Geoffrey Koby, Ph.D., professor of Translation Studies and German at 澳门六合彩资料, has been studying German since he was a freshman in high school.
He was recently elected as president-elect of the (ATA), the largest professional language translation association in the world.
鈥淚 was on the ATA board for six years, then it seemed like the logical progression to run for president, which took three tries to get elected,鈥 Koby said. 鈥淭he way our system works, you鈥檙e elected president-elect, and it鈥檚 a four-year commitment, but a two-year term. So, when you鈥檙e elected president-elect, you鈥檝e been elected president, but you don鈥檛 get to do it for two years. It鈥檚 kind of a training and apprenticeship.鈥
Koby said that he has three major roles he plays as president-elect, the main one being planning the big conference that ATA puts on annually.
鈥淚 also chair a committee called the Governance and Communications Committee,鈥 Koby said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the committee that鈥檚 responsible for looking at policies, procedures and the bylaws. So as the association evolves and the profession changes, we have to adopt good policies and change the bylaws to reflect what is modern and what is not.鈥
As an officer of ATA he also has the responsibility to make speeches, attend professional meetings of the association and to create good relationships between the various language associations.
Motivated to Give Back
鈥淭here鈥檚 money to be made in translation,鈥 Koby said, 鈥渂ut officers don鈥檛 get paid. For me, it鈥檚 not so much the money, but that I鈥檓 able to give back to the profession. It鈥檚 a major job because ATA has over 8,000 members. As an officer of the association, I think it鈥檚 really important that I make sure that I鈥檓 helping guide the association into the future.鈥
鈥淚 thought if I鈥檓 going to train people to be professional translators, I have to actually be involved in the professional translation world,鈥 Koby said. 鈥淪o, in 1995, I passed my certification exam, so I鈥檓 a certified translator in German to English and Dutch to English.鈥
About Dr. Koby
Koby joined 澳门六合彩资料 in 1994 and teaches undergraduate courses in German translation, phonetics, foreign language and culture and Business German as well as graduate courses in literary translation, commercial/legal/financial translation, and scientific/technical/medical translation, and occasionally teaches a Ph.D. seminar on translation assessment.
His research focuses on translation assessment and evaluation and translation pedagogy. He has co-edited three volumes on translation pedagogy, financial translation, and translation quality, co-translated a major work on translation theory, co-authored a dictionary of translation teaching terminology, and published articles on translation practice, translation assessment and evaluation, and translation pedagogy.
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he earned his Ph.D. in Germanic languages, literatures, and linguistics along with an M.A. in Linguistics and German. He earned his bachelor鈥檚 degrees in German and music at California State University, Northridge.
To learn more about 澳门六合彩资料's Department of Modern & Classical Language Studies, visit: /mcls
Celebrating 35 Years of Translation at 澳门六合彩资料
Please join us for a weekend of fun events to recognize the success of translation programs at 澳门六合彩资料. The weekend will begin Friday, April 12, with a reception and dinner from 4-9 p.m. On Saturday, April 13, the event will move to the Wick Poetry Center for brunch, alumni panels and other activities from 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
The deadline to RSVP is Friday, March 29
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Media Contact:
Jim Maxwell, , 330-672-8028