WASHINGTON –President Bush has nominated the state demographer of Texas, Steven Murdock, to be director of the Census, the White House said Monday.

Murdock would replace current Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon, who said late last year he would leave the agency when a new director was confirmed. Kincannon said at the time he felt he had lost the confidence of the Commerce Department, which oversees the bureau. He did not offer specifics.

Murdock currently is a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio and holds the Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Demography as well as serving as state demographer.

Murdock received his bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University and his master’s and doctorate from the University of Kentucky. He has authored numerous books and articles on demographic and socioeconomic changes.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., a member of the House Government Reform Committee’s Census panel, said Monday, “It appears that the president, after a lengthy delay, has finally nominated a career professional to be the Census director.”

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