The LSA Executive Committee has now completed the process* of appointing the membership of two new task forces focused on concerns raised by the linguistics community about its media experts list and its procedures for sanctioning members for professional misconduct. In assembling the members, we have tried to balance perspectives and experience with a desire to keep the groups to a size that will be able to work effectively. The task forces will convene soon to begin their work, and ultimately make recommendations to the EC regarding the formulation of new procedures. Neither task force will act on specific concerns or complaints about any individual misconduct, rather they will recommend procedures, respectively, for creating a media resource list and for acting on complaints as they are brought forward to the LSA.

We will ask the Task Forces to establish and implement a mechanism for collecting feedback and comments from LSA members.

The task forces have been asked to deliver their recommendations to the EC by mid-December, so they may be discussed in open session at the Annual Business Meeting (date and time TBD in early January).

Task Force on Media Resources

Charge: to rethink and rebuild a structure for an outward-facing resource for the media/journalists to have their questions about language answered by knowledgeable LSA members.

• Brian Joseph, Chair, The Ohio State University
• Jennifer Bloomquist, Gettysburg College
• Tracy Conner, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Shenika Hankerson, University of Maryland
• Lynn Hou, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Chris Kennedy , University of Chicago
• Gretchen McCulloch, Internet Linguist
• Alyson Reed, Linguistic Society of America, ex officio

Task Force on Procedures for Evaluating Professional Conduct

Charge: to establish clear policies and procedures for grievances and allegations of professional misconduct that is in violation or goes against the LSA Ethics Statement and the LSA Civility Policy

• Penny Eckert, Chair, Stanford University
• John Baugh, Washington University in St. Louis
• Jeff Good, University at Buffalo
• Sharon Inkelas, University of California, Berkeley
• Gaja Jarosz, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Norma Mendoza-Denton, University of California, Los Angeles
• Jennifer Nycz, Georgetown University
• Racquel-María Sapién, University of Oklahoma
• Gregory Ward, Northwestern University
• Tracey Weldon, University of South Carolina
• David Robinson, Linguistic Society of America, ex officio

* Consistent with the charge of the LSA's standing Committee on Committees and Delegate Appointments, the proposed membership of each task force was duly considered and recommended to the EC for formal approval.