The New Home of Noam Chomsky One of the most cited scholars in modern history, Noam Chomsky now walks the halls of the University of Arizona campus, inspiring students to think deeply and critically.
If you type Noam Chomsky’s name into a google search, you get 9 million results. His Facebook page has more than 1.2 million followers. You can even order a wide array of Noam Chomsky coffee mugs. He is, it is safe to say, not your typical academic. Considered the founder of modern linguistics, Chomsky is one of most influential public intellectuals in the world. And now he is a professor at the University of Arizona. This past fall, Chomsky was hired by the College of SBS as a laureate professor in the Department of Linguistics. He also holds the title of Agnese Nelms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice. Chomsky’s connections to the UA linguistics faculty are deep and long-standing. Several UA linguists were his students or departmental fellows at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Chomsky worked since 1955. Chomsky’s previous visits to the UA with his wife, Valeria Wasserman Chomsky, set the stage for his decision to join the faculty. “We’ve very much come to appreciate the intellectual environment and the lifestyle,” Chomsky said. “The lin-
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SBS DEVELOPMENTS 2018
guistics department, which is excellent, happens to be full of former students of mine. In general, we felt that the UA would be a good place to work and think and interact with people we like and can work with.” As part of his part-time faculty appointment, Chomsky teaches courses, gives public lectures, and is available to meet with students. This past fall in Centennial Hall, he had a conversation with Regents’ Law Professor Toni Massaro on a range of topics. This spring’s public event was a conversation between Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg – perhaps best known as the whistleblower who released the Pentagon Papers – on the topic of nuclear policy and war. A special thanks to Valeria Chomsky for suggesting this event and helping bring these two together for the first time. This spring, Chomsky also co-taught a course with Professor Marv Waterstone titled “What is Politics?” to undergraduate students and community members. As one community member said of the course, “Imagine being able to say you took a class with Einstein. It’s like that.”
