Dr. Bill Carlson is professor emeritus of economics at St. Olaf College, where he taught for 31 years, serving several times as department chair and in various administrative functions, including director of academic computing. He has also held leave assignments with the U.S. government and the University of Minnesota in addition to lecturing at many different universities. He was elected an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa. In addition, he spent 10 years in private industry and contract research prior to beginning his career at St. Olaf. His education includes engineering degrees from Michigan Technological University (BS) and from the Illinois Institute of Technology (MS) and a PhD in quantitative management from the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan. Numerous research projects related to management, highway safety, and statistical education have produced more than50 publications. He received the Metropolitan Insurance Award of Merit for Safety Research. He has previously published two statistics textbooks. An important goal of this book is to help students understand the forest and not be lost in the trees. Hiking the Lake Superior trail in Northern Minnesota helps in developing this goal. Professor Carlson led several study-abroad programs, ranging from 1 to 5 months, for study in various countries around the world. He was the executive director of the Cannon Valley Elder Collegium and a regular volunteer for a number of community activities. He is a member of both the Methodist and Lutheran disaster-relief teams and a regular participant in the local Habitat for Humanity building team. He enjoys his grandchildren, woodworking, travel, reading, and being on assignment on the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Dr. Betty M. Thorne, author, researcher, and award-winning teacher, is a professor of statistics in the School of Business Administration at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. Winner of Stetson University’s McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest honor given to a Stetson University faculty member, Dr. Thorne is also the recipient of the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award and Professor of the Year Award in the School of Business Administration at Stetson. Dr. Thorne teaches in Stetson University’s undergraduate business program in DeLand, Florida, and also in Stetson’s summer program in Innsbruck, Austria; Stetson University’s College of Law; Stetson University’s Executive MBA program; and Stetson University’s Executive Passport program. Dr. Thorne has received various teaching awards in the JD/MBA program at Stetson’s College of Law” in Gulfport, Florida. She received her BS degree from Geneva College and MA and PhD degrees from Indiana University. She has co-authored statistics textbooks which have been translated into several languages and adopted by universities, nationally and internationally. She serves on key school and university committees. Dr. Thorne, whose research has been published in various refereed journals, is a member of the American Statistical Association, the Decision Science Institute, Beta Alpha Psi, Beta Gamma Sigma, and the Academy of International Business. She and her husband, Jim, have four children. They travel extensively, attend theological conferences and seminars, participate in international organizations dedicated to helping disadvantaged children, and do missionary work in Romania.