Andrew Linn


Andrew Linn is a linguist, historian and academic administrator. He is currently the Head of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Westminster.

Career

Linn was born and grew up in Cheshire; and in 1986 won an organ scholarship at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in English in 1989. He then worked as an organist in Norway, before returning to Cambridge to complete a master of philosophy degree in general linguistics and then a doctorate in the history of linguistics. On completion of his PhD, he was appointed a lecturer in linguistics at the University of Luton, before moving to the University of Sheffield in 1997; he was appointed Professor of the History of Linguistics there in 2003 and five years later became Faculty Director of Research and Innovation. In 2007–08, he was a Leverhulme Fellow at the University of Bergen and in 2012 a visiting professor at the University of Paris 7–Diderot. In 2016, Linn was appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Westminster and Dean of its Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. After the University restructured in 2018, Linn took on the role of Head of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research.
He is also a fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and a strategic reviewer for the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Linn is the President of the UK society for the History of Linguistics and co-editor of the journal Language and History.

Research

Linn's research focuses on the history of linguistics and language policy and planning. He has carried out research projects on Scandinavian linguistics. Published works include: