Sandra Thompson

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Sandra Thompson, professor of linguistics, is this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award for Distinction in Graduate Teaching. Supervising the largest number of dissertations within the linguistics department, she demonstrates a love and respect for her students by creating an intellectual climate in which excellence is encouraged. Her concern and care have catalyzed award-winning student work that ranks among the nation’s best.

Earning her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in linguistics at Ohio State University, Thompson’s major area of inquiry is language universals, a study wherein seemingly diverse tongues, such as English, Chinese or Swahili, are determined to share common and revealing characteristics.

Specializing in the Chinese langue, Thompson has researched dialects in Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China. She co-authored the 1981 book, Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar. She will spend next year in the Netherlands, performing further research in the field of language universals.