Fritz Newmeyer retired from UW Linguistics in 2006, but he hasn’t exactly taken it easy since then. Among other activities, he’s been a Guest Professor at Beijing Language and Culture University, a Professor at Norwegian Graduate Researcher Summer School in Linguistics and Philology, Senja Norway, and a Collaborateur at Institut des Science Cognitives, Lyon, France.
A UW Linguistics faculty member from 1969-2006, Newmeyer was active in the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), the national organization of U.S. linguists, throughout his life. Here are just a few highlights of Newmeyer’s involvement in the LSA:
- member since 1966
- taught at University of Maryland LSA summer institute, 1982
- member of Nominating Committee, 1987-1988
- Secretary-Treasurer, 1989-1994
- member of Leonard Bloomfield Book Award Committee, 1994-1996
- taught at University of Illinois LSA summer institute, 1999
- vice-president/president-elect 2001; president, 2002
- chair, Committee to Celebrate LSA 90th anniversary, 2011-2014
- delegate to Comité International Permanent des Linguistes, 2004-2009
In 2021 he was tapped to serve another five-year term as Secretary-Treasurer, the first person to do so in the history of the LSA. (And only one person has been LSA president twice. Do you know who? Find the answer in the pdf version of the newsletter.)
Here are some excerpts from Newmeyer’s LSA candidate statement:
The Secretary-Treasurer is the Chief Financial Officer of the LSA. In that regard, my particular goal is to increase the Society’s revenue, while reducing expenses. That is a particularly important task in today’s climate, where the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a more precarious employment situation for many of our colleagues, with the resultant diminished ability to maintain membership in professional organizations. In 1990 as Secretary-Treasurer I oversaw a successful fund-raising activity; I have a few in mind for the next few years. Along these lines, I look forward to working closely with the Executive Director and her staff at the LSA Secretariat in Washington, DC.