This year Professor Baugh found himself elected to two luminary academic positions.
John Baugh, the Margaret Bush Wilson Professor in Arts and Sciences, was elected to two luminary academic positions recently. He has been selected to serve as president of the Linguistic Society of America, which is the premiere scientific association for advanced studies of human language. Professor Baugh’s research began in African American communities throughout the nation, eventually expanding to evaluations of linguistic discrimination against Black people in the Caribbean and African nations where British colonization once prevailed. His studies of linguistic profiling have addressed housing discrimination, educational disparities, and bias in the distribution of medical care. His most recent book, published by Cambridge University Press, is titled Linguistics in Pursuit of Justice, and it promotes various ways to utilize linguistics to advance the human condition globally. The book addresses various forms of linguistic harassment, beginning with evidence of police misconduct in African American communities. Professor Baugh’s scholarship has been hailed internationally, culminating with his forthcoming induction as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is among the highest honors that can be bestowed upon an American scientist.
