Boston University Conference on Language Development, Post-COVID

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The Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD)is an internationally recognized meeting of researchers in language acquisition and development, including first and second language acquisition, language disorders, bilingualism, and literacy development. BUCLD promotes the progress of science by providing a major venue for dissemination of scholarly findings, for initiation and development of collaborations, and for professional networking. The conference consists of approximately 190 presentations selected through peer review, as well as invited keynote and plenary speakers, a symposium on a topic of current interest, a research funding workshop, a professional development workshop for students and early-career scholars, mentoring opportunities, and a publisher exhibit. Attendees number over 500 researchers from around the world, from undergraduates through senior faculty. Full ASL interpreting coverage is provided throughout the conference, and conference proceedings are published soon after the conference. This award supports accessibility, diversity, and inclusion at BUCLD by subsidizing travel expenses for students, including students from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, students with disabilities, and first-generation college students. In addition, funding supports the effort of the student conference organizers, who are graduate students in Linguistics and allied fields. Support for student travel enables student contributions—regularly among the highest-rated abstract submissions—to be presented at the conference without undue hardship. Attendance at BUCLD increases the exposure of students to the top research and researchers in the field in a friendly and interactive environment. Furthermore, support for student organizers allows BUCLD to play an important role in training students as future professionals. Finally, funding supports development of a sustainable and flexible model for BUCLD that enables continuity of the conference in future years and navigates the challenges and opportunities of scientific conferences in a post-COVID world.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.