Dr. Susan Gass is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages. She served as the Director of the ELC for 28 years where she oversaw the ELC from its start of four faculty to a thriving center of more than thirty faculty, staff, and teaching assistants. She was also responsible for developing a stable cadre of excellent faculty and staff who are dedicated to the well-being of our international students and scholars. With three successful rounds of CEA accreditation and with standing memberships in EnglishUSA, UCIEP, TESOL, MITESOL, and other organizations, the ELC under Dr. Gass became a center of worldwide renown and prestige. Under her leadership, the ELC developed a series of language proficiency and placement exams, a number of partnerships with universities across the globe, and collaboration locally, which includes SLS, MATESOL, MAFLT, CeLTA, CLEAR, and numerous departments and programs within the College of Arts & Letters