The LSA Executive Committee (EC) has recently appointed Joe Salmons to be the Society’s Parliamentarian, a position that is authorized by the Bylaws, but which has been vacant for some time. Joe has been a loyal member of the LSA since 1982. He has previously served as the Chair of the Search Committee for Language and as Chair of the Nominating Committee. He is also a member of the Publications Committee, the Data Issues Workgroup, and the Committee of Editors of Linguistics Journals.

According to the Bylaws, the duties of the Parliamentarian are confined to the Annual Meeting. However, the EC has recently voted to expand the role of Parliamentarian as follows: "The LSA Parliamentarian may also serve as a resource and advisor to the Secretariat, the Executive Committee, leaders of LSA committees and special interest groups, and to members at-large regarding interpretation of the Bylaws, Constitution or other rules and procedures of the Society in addressing topics of concern." This amendment to the Bylaws will be presented to the membership for approval on the fall ballot.

Joe Salmons is the Lester W.J. “Smoky” Seifert Professor of Language Sciences at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Director of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures. He edited Diachronica: International journal for historical linguistics from 2002 until 2019. He is the author of A History of German: What the past reveals about today’s language (Oxford, second edn 2018) and Sound Change (Edinburgh University Press, 2021). Much of his research focuses on language change and linguistic theory.