On May 6, 2021, the Department of Linguistics recognized聽the accomplishments of its graduating students from fall 2020, spring and summer 2021.聽聽Fifty-two BA, MA, MS, and PhD聽students were celebrated at the event, which opened with a speech聽by department chair聽Professor Laura Michaelis. She began by comparing what remained on the campus, frozen in time, after it abruptly closed due to the COVID pandemic to that of the remnants of the city of Pompeii following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.聽聽She read words of academic strength spoken by George Norlin, the acting President of the university during the influenza pandemic of 1918, and followed with an explanation of what linguistics is, in all of its forms.聽Professor Rebecca Scarborough followed with her congratulations to the graduates recognizing their commitment and achievements despite hurdles placed on their progress due to the COVID virus. Professor Jeremy Calder, Honors director, closed with聽a speech outlining the ways in which schoalrs of language can use the tools of the field to address social equity and social justice.聽
Of the thirty-five BA graduates, seven also received simultaneous MA degrees as students in the BAMA concurrent degree program.聽聽Seven MA students, 7 MS CLASIC, and 3 PhD graduates were honored. Faculty members who advised MA theses and PhD dissertations highlighted the research completed by their students with video clips.聽聽LURA (Linguistics Undergraduate Research Award) recipients and graduates聽with distinction聽were recognized, as well, Linguistics聽Van Ek award recipient Maisa Nammari聽and David Rood Undergraduate scholarship聽recipients Evi Judge.聽聽Professor Zygmunt Frajzyngier, retiring after over fifty years in the Department of Linguistics, was honored, too. A virtual processional of undergraduate and graduate profiles and messages concluded the ceremony.聽聽
The 2021 spring virtual ceremony can be viewed here:
We, in the Department of Linguistics, congratulate those students, at every level, who chose to study in depth the aspects of the common human experience in which we all participate:聽talking.聽