Heidi Byrnes: Academic and Personal History

1995 - Return to full-time teaching in German Department
1993 - 1995 Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs
1987 - 1993 Department Chair
1991 - 1993 Chair of Steering Committee for GU's Reaccreditation Self Study for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
1991 Professor of German
1984 - 1991 Associate Professor of German
1979 - 1984 Assistant Professor of German

Honors and Awards

• Honorary Member of the American Association of Teachers of German, 2008 (recognizes "scholars of international stature who have contributed to the advancement of Germanic studies in the fields of literary studies, literary criticism, linguistics, second language acquisition, or pedagogy.”)
• Elected President of American Association for Applied Linguistics; 1st Vice President and Program Chair 2009-10; President 2010-11.
• Global Partner, The Halliday Centre for Intelligent Applications of Language Studies, Hong Kong, 2006
• Named George M. Roth Distinguished Professor of German, July 1, 2005 (Inaugural lecture)
• Nelson Brooks Award of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) which "recognizes the contributions of a preeminent author and teacher whose work and writings changed the course of our profession." Nov. 2004
• Honored by the AATG chapters of Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia for "unique efforts to promote the study of German language and culture in our region". Sept. 2003
• Faculty of Languages and Linguistics (Georgetown University) Service Award, March 2003
• Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (MLA) Award for Distinguished Service in the Profession, Dec. 2002
• Senior Faculty Research Fellowship, Spring 2001
• Georgetown University Summer Research Grant, Summer 2000
• Adjunct Fellow of the National Foreign Language Center, 1997-98.
• Mellon Fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Studies, The National Foreign Language Center at The Johns Hopkins University. January - June 1991.
• Outstanding Educator Award of the American Association of Teachers of German, postsecondary level, 1989.
• Georgetown University nominee for the Professor of the Year competition sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), 1988, 1989.
• Alumni Fellow of Kansas State University, a permanent title authorized by the Board of Directors of the University's Alumni Association. 1989.
• Stephen A. Freeman Award. Selected by the Board of Directors of the Northeast Conference for the best published article for 1982 on teaching techniques (with Stefan Fink and Aurelia Roman)
• Phi Kappa Phi Scholastic Honor Society, 1969

Grants Funded

• Humboldt Foundation Transcoop Program, together with Prof. Norbert Dittmar of the Free University of Berlin, to investigate "Diskursive Schreibfähigkeiten fortgeschrittener Lerner im Deutschen als Fremdsprache: Sprachstands- und Entwicklungsdiagnosen" (Discursive writing abilities of advanced learners of German as a foreign language: Diagnosis of language competence and development). Grant of 26,000 Euro, received for the period of 2005-2007 (May, 2005)
• College Curriculum Renewal Grant, from Georgetown College, at $7,360 (Investigating of writing development in the German Department curriculum) 2002-2004
  Teaching, Leaning & Technology Fellowship from CNDLS (Center for New Design in Learning and Scholarship), Georgetown University, 2003-2005. $8,000.
• Provost's International Research Exchange Initiative: Collaboration
  with Professor Dr. Norbert Dittmar, Free University of Berlin. Co-teaching in Berlin (summer 2002) and Georgetown (fall 2002), followed by collaborative research investigating advanced instructed learners of German. $ 7,500.
• The Spencer Foundation: "Supporting Teacher-Researchers in a Comprehensive Curriculum Renewal Project in a College Foreign Language Department." Co-principal Investigator, with John Norris. Funding period: Sept. 2000- Sept. 2002. $29,900.
• Provost's Teaching-Research Nexus Grant Opportunity. "Profiling the Georgetown University Advanced Learner." Submitted by Catherine Doughty, Heidi Byrnes, Jeff Connor-Linton, Guy Spielmann, and Andrea Tyler on behalf of GU-FLIRT. Funding period: spring 1997-spring 1998. $24,335.
  

Service Highlights

University

Chair, Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics (GURT) 2005. Conference Theme: Educating for Advanced Foreign Language Capacities: Constructs, Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment.
Vice Chair, Institutional Review Board, Social Sciences, 2000-2003
Member, University Grievance Code Committee, 1986-88, 1997-2001
Member, University Committee on Assessment, 1997-98
Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs, 1993-95 (a summary of the major activities of my tenure is available on request)
Chair, Steering Committee, Middle States Accreditation Self-Study, 1991-93
Member, University Committee on Rank and Tenure, Spring 1990, 1990-93
Recording Secretary of University Committee on Rank and Tenure, 1992-93
Member, Main Campus Planning Committee, 1987-91.
Steering Committee for Center for German and European Studies (CGES), 1989 to present ( Member of original group that wrote the funding proposal)
Member, Executive Committee of the Graduate School, 1989-95
Member, Faculty Senate Executive Committee, 1988-89
Western European Studies Area Coordinator (German), 1988-91
Member, Executive Committee of the Master of Science in School of Foreign Service (MSFS) Program, 1989-92
Faculty Senate, 1986-88
Fulbright Faculty Advisor, 1983-85
Member, Campus Fulbright Committee, 1983-85
Founding member of faculty-graduate student research collaborative, Foreign Language Initiatives in Research and Teaching (GU-FLIRT) 1996 - see webpage entry
Member, Executive Council of the School of Languages and Linguistics, 1987-1993
Assistant Director, LSA/TESOL Institute, Georgetown University, June 24-Aug. 2, 1985 Deborah Tannen, Director)
Member, National Resource Center Working Group, 1983-88.
Chair, Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics (GURT) 1982. Conference theme: "Contemporary Perceptions of Language: Interdisciplinary Dimensions."

Profession

Memberships

American Association for Applied Linguistics, AAAL
American Association of Teachers of German, AATG
American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators, AAUSC
The American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, ACTFL
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, TESOL
German Studies Association, 1984-1986, 1999-2001
Modern Language Association, MLA

Offices and Participation (Selected)

• AAAL
  Elected President. 1st Vice President and Program Chair 2009-2010; President 2010-2011.
  Member of Executive Committee of the American Association of Applied Linguistics, 1995-98, 2008-2012.
  Chair, Membership and Publicity Committee
  AAAL Representative on JNCL/NCLIS Board
  
• AATG
  Honorary Member, Fall 2008
  Member, editorial board, AATG Retrospective volume, 2000-2002.
  Member of the Board of Directors of the distance learning project "GOLDEN", an interactive on-line teacher development project of the AATG and the Goethe Institute, funded for a total of four years through the European Recovery Program. 1996-2000.
  Coordinator of AATG Initiative "The Future of German in American Education" 1995-96.
  Program Chair, 1994 AATG National Conference, Atlanta, GA., Nov. 18-20.
  Task Force on Video, 1992-95.
  Task Force on Professional Standards, 1990-94.
  Task Force on Social Studies Curriculum, 1990-92
  AATG Lehrerfortbildung Planning Committee, 1988-90.
  Committee on Revising the National AATG Tests, 1988.
  President, Metropolitan Washington Chapter of AATG, 1982-87
  
• ACTFL
  Chair of selection committee for the ACTFL-MLJ Paul Pimsleur Award for research in foreign language education, 1999-2000; member in 1989-90, 1999
  Chair, selection committee for the Emma Marie Birkmaier Award,1989-90; committee member 1988-89, 2004
  Selection committee for the Florence Steiner Award, 1988-89.
  ACTFL Oral Proficiency Testing Advisory Committee, 1989-92.
  
• Northeast Conference
  Chair (April 1989 - April 1990) of the 1990 Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Conference Theme: "Shifting the Instructional Focus to the Learner."
  Chair, search committee for Secretary-Treasurer of the Northeast Conference, 1989-90.
  Vice-Chair, April 1988 - April 1989.
  Member of the Board of Directors, (Executive Committee, Chair: Awards Committee), 1984-88.
  
• College Board
  College Board Foreign Languages Advisory Committee, 1991-96.
  German Advanced Placement test development committee, 1986-89.
  
• MLA
  Candidate for MLA Executive Council, 2003. 
  Member of Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize Committee 2000-2003; chair: 2002.
  Member of PMLA Advisory committee 1999-2002.
  Member, Editorial Board, Teaching Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Series of the Modern Language Association, 2002-2006; chair 2003-2005
  Member of ad hoc committee for the expansion of the MLA International Bibliography to include materials on the teaching of languages and literatures. 1999-2000.
  Candidate for the MLA Executive Council, 1993.
  Chair, MLA Advisory Committee on Foreign Languages and Literatures. 1990-93.
  Member (1986-1990), MLA Executive Committee on the Teaching of Language. Committee chair 1989-90.
  Elected to the Delegate Assembly of the Modern Language Association, 3-year term 1988-90.
  
  Proficiency Oriented Work
  
• Certified ACTFL OPI tester for German and Master trainer (lapsed)
• Contributing editor for Revised ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Tester Training Manual, 1989
• Member of ACTFL Oral Proficiency Testing Advisory Committee, 1989-92.
• Member of the committee revising the original Provisional Proficiency Guidelines, 1986
• Trainer at intensive tester training and curricular and pedagogical workshops at numerous institutions, from 1985-1990.
  
  Outside Evaluator
  
• Languages Curriculum Review, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne, February 2009
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University, April 2008
• Department of Modern Languages, United States Naval Academy, April 2007
• Department of German, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA (February 2005)
• Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, University of Alabama, Huntsville, April 2004 (chair of three-member team)
• Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, The University of Pennsylvania, April 2003 (3-member team)
• European Languages, Stony Brook University, Dec. 2002 (4-member team)
• Department of Germanic Studies, University of Indiana, Bloomington, October 2001 (four-member team)
• German Department, St. Olaf College, April 2000 (three-member team)
• Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, University of Alabama, Huntsville, May 1999 (chair of four-member team)
• Cohort Review of all Modern Language and Literature Departments and Comparative Literature, Vanderbilt University, February 1999 (six-member team)
• German Department, Colgate University, October 1997 (two-member team)
• German Department, The Ohio State University, April 1997 (three-member team)
• German Department, Hunter College, (CUNY), May 1996 (sole reviewer)
• Review of the Graduate Program of the School of Nursing at Georgetown University, February 23-24, 1995 (three-member team)
• American Council on Education, Center for Adult Learning, Credit by Examination Program, evaluation of CIA Language Schools, May 1992 (two-member team)
• Language Departments, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, May 1991 (sole reviewer)
• Review of the Graduate Program of the School of Nursing at Georgetown University, February 23-24, 1995 (three-member team)
• Dept. of German, Dept. of Linguistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, 1990-91 (sole reviewer)
• Dept. of Ed. grant for developing interactive software for enhancing L2 reading, University of Iowa, March 1990 (two-member team)
• Department of Foreign Languages, Millersville University, PA, Oct. 1989 (sole reviewer)
• NEH grant, Hunter College, New York, May 1988 (two-member team)
• Somerset County College, Somerville, NJ. Feb. 6, 1987 (sole reviewer)
• NEH grant at Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC, Feb. 1986 (sole reviewer)
• NEH grant at Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County, April 1986 (three-member team)
  
  Board Memberships, Consultancies
  
• Member,International Advisory Board for the International Consortium on Task-Based Language Teaching, October 2006
• Invited global member of the Halliday Centre for Intelligent Applications of Language Studies at the City University of Hong Kong, August 2006
• Advisory member to the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, a National Foreign Language Resource Center, at the University of Minnesota, CARLA, 2006-
• Member, Overseers Committee for the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Harvard College, 2004-2007
• Project advisor for SLA, Center for Advanced Proficiency in Arabic (CAPA), Georgetown University, Washington, DC, a National Flagship initiative, 2004-
• Member, Advisory Committee for the Department of Modern Languages, Carnegie Mellon University, PIttsburgh, PA 2004-
• Member, Advisory Board of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures of Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools for three year Department of Education grant (2002-2005)
• Member, Editorial Board, The Modern Language Journal 1992 to present
• Associate Editor, The Modern Language Journal, for Column Perspectives. 2001 to present
• Member, Editorial Board, Teaching Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Series of the Modern Language Association, 2002-2006
• Member, Editorial Board of series Issues in Language Program Direction of the AAUSC (American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators) 2000-
• Member, Board of Governors, University of California Consortium on Language Teaching 2001- 2003
• Member of the Advisory Board of the National Capital Area Language Resource Center, 2002-
• Member, Board of Visitors of the College of Humanities, The Ohio State University, 1997-2000
• City University of New York. System-wide review of foreign language programs. 1994-95
• California Foreign Language Competency Project (Oral component), 1991-1993
• Pedagogical component of project developed by SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) "Applications of Artificial Intelligence to Foreign Language Training" under contract with the Army Research Institute (MDA903-88-R-0055), 1988-1990
• Modern Language Department, Loyola College, Baltimore, 1988
• Phase 7 project, language attrition, of CLEAR (Center for Language Education and Research) grant administered by the Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC. 1987-89.
• Maryland Foreign Language Curriculum Development, 1987.
• Virginia State Department of Education "Standards-of-Learning" project, 1986-
• Illinois Oral Proficiency Project, 1984-85.
• California Foreign Language Competency Project, 1985.
• NEH oral proficiency seminar at Haverford, PA, July 11-29, 1983, with follow-up site visits January 4-7, 1984.
• Project Oral Proficiency Training at the University of New Hampshire, summer 1983.
  
  January, 2009