As we start the new year, the UIUC Department of Linguistics is pleased to announce new leadership for the upcoming term. Dr. Tania Ionin will serve as the Department Head, succeeding Dr. James Yoon, who served as Department Head for the past fifteen years. The department is pleased to announce that Dr. Silvina Montrul will take on the responsibilities of Associate Head, succeeding Dr. Rakesh Bhatt, who served in the role for the past 15 years. Additionally, Dr. Jonathan MacDonald will take on the responsibilities of Director of Graduate Studies.
Since joining the department in 2007, Dr. Ionin has served as a dedicated professor, researcher, and advisor. In addition to her work in the Department of Linguistics, she is affiliated with the Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education program, the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center, the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Her dedication is shown in the many classes she teaches in the Linguistics and EIL programs, her numerous publications of research articles and books, and her role directing and serving on the committees for dozens of theses and qualifying papers. For the previous twelve years, Dr. Ionin served as the Director of Graduate Studies, working tirelessly to ensure students in the graduate programs meet their academic goals.
Since joining the university’s faculty in 1999, Dr. Montrul has provided invaluable contributions to the Department of Linguistics as well as the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. She has previously served as the Department Head for the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Dr. Montrul is recognized as a Marjorie Roberts Professor of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and has recently received the 2024 L. Bloomfield Book Award from the Linguistics Society of America.
Dr. MacDonald has carried out exemplary teaching and research in the Departments of Linguistics and Spanish and Portuguese since joining the university in 2010. He has previously served as Acting Director of Graduate Studies for Linguistics, and he is currently serving as the Director of Graduate Studies for the Spanish and Portuguese as well as Linguistics departments.
As we look forward to the 2025-2026 academic year, we wish to share the following short interview with new Department Head, Dr. Tania Ionin:
What do you see as the strengths of the UIUC Linguistics Department?
Our Linguistics department is quite unique in the way that it brings together several different programs, and I see this is a major strength: theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics and language teaching are all part of the same unit, allowing for productive research and instructional collaborations that might not happen in more narrowly focused departments. Another major strength is that we are a collegial department, with a general atmosphere of respect and consideration for one another. I am very grateful to James and Rakesh, and to all the program leaders, faculty, students and staff for fostering this environment of collegiality.
What are your goals during your term as Department Head?
To begin with, my goal is to become fully familiar with every aspect of my new position – no easy feat, given the size and complexity of our department, but I am very lucky to have a wonderful mentor in James, and to be able to draw on his 15 years of experience. Another goal is to continue the work, begun over the past few years by our admin team, on equity in the workloads of graduate student employees and specialized faculty. Further building and expanding our program (e.g., the planned linguistics + data science major) is another major goal, which is achievable thanks to the dedication and effort of my wonderful colleagues.
Are there any other messages you would like to share with the department?
I feel extremely fortunate to begin my term as Head with the full support of this department. I encourage every member of this department to reach out with any questions or concerns, or even if you just want to chat. And I know that I will be reaching out to many of you as the semester begins! I look forward to working with all of you.
The department wishes to extend its deepest gratitude to Dr. James Yoon and Dr. Rakesh Bhatt for their wonderful leadership and their dedication to the department for the past fifteen years. Their efforts have been key in fostering the growth of the department and the academic success of its students and faculty.
The UIUC Department of Linguistics looks forward to continuing its traditions of excellence in research, teaching, and development in the 2025-2026 academic year.
