau data," Kincannon said
in remarks prepared for the ceremony.

  The Michigan Census Research Data Center offers qualified researchers
restricted access to unpublished economic and demographic data collected
by the Census Bureau in the course of its censuses and surveys. The center
is located in the university's Institute for Social Research. RDC
operating procedures, strict security and strong legal safeguards are
designed to protect the confidentiality of these data as required by law.

  "We are honored to have been selected by the Census Bureau as the
location for a research data center," said David Featherman, director of
the Institute for Social Research. "The institute has pioneered the
methods and technologies underlying surveys and censuses for more than
half a century.

  "This new center will foster both the analysis of census data and the
protection of confidentiality.  It is a privilege to enter this
partnership with the Census Bureau and to enhance its value to research
and to the public interest."

  Similar centers already exist in Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, Los
Angeles, Berkeley, Calif., and Durham, N.C.

  Before being able to access data at RDCs, researchers must submit
proposals to the RDC and the Census Bureau for approval. The review
process ensures that proposed research is feasible, has scientific merit
and benefits Census Bureau programs.
  
  The Michigan site was chosen jointly by the Census Bureau and the
National Science Foundation (NSF). Funding to support the center has been
provided by the NSF and units of the University of Michigan.

  Editors-news directors: For further information, contact Christopher
Kurz, RDC administrator, on (734) 615-2535 or e-mail: mrkurz@umich.edu.

  For information about the Center for Economic Studies and its Research
Data Centers program, visit its Web site at http://www.ces.census.gov.