llknur Lider was named president of the American Association of Teachers of Turkic Languages

Ilknur Lider, instructor of Turkish in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Linguistics, has been named president of the American Association of Teachers of Turkic Languages (AATT). An active member and former AATT executive secretary, she will serve in her role as president for the next three years.   

“I’m honored to take on this role and grateful for the trust placed in me. It’s a meaningful opportunity to serve and support a community I care deeply about,” said Lider (SPIA ’92G).

Originally from the Black Sea region of Turkey, Lider has been teaching Turkish and leading the Turkish program at the University of Pittsburgh’s Less-Commonly-Taught Languages Center in the Department of Linguistics since 2008. During this time, she has added a minor, a robust curriculum and self-created teaching materials for eight semesters of language study, and an English-medium, general education culture and society course to the Turkish program. Her recent research focuses on teaching social justice issues in the language classroom.

In addition to her classroom duties, Lider has been a faculty fellow in Pitt’s David C. Frederick Honors College since 2018. She serves on various scholarship committees and has extensive experience mentoring students for nationally competitive scholarship applications. Lider is also faculty advisor for the Turkish American Student Association at Pitt and coordinates weekly meetings of the Turkish Language Table for students to experience language and culture outside the classroom.

Lider holds a Master of Public and International Affairs from Pitt, and she is fully certified by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign languages as an Oral Proficiency Interview tester for the Turkish Language.

AATT, originally founded as the American Association of Teachers of Turkish in 1985, expanded its mission in 1993 to include all languages of the Turks. The association is a private, nonprofit, non-political organization whose mission is to advance and improve the teaching of the Turkic languages; to promote study, criticism and research in the field of the Turkic languages and literatures; and to further the common interests of teachers of these subjects.