Dr. Eric Potsdam took over as the Linguistics department chair in 2017. This summer will mark the end of his chairship, so we sat down with him to review his time in the position.
The people in the Linguistics department are Dr. Potsdam’s favorite part of the job. He says of his colleagues, “They’re all terrific, individually and together. While the faculty has some academic differences, everyone gets along in the end.”
His favorite memories with the linguistics family during these four years include a department retreat to the Lubee Bat Conservancy and the linguistics program’s 50th anniversary party at Austin Cary Forest. Dr. Potsdam is famous for bringing homemade baked goods to work, and he’s spent quarantine baking his way through six years’ worth of Cook’s Illustrated. The last four years haven’t just been fun times and baked goods, though; he undertook real change in the department.
One of Dr. Potsdam’s priorities when he took the position was to promote graduate student professional development, better preparing students for their future careers. The department worked toward this goal by revising curricula as well as initiating professional development events. Another aspiration of his tenure was diversifying the course offerings of the department, allowing professors to teach one-off courses related to their specific interests and expertise. He is particularly pleased about the course offerings for non-majors like World Englishes, Languages of the World, Language in the USA, and Language as a Cognitive System. One realization he came to in his time as chair was how important undergraduates are to the strength of the department, as they are essential to bringing in fresh perspectives and ideas. He enjoys teaching undergraduate courses, which he was less able to do as department chair, so he looks forward to teaching more in the future.
Dr. Potsdam oversaw changes that improved the department beyond academics as well. The department website was revamped (twice), and he most recently oversaw the creation of an alumni network. This last effort is something he’s most optimistic about. While the faculty is a great resource for students, he recognizes that their expertise is inherently limited. Alumni, however, can show the infinitely broad application of linguistics out in the real world. He hopes that this network grows and that the alumni take it and make it their own, expanding beyond the bounds of the university.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Dr. Potsdam is not the great work done in the department under his tenure; it’s his attitude about his time as chair. When asked, he said he’s not proud, but rather grateful for all the professors and students who contributed to the department under his leadership. He sees none of it as his own. Especially this past year, he feels truly humbled that everyone “put on their game faces,” and, in spite of all the adversities, the department was able to grow and thrive. He’s looking forward to the day when his linguistics family can meet in person (and he can share his baking) again.
While the department isn’t losing Dr. Potsdam, the faculty he cherishes so deeply is sad to see the conclusion of his time as chair:
“Eric Potsdam: Stalwart of the department. Deploys a wicked sense of humor at just the right times.” — Dr. Golombek
“Dr. Potsdam is a very good chair and somebody whom we all trust. I recall that during one of our new faculty hires, the faculty was split 50-50 between two candidates. We then unanimously agreed that Dr. Potsdam, as the chair, should make the decision. He did, and in the end, everybody was happy!” — Dr. Kaan
“Mmmm. Many good things come to mind, but here is one: I always admired Eric’s ability to see beyond the obvious; he can ask you one or two simple questions and get you to rethink your whole argument.” — Dr. Haddad