Prof. Ray Jackendoff, the linguistics program chair, announced last week his decision to leave Brandeis after 34 years, saying he has accepted a "persuasive offer" from Tufts University to become a director of its Center for Cognitive Studies. With Jackendoff's departure, the program will have no returning instructors next academic year. Joan Maling, Brandeis' other permanent linguistics professor, is on leave until fall 2006 to direct the National Science Foundation's linguistics program. The professor who has replaced Maling for the last two years, Barbara Citko, will leave here after this semester to join the linguistics faculty at the University of Washington.

Jackendoff said he and Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe are searching for a temporary replacement to teach Maling's courses and aim to have that position filled by the end of May. Jackendoff said he is also working on finding replacement instructors for at least some of his courses.

"We are going to piece together a program, so those who signed up to be linguistics majors will not be left in the lurch," Jackendoff said.

Even though Jackendoff will not continue teaching here, he will remain as program director on a part-time basis through the next academic year to help facilitate the transition and to advise students. As the most senior linguistics professor remaining at Brandeis, Maling said that upon her return, she will direct the program and resume teaching her courses.

"I am hoping that we will continue to be able to offer a very strong core of theoretical linguistic courses in years to come," Maling said. "We have wonderful students at Brandeis and I am looking forward to teaching and continuing a really first-rate undergraduate major."

In conjunction with department heads associated with linguistics, Jackendoff said he and Maling will work out possibilities for the program's long-term configuration, with the goal of making a proposal to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee next fall. The plan is to then search for a permanent replacement to take Jackendoff's place in fall 2006.

"People should be reassured that there will be a linguistics program next year and the courses necessary for that program will be taught," Jaffe said.

Jackendoff said Jaffe's rescinded curricular proposals, which included the elimination of the linguistics major, was not the mitigating factor in his decision to accept Tufts' offer. He said he has been contemplating leaving since 1992, when the University eliminated the graduate program in linguistics and cognitive science.

"I put 15 years into building a [graduate] program and lost it in about six months," Jackendoff said. "Since then, there has seemed little point in fighting to restore it. I think we've done a fabulous job, given the resources, and each of the last few years we've sent one or two students to top graduate programs."

Jackendoff is pleased that Tufts will allow him more time to conduct research. He is currently researching how the mind understands cultural and social relations and plans to work closely with the administration there to build up the center.

A former president of the Linguistics Society of America, Jackendoff is also a past recipient of the Jean Nicod Prize for cognitive philosophy. In addition to belonging to other academic organizations, he has written 11 books and over 100 articles on linguistics, consciousness, cognitive science and music theory.

Joan Bybee, a professor at the University of New Mexico who served as the society's president last year, told the Justice in a Feb. 1 article that holding that position is "about the highest honor there is in our field."

Maling, who has worked with Jackendoff for more than 30 years, said he has a "stellar reputation" in theoretical linguistics and cognitive science.

"This is obviously a wonderful opportunity for him, but it's a great loss to us," Maling said.

While Jaffe's proposal would not have taken affect until after Jackendoff's retirement, Jackendoff said his students here have been supportive of the program and understand his decision to leave.

"Students haven't been saying 'how can you do this to us?" Jackendoff said. "It's more like, 'Well, you deserve it.'"

When Jackendoff came to Brandeis in 1971, the linguistics program was housed in the English department. The program currently operates under the psychology department and, according to Jackendoff, has been extremely successful with limited resources in attracting students.

Shanna Hollich '07, who will be the program's undergraduate department representative next academic year, said Jackendoff is an engaging lecturer who is easily accessible to his students. She said that Jackendoff, one of the most prominent academics in his field, has even made time to help her with courses outside of the program.

"For me personally, though I think I speak for everybody in the program, we are sad to see him go," Hollich said.

Hollich, who has enrolled in one linguistics course, said she is a little worried about which classes will actually be offered in the fall. She also said that while the program has attracted new majors, she wonders if they will be able to complete it.

"I really value my time at Brandeis," Jackendoff said. "It's given me a lot of opportunities to do interesting things and the students mean the world to me.