Skip to main content
UMass Collegiate M The University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Give
  • Search UMass.edu
College of Humanities & Fine Arts College of Humanities & Fine Arts

Main navigation

  • Academics
    Undergraduate programsGraduate programsCertificate programsCourses
    See all academic programs
    UMass AdmissionsFinancial aid and scholarshipsCornerstone InitiativeAcademic advisingWhy HFA?
  • Research
    Research centers and institutesResearch newsFunding Opportunities and AwardsResearch Areas
  • Campus & Outreach
    Community EngagementFaces of HFADiversity, Equity, and InclusionStudent Leadership GroupSupport HFAHFA Days
  • Advising & Careers
    Exploratory TrackOpportunity ScholarsFinancial Aid and Scholarships
    Academic AdvisingHFA Career Services
  • About
    NewsEventsDirectoryMeet the LeadershipAlumni and Friends
    Resources for current studentsResources for faculty & staff Communications Support2025 Senior Recognition CeremonyContact

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. News

Linguistics Department Celebrates 50 Years

August 31, 2023 Academics

Content

UMass Linguistics Department founder Don Freeman in 1972
UMass Linguistics Department founder Don Freeman in 1972

The UMass Department of Linguistics marked its 50th anniversary with a weekend-long celebration in July.  

The department’s creation was approved by the UMass Board of Trustees in December 1971, under the leadership and vision of Donald Freeman, who became department chair, according to an early history of the department written by linguistics professor emerita and former department chair Barbara Partee. The department offered graduate degrees only until the fall of 1998, when a bachelor of arts in linguistics began, having been approved by the Board of Trustees in late 1997.  

One of the new department’s first major events was hosting the 1974 Linguistics Institute of the Linguistic Society of America; the 50th anniversary coincided with UMass’s hosting of the 2023 Institute, which brought more than 100 faculty and 300 students to the university for a wide-ranging set of courses, talks, and other activities in June and July.  

Events for the weekend included a discussion moderated by department chair Joe Pater on the building of UMass Linguistics, with panelists including Freeman, professor emerita Lyn Frazier, Kyle Johnson, Barbara Partee and Tom Roeper, and additional discussions on inter-generational collaboration on presupposition accommodation, computation and linguistic theory, and linguistics and the law.

Article posted in Academics for Alumni and Public

Related programs

  • Linguistics

Related departments

  • Linguistics

Site footer

College of Humanities & Fine Arts
  • Find us on Facebook
  • Find us on YouTube
  • Find us on LinkedIn
  • Find us on Instagram
Address

150 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9274
United States

Academics

  • Explore our programs
  • Undergraduate
  • Graduate
  • Continuing and professional education

Research

  • Research news
  • Research areas
  • Research centers & institutes

The School

  • About HFA
  • News
  • Events
  • Directory
  • Contact

Info for...

  • Current students
  • Faculty & staff

Global footer

  • ©2025 University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Site policies
  • Privacy
  • Non-discrimination notice
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of use