Donna Brogan received her Ph.D. in statistics in 1967 from Iowa State University. She was an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at UNC-Chapel Hill from 1967 to 1971. She was a faculty member at Emory University from 1971 until her retirement in 2004, serving as Professor of Statistics and Biometry in the School of Medicine and then as Professor of Biostatistics in the Rollins School of Public Health, which was founded in 1990. She also served as chair of the Biostatistics Department at Emory from 1991 to 1994.
Her specialty interest has been design and analysis of complex sample surveys, and in retirement she continues to teach short courses on this topic. She has over 100 publications, is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and has received numerous awards during her career, including the Elizabeth Scott Award from ASA for significant contributions to the recruitment and advancement of women in statistics. She is an avid square dancer at the challenge level (C3), an intense activity that requires mathematical and analytical aptitude.