U-M Linguistics Timeline

2013: The first LSA Linguistic Institute at UM in 40 years, co-directed by Professors Andries Coetzee & Robin Queen.

2011-2013: Marlyse Baptista was President of the Society of Pidgin and Creole Linguistics.

2011: 54 Linguistics concentrators received the B.A., a record number for our department.

2011: Professor Pam Beddor became the John C. Catford Collegiate Professor of Linguistics.

2011: The Linguistics Department received a 2011 Departmental Award for Contributions to the Undergraduate Initiative from UM's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

2011: Assistant Professor Andries Coetzee received the first-ever Linguistic Society of America Early Career Award.

2010: Professor Sam Epstein received an Arthur F. Thurnau professorship in recognition of his many contributions to undergraduate education at the University of Michigan.

2010-2013: Professor Sally Thomason was chair of the Linguistics Department.

2010: Associate Professor Robin Queen received an Arthur F. Thurnau professorship in recognition of her many contributions to undergraduate education at the University of Michigan.

2009: Professor Sally Thomason served as President of the Linguistic Society of America.

2009: Professor Samuel D. Epstein received the Rackham Graduate School's John H. D'Arms Faculty Award for Distinguished Graduate Mentoring in the Humanities.

2008: Catherine Fortin (Ph.D. 2007, syntax) received a Horace H. Rackham Distinguished Dissertation Award for 2008 (8 awards were given, selected from a total of 780 dissertations submitted in 2007).

2007: Chandan Narayan (Ph.D. 2006, phonetics) received a Horace H. Rackham Distinguished Dissertation Award for 2007 (ca. 8 awards were given, selected from a total of ca. 750 dissertations submitted in 2006).

2006: Nicholas Pharris (Ph.D. 2006, descriptive linguistics) was selected as the winner of the 2006 Mary Haas Award by the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas.

2006: The Department moved to the fourth floor of Lorch Hall, where we have gorgeous views from floor-to-ceiling office windows but a few too many floods from various sources.

2004: The Department moved from Frieze to the brand new Undergraduate Science Building; soon afterward, the Frieze Building was demolished.

2004-2010: Professor Pam Beddor was chair of the Linguistics Department.

2002: Professor Patrice Speeter (Pam) Beddor received the Rackham Graduate School's John H. D'Arms Faculty Award for Distinguished Graduate Mentoring in the Humanities.

2001: Professor Sarah G. (Sally) Thomason became the William J. Gedney Collegiate Professor of Linguistics.

2000-2004: Professor Lesley Milroy, the Hans Kurath Collegiate Professor of Linguistics, was chair of the Linguistics Department.

2000: THE LINGUISTICS PROGRAM AGAIN BECAME THE LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT; the first chair of the newly restored department was Marilyn Shatz.

2000: Professor Lesley Milroy became the Hans Kurath Collegiate Professor of Linguistics.

1998: The Linguistics Program received the Departmental Award for Contributions to the Undergraduate Initiative from UM's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

1995-2000: Professor Marilyn Shatz was director of the Linguistics Program.

1986-1995: Professor Thomas Toon was director of the Linguistics Program.

1985-1986: Professor Robbins Burling was interim director of the Linguistics Program.

1985: The Department of Linguistics became a program again.

1982-1984: Professor Eric Rabkin was interim chair(man) of the Linguistics Department.

1977-1982: Professor Kenneth Cushman Hill was chair(man) of the Linguistics Department.

1974-1977: Professor Kenneth Lee Pike was chair(man) of the Linguistics Department.

1973: LSA Linguistic Institute at UM, directed by Professor William J. Gedney.

1972: The Department moved to the late unlamented Frieze Building.

1971-1974: Professor William J. Gedney was chair(man) of the Linguistics Department.

1971: David Lightfoot received his Ph.D. (and later became the 2010 President of the Linguistic Society of America).

1968-1971: Professor John C. Catford was chair(man) of the Linguistics Department.

1965, 1967: Professor Herbert Paper directed two LSA Linguistic Institutes at UM.

1963-1968: Professor Herbert Paper was the first chair(man) of the Linguistics Department.

1963: THE LINGUISTICS PROGRAM BECAME THE DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS, housed at first in Angell Hall.

1962: Charles Fillmore received his Ph.D. in Linguistics (and later became the 1991 President of the Linguistic Society of America).

1962: Professor Albert H. Marckwardt served as President of the Linguistic Society of America.

1961-1962: Professor Joseph K. Yamagiwa was Director of the Linguistics Program (soon to be the Linguistics Department).

1959: Ilse Lehiste received her Ph.D. in Linguistics (and later became the 1980 President of the Linguistic Society of America).

1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959: Five more LSA Linguistic Institutes, all directed by Albert Marckwardt.

1954-1963: Professor Albert H. Marckwardt was Director of the Linguistics Program.

1954: Another LSA Linguistic Institute at UM, directed by Joseph K. Yamagiwa.

1953-1954: Professor Joseph K. Yamagiwa was Director of the Linguistics Program.

1952-1953: Professor Albert H. Marckwardt was Director of the Linguistics Program.

1949-1952: Professor Hans Kurath was Director of the Linguistics Program.

1950: Four LSA Linguistic Institutes at UM, all directed by Professor Hans Kurath.

1947, 1948, 1949: Four LSA Linguistic Institutes at UM, all directed by Professor Hans Kurath.

1945, 1946: Two more LSA Linguistic Institutes at UM, the first also directed by Charles Fries.

1945-1949: Professor Charles C. Fries was Director of the Linguistics Program. He also founded UM's English Language Institute.

1945: FOUNDING OF THE PROGRAM IN LINGUISTICS, which was set up and supervised by a Committee on Linguistics appointed by the Graduate School.

1942: The second UM Ph.D. in Linguistics was awarded to Kenneth L. Pike (who later became Chair(man) of the UM Linguistics Department, and later still the 1961 President of the Linguistic Society of America).

1942: Professor Hans Kurath served as President of the Linguistic Society of America.

1939: Professor Charles C. Fries served as President of the Linguistic Society of America.

1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940: Five summer LSA Linguistic Institutes at UM, all directed by Professor Charles C. Fries.

1933: The First UM Ph.D. in Linguistics was awarded to Florence G. Beall.

1932-1938: Professor Henry Arthur Sanders (who taught at UM 1899-1939) was Chairman of the new Department of Speech and General Linguistics. He was also the department's only chair. After his retirement in 1939, the department dropped "General Linguistics" and became simply the Speech Department. There was no connection between Sanders' department and the later Linguistics program. Sanders' department was one of the first in the United States to have "(General) Linguistics" in its official name.

1929: UM's Regents approved the creation of the Laboratory of General Linguistics and Speech. Its first director was Professor John H. Muyskens.

1924: Founding of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), with three UM faculty members among its founding members: Professors Charles C. Fries, Samuel Moore, and Fred Newton Scott. Another founding member of the LSA, Hans Kurath, came to UM later.

1897: Professor George Hempl was appointed to the newly established Chair of English Philology and General Linguistics. He later (in 1915) received an honorary doctorate from UM.

1893-1935: Professor Clarence Linton Meader was the first Linguistics professor at UM- he was Professor of Latin, Sanskrit, Russian, Comparative Philology, and General Linguistics.