Mission
The mission of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Iowa is to answer fundamental questions about language through cutting-edge research and by expanding the reach of experimental and cognitive science. We seek to generate science-based linguistic knowledge for instruction and to construct empirically testable theoretical hypotheses. Our faculty strive to build and maintain scholarly and pedagogical bridges to different groups on campus. Overall, in our courses, we aspire to advance awareness of linguistic rights and serve diverse populations. In the department, diversity means respecting a variety of voices in the classroom, welcoming a range of people from different backgrounds, and valuing the ways in which we speak differently. We strive to make all speakers feel appreciated and valued.  

Vision
Language acquisition is the unifying topic around which the Department of Linguistics is built. This is an area of great societal importance. The current trends in language sciences address the fundamental questions of linguistics not only by using a core analytic approach but also by applying experimental and computational techniques. Our department successfully combines these approaches. We deliver a first-class undergraduate and graduate education focused on the scientific study of language itself, its acquisition, and current experimental methods and technologies. Linguistics as a field is at the intersection of psychology, education, anthropology, and computer science. We connect these areas through our classes and research, showing how learning linguistics has an important impact in many areas of human interaction including social justice. We, as linguists, aspire to educate ourselves by reflecting collectively on how to examine issues of linguistic diversity and existing prejudices. We strive to disseminate knowledge and spread awareness of our discipline among the students and community by engaging with the public. 

Strategic Plan

Goal

Optimize graduate programs to support student success. 

Strategy 1

Design a comprehensive recruitment plan aimed at diversifying the graduate applicant pool.

Critical Tasks:

  • Create marketing materials emphasizing our focus on language acquisition, heritage linguistics and multilingualism, experimental and quantitative approaches, and laboratory research opportunities. 
  • Identify appropriate modes and venues for distribution, including online (e.g., LinguistList.org) and snail mail (e.g., colleges and universities with limited graduate offerings in linguistics). 

Indicators of Success: 

  • Launch the new recruitment plan in Spring 2022.
  • Track application yield data from targeted recruiting materials, focusing on applicants’ source institutions and trends in research interests. 

Strategy 2

Building on the success of the PhD Certificate in the Cognitive Science of Language, develop options for a cognitive science of language focus at the MA level.

Critical Tasks:

  • Conduct a careful examination of the current MA-level curriculum with an eye toward innovations in course development, curriculum planning, and possible interdisciplinary partnerships.
  • Create sample plans of study for MA students pursuing the new focus area.
  • Indicators of Success: 
  • Launch new focus area by Fall 2022. 

Goal

Increase the number of undergraduate majors.

Strategy

Target undergraduate students who already have majors in the DWLLC, for whom a second major in Linguistics would be a natural pairing.

Design a high school recruitment plan for 2022-2023.

Critical Tasks:

  • Develop recruitment materials advertising: entry-level LING GE classes; natural synergies among DWLLC majors, minors, and programs.
  • Beginning Fall 2021, encourage instructors to reach out to 1st and 2nd year undergraduates in LING courses who are LING major candidates. 
  • Renew connections with professional advisors in the academic advising center and partner with them to disseminate recruitment materials.
  • Prepare a PowerPoint or a video to present in Iowa high schools. 
  • Identify contacts in high schools to organize presentations to seniors and juniors around the state of Iowa.

Indicators of Success: 

  • Increase the size of the undergraduate student cohort. 

Goal

Strengthen professionalization opportunities for both undergraduate majors and graduate students.

Strategy

Develop a local learning community that promotes mentoring of graduate students in teaching techniques and professional preparation. 

Host or co-sponsor professionalization events/workshops for students. 

Increase the number of faculty-mentored research, applied, and experiential learning courses.

Critical Tasks:

  • Inform graduate students of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) opportunities.
  • At the fall orientation session, explain how teaching skills can be enhanced by enrolling in CIRTL. 
  • Follow up on graduate student participation in CIRTL.
  • Create a comprehensive network of graduate and undergraduate alumni.
  • Identify and liaise with departmental alumni with a range of educational and professional experiences that could be beneficial to current and future students.
  • Establish collaborations with the Career Center, the Obermann Center, and other related institutions on campus.
  • Create mechanisms to integrate and consolidate research and teaching to increase student contact with faculty.

Indicators of Success: 

  • Increase number of student presenters at professional conferences (local/national). 
  • Host one professionalization event/workshop per year beginning in 2021-2022.

Goal

Improve faculty awareness of DEI principles for linguists.

Strategy

Increase training and awareness via faculty participation in the BUILD program.

Critical Tasks:

  • Encourage ALL departmental faculty to take additional courses beyond the BUILD core.

Indicators of Success: 

  • All departmental faculty will have completed the BUILD program core module by the end of 2021-2022.
  • All departmental faculty will have completed at least one BUILD elective by the end of 2022-2023.

Goal

Increase the recruitment, retention, and success rates of URM and first-generation undergraduate and graduate students.

Strategy 1

Earmark resources for recruiting students from diverse groups.

Critical Tasks:

  • Develop plans for the recruitment of a diverse student population. 
  • Develop marketing materials to raise our profile as a heritage linguistics program, which will likely attract a more ethnically diverse range of students (as a great many heritage speakers, who presumably would be interested in heritage linguistics, are members of underrepresented minorities).

Indicators of Success:

  • Resources have been found and the plan is completed. Marketing materials are being distributed.

Strategy 2

Address linguistic bias in our classrooms when we present linguistic facts, theory and examples.

Critical Tasks:

  • Examine individual and collective biases among the faculty.
  • Assess critically our own attitudes toward non-standard and non-native English use in the classroom.
  • Develop resources to give effective and non-biased feedback to students.
  • Add a statement in our syllabi stating that we value linguistic diversity.
  • Ask students about their linguistic backgrounds in the classroom and show genuine appreciation of the linguistic diversity.

Indicators of Success:

  • Hold at least two faculty discussion sessions per semester about matters of DEI and linguistic bias.

Goal

Enhance our interdisciplinary, collaborative research initiative focusing on multilingualism and the multilingual experience.

Strategy

Build upon current strengths and collaborations with various other UIowa groups, centers, and departments.

Critical Tasks:

  • Enhance on-campus networking within CLAS with PBS, CSD, LDG, DeLTA, etc. to identify additional interested scholars.

Indicators of Success: 

  • Expand collaborative participation in events related to multilingualism in AY 2021-2022; 2022-2023.

Goal

Enhance collaboration among the language science laboratories within the DWLLC. 

Strategy

Continue to promote language science laboratory research opportunities for students in Linguistics and allied disciplines.

Enhance communication and coordination among laboratory directors and with LING/DWLLC leadership.

Critical Tasks:

  • Increase visible connection among linguistic labs via website visibility (i.e., create a single space on the LING or DWLLC website that highlights ALL linguistics labs and includes links to websites).
  • Establish a meeting of linguistic laboratory directors and LING/DWLLC leadership once per semester.

Indicators of Success: 

  • Website links page created by Summer 2021.
  • Semester meetings held beginning Fall 2021.

Goal

Become nationally recognized for language acquisition, heritage languages and multilingualism research.

Strategy

Build upon our current strengths in language acquisition, heritage language and multilingualism.

Critical Tasks:

  • Continue prioritizing the hire of a language scientist with expertise in the acquisition of sound.
  • Showcase the excellence of projects being conducted.
  • Develop infrastructure to get research-centered funding opportunities for graduate students.
  • Facilitate the preparation of additional internal and external grants related to multilingualism research.

Indicators of Success: 

  • Increase visibility of faculty and collaborative research. 

Goal

Foster increased opportunities for student research and discovery. 

Strategy

Offer continued opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to participate in research projects and/or linguistics laboratories.

Critical Tasks:

  • Pursue opportunities to involve undergraduate students in research – ICRU fellows and summer research programs.
  • Explore revisions of the undergraduate major that would allow research options to be more directly incorporated.
  • Encourage faculty without linguistics laboratories to actively develop research projects in which they could involve graduate and undergraduate students.

Indicators of Success:

  • Increase the number of students involved in research. 

Goal

Explore opportunities to share our expertise in language acquisition and multilingualism with the general public. 

Strategy

Share our expertise in language acquisition and multilingualism with the local and regional community.

Critical Tasks:

  • Organize public events focused on the benefits of multilingualism in our community.
  • Identify contacts in the Department of Education as sources of information for collaboration possibilities.

Indicators of Success:

  • Host one public event per AY 2021-2026.