Background

Established in 1970.

Charge

The Honorary Members Committee is composed of three members of the Society, serving staggered three year terms, and one past member of the Executive Committee.  The Committee is charged with nominating each year no more than five foreign scholars of distinction, who are not resident in the United States, to the Executive Committee as Honorary Members of the Society.

The LSA Constitution, Article II, No. 5 states:

Any scholar of international distinction, not resident in the United States, may be elected as an honorary member by the Society on recommendation of the Executive Committee.

Responsibilities

The Committee on Honorary Members recommends to the Executive Committee scholars who, in the Committee's judgment, should be considered for honorary membership. Such scholars will have demonstrated scholarly excellence and have had a notable history of impact on the field.  These recommendations are made in the form of citations and are accompanied by CVs or references to the nominee's relevant websites. The Executive Committee recommends that LSA members attending the Business Meeting accept the nominations and, upon the acceptance of these nominees, letters, including the citation, are sent to the nominees requesting their written consent to become honorary members. When consent is received, these citations are publicized on the LSA website and via its social media outlets.

Membership (by invitation) 

3 members, serving staggered three-year terms.

Beginning in 2018, the Committee will include a fourth member, who will be a past member of the LSA's Executive Committee, ideally one who has served as a Liaison to either the Committee on Ethnic Diversity in Linguistics or the Committee on Gender Equity in Linguistics (or formerly known as the Committee on the Status of Women in Linguistics).

Committee Members 

  • Dennis Preston, University of Kentucky (2025), chair
  • Tom Roeper, UMass Amherst (2024)
  • Lisa J. Green, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2025)
  • San Duanmu, University of Michigan (2026)
  • Executive Committee Liaison: Heidi Harley, University of Arizona (2026)
  • Staff Liaison: Vy Le