The Department of Linguistics successfully completed its latest ten-year review, required of all academic departments at UW and overseen by The Graduate School. This time there was an eleven-year gap between reviews, as the review process started in 2019-2020, with a departmental committee chaired by Alicia Wassink and Shane Steinert-Threlkeld. However the review had to be postponed one year due to COVID-19 concerns, and in 2021 Sharon Hargus replaced on-sabbatical Wassink.
A review committee of two UW faculty, Christopher Teuton (American Indian Studies, chair of committee) and Guntis Smidchens (Scandinavian Studies), and two external faculty, Lisa Davidson (NYU Linguistics) and Diane Lillo-Martin (U Conn Linguistics), participated in a grueling two-day virtual site visit during January 2022, interviewing 16 departmental focus groups. The review committee concluded in their report that “overall...the UW Linguistics department is very strong”. The process involves many rounds of review and response from various UW units. One of The Graduate School’s conclusions was that the Department of Linguistics needs more space.
The next ten-year review of UW Linguistics is scheduled for 2031-32. Mark your calendars!