Joan Neuburger Savitt

Associate Director of International Education
Adjunct Associate Professor of French Studies

Degree/Institution: PhD SUNY Buffalo
Office: SL G40K
Phone: (518) 591-8177
Fax: (518) 591-8171
Email: jsavitt@uamail.albany.edu

Academic Focus

International Education

Bio

Joan N. Savitt, Associate Director of International Education and Adjunct Associate Professor of French Linguistics, has been promoting international education and cultural experiences since her arrival on campus in 1975.  Her Fulbright to Japan in 1995 contributed to her ability to advise students coming to Albany as well as those studying in other countries, and she continues to be involved with Fulbright through her role as treasurer of the Northeastern New York State Fulbright Alumni Association and as a member of the campus selection committee for undergraduate and graduate students at Albany.

In addition to her administrative duties and her teaching, she is a strong voice in campus governance, currently chairing the University Life Council for a third year, and serving on the Senate Executive Committee and the General Education Committee.  In previous service to the university, she also chaired the Undergraduate Academic Council and served on many committees, including similar councils for the SUNY Faculty Senate.

Within the LLC department, she is known for her ability as an applied phonetician who guides students toward accent-free French. Her 1975 Ph.D. dissertation (SUNY Buffalo) research concentrated on how listeners are able to understand speakers whose accents are different than their own.

Her best-known off campus activity is as a teacher of international dance.  She has appeared at the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga, at the Dance Flurry, and at events in many cities.

Selected Publications

January, 2004 "Regional Dialects of New York State" Institut des Enterprises d'Administration, University of Montpellier 2, Montpellier, France: invited lecture

1995 The Essentials of French Pronunciation: a Guide for Beginners, revised edition. First edition and tapes, 1981, supported by a Grant from the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, University at Albany.

1986 La Langue française en amérique du nord. In Les Franco-Americains et Leur Heritage Quebecois, Vie Française, Collection Perspectives, 17-26.

1982 Linking phenomena , intonation , and French Syntax: the outline of a pedagogical norm. In Gutwinski and Jolly , eds. Eighth Lactus Forum, 502-11.

1975 Cognate recognition across dialects. Phonetica 32: 64-77.