Thomas Wasow : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Thomas Wasow, the Academic Secretary to the University, Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, and Clarence Irving Lewis Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, describes his education and research in linguistics and shares memories of his faculty and administrative career at Stanford. Wasow describes growing up in Hollywood, the impact his father had on his decision to go into academia, and his undergraduate education at Reed College. He recalls his decision to pursue linguistics as opposed to mathematics and his doctoral studies under Noam Chomsky at MIT. Turning to Stanford, Wasow recalls the circumstances surrounding his appointment, the creation of the Linguistics Department, and his many interdisciplinary collaborations over the years, including his involvement with the Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI) and the origins and evolution of the Symbolic Systems Program (SYMSYS). He also describes his service on the Faculty Senate and his administrative roles, including dean of undergraduate studies, associate dean of graduate policy, and academic secretary.
- Summary
- Growing up in the Los Angeles area • Family “business” of academia • Appeal of an academic career • Hollywood High School • Following older brother to Reed College • Summer of 1957 in Palo Alto while father worked on book with colleague George Forsythe • Majoring in mathematics • Exposure to linguistics while at Reed • State of linguistics education in the 1960s • Noam Chomsky • Chomsky as a graduate school advisor • Chomsky’s impact on the field of linguistics in the US • Fulbright year in Germany, 1967-1968 • Graduate work in linguistics at MIT • Lack of teaching opportunities in graduate school • Julius Moravcsik and the creation of the Linguistics Department at Stanford • Working at Hampshire College in its first years • Move to Stanford • Joan Bresnan’s work at Xerox PARC and Stanford on theory of grammar • Meeting wife, Judith, while in graduate school • Initial joint appointment in the Philosophy Department despite not being a philosopher • Creation of the Linguistics Department in 1975 • Tenure process, including impact of outside offer from University of Washington • Approach to teaching • Love of PowerPoint • Origins of the Symbolic Systems (SYMSYS) Program • Systems Development Foundation funding in the 1980s and collaborations between Stanford, Xerox PARC, and SRI; Creation of the Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI) • People involved in the early days of SYMSYS: John Perry, Jon Barwise, Stuart Reges, Helen Nissenbaum • Creation of SYMSYS major and relation to CSLI • Growth of SYMSYS • Initial pushback from faculty member in the Computer Science Department • Origins of the Symbolic Systems name • Success of SYMSYS students • SYMSYS coterminal program, master’s degree, and track in Philosophy PhD program • SYMSYS structure, staffing, and curriculum • Role and responsibilities as SYMSYS director • Initial attraction to Chomsky’s early mathematical work, including Syntactic Structures • Evolution of Chomsky’s work in linguistics; idea of universal grammar • Skepticism and critiques of Chomsky’s work • Wasow’s drift away from Chomskyan models • Research on generalized phrase structure grammar (GPSG) • Consulting work at Hewlett Packard Labs; head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG) • Transition to dean of undergraduate studies • Collaborations with Ivan Sag • Collaborations with John Rickford; growing interest in usage variation, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics • Thoughts on math and language • Linguistics as difficult to pigeon-hole; interdisciplinary nature of linguistics • Contributions to the field of linguistics, including work on weak and strong cross-over and head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG) • Graduate students Emily Bender and Florian Jaeger • Ivan Sag • Early administrative roles and service on Faculty Senate • Impressions of Stanford leader Donald Kennedy • Responsibilities as dean of undergraduate studies • Working with the dean of Humanities & Sciences • Creation of the Deans’ Award for Academic Achievement • Transition from the Western Culture program to the Culture, Ideas, and Values program (CIV) and resulting controversy • Reed’s introductory humanities sequence • Opinion on general education requirements • Popular conceptions of Stanford • University’s financial struggles in the early 1990s • Role as associate dean of graduate policy • Working with Condoleezza Rice on graduate student housing • Thoughts on graduate education at Stanford • Faculty Senate and chair selection process • Role of the Faculty Senate • Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics • College athletics and academics • Policies on military recruitment at Stanford • Changes in the Faculty Senate • Office of the Academic Secretary • Role of the Faculty Senate steering committee • History of Faculty Senate decisions regarding the ROTC program • Chairing the Linguistics Department • Differences between chairing a department and directing an interdisciplinary program • Growth and evolution of Stanford’s Linguistics Department • Importance of recruiting strong faculty • Changes in the Philosophy Department • Appointment to academic secretary position • Working with Adrienne Emory • Responsibilities of the academic secretary • Creating minutes for the Faculty Senate meetings • Involvement with homelessness issues in the Bay Area, including board service with Abode Services and Community Working Group • Daughters’ work with homeless services • Editorships for Language and Cognitive Science • Linguistics section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science • Faculty Retirement Incentive Program • Plans for retirement • Changes to Stanford’s campus • Increased diversity in the undergraduate and graduate student populations • Reflections on interdisciplinarity of linguistics at Stanford; Tuesday Night Seminar • Corporatization of higher education • Balancing family and work
Description
| Type of resource | sound recording-nonmusical, text, still image |
|---|---|
| Extent | 3 audio files; 1 text file; 1 photograph |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | February 3, 2020 - 2020-02-10 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Wasow, Thomas | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Wasow, Thomas | |
| Interviewer | Marincovich, Michele | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Wasow, Thomas |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University. Department of Philosophy |
| Subject | Stanford University. Department of Linguistics |
| Subject | Education, Higher > Administration |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | Tom Wasow is the Academic Secretary to the University, as well as Professor of Linguistics, emeritus and Clarence Irving Lewis Professor of Philosophy, emeritus. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Reed College and his PhD in Linguistics from MIT. He taught for a year and a half at Hampshire College before joining the Stanford faculty in 1973. During his decades at Stanford, Wasow served as Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Associate Dean of Humanities and Sciences, Associate Dean for Graduate Policy, Chair of the Faculty Senate, Chair of the Department of Linguistics, and Director of the Center for the Study of Language and Information. He was a founder of the Symbolic Systems Program, and served as its director for thirteen years. He is a Bass Fellow in Undergraduate Education and recipient of the Dinkelspiel Award for service to undergraduate education and of the Rhodes Prize for undergraduate teaching. Wasow is a Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Wasow has been active in efforts to deal with the problem of homelessness in the Bay Area. |
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| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/rj539vs3564 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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