The Nominating Committee of the LSA is soliciting nominations for the Vice President/President-Elect and members at-large of the Executive Committee (EC), including self-nominations. We ask nominators to provide a brief statement (ca. 150-200 words) that explains why the nominee is an appropriate candidate. Relevant factors include contributions to the discipline, past administrative experience, evidence of commitment to the LSA based on past service to the Society, leadership skills, and a record of effective and active committee service, among others.

 

Members of the Executive Committee serve a term of three years. The Committee meets twice a year: once in May, and once in January immediately prior to the annual LSA meeting. Attendance at these meetings is mandatory.  EC members receive some reimbursement for travel and accommodations. 

 

The Executive Committee serves as the governing Board of the LSA. As such, it provides oversight and governance for the LSA's operations as a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization. A major responsibility of the EC is to ensure effective implementation of the LSA's Strategic Plan, which was recently updated.

 

Issues that the Executive Committee is expected to face in the coming years include:

• Advocating for the value of linguistics scholarship to elected officials and policy makers, within the broader context of the liberal arts and sciences in the U.S. and internationally, in particular in response to threatened cuts to major funders of linguistics research and to policies and programs perceived as detrimental to the free exchange of ideas.
• enhancing the effectiveness of the LSA in meeting the needs of the membership, increasing member participation in the Society, and attracting new members, particularly student members, international members, and minority members;
• addressing issues of civility, bias, power dynamics, and harassment within the LSA and its associated events and publications;
• harnessing technologies in new ways to serve the linguistics community;
• identifying strategies for increasing revenue and decreasing expenses;
• increasing the visibility of linguistics to our academic colleagues outside the discipline, to the news media, and to the general public.

Prospective nominators and nominees should also consult the more detailed description of the responsibilities of the Vice President/President Elect and of the Executive Committee. 



Please send your nominations and supporting statement to Itamar Francez (ifrancez@uchicago.edu) no later than March 31. We particularly welcome nominations of individuals from groups that have been historically underrepresented in LSA governance.