Sally Westerman Jacoby Ph.D. ’93

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Even at the dissertation writing stage, Sally Jacoby has become a noted figure in the field of Science Studies and Applied Linguistics. After receiving her B.S. degree at Northwestern in 1969, she received her Masters degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham (UK) – before entering the Ph.D. program in TESL/Applied Linguistics at UCLA.

Using the skills she developed, as a university English teacher in Israel, Sally focused on the organization of breakdowns in communication and mechanisms for their repair, developing programs in building competence in scientific discourse for foreign students attending the university. She conceptualized and edited a student-run professional journal, Issues in Applied Linguistics, which ha been as astounding success internationally.

Throughout her graduate career Sally has served her department on the Steering, Curriculum, Enrollment and Inter-Departmental Committees, as was the Administrative Organizer for a major professional colloquium at an American Association of Applied Linguistics meeting. She has authored or co-authored eight papers, won an award for best student-authored paper and had been involved in thirteen conference presentation or invited guest lectures.

Sally Jacoby has participated in a project studying the language socialization of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, working with a senior professor in a Physics Lab at UCLA. Her dissertation – which derives from the project – makes a major contribution to our understanding of scientific discourse.