The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2021 - 25

ATA HONORS AND AWARDS

Alexander Gode Medal
Sue Ellen Wright

ATA Past President Caitilin Walsh delivered the following remarks during
ATA's 61st Annual Conference.

he American Translators
Association is honored
to recognize Sue Ellen
Wright as the recipient of the
2020 Alexander Gode Medal.
Sue Ellen has been a member
of ATA for over 35 years.
Sue Ellen earned her PhD in
Germanic languages, literature,
and linguistics in 1971 from
Washington University in
St. Louis. In addition to her
graduate work at Washington
University, she studied at the
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Universität Frankfurt/Main as
a Fulbright Fellow.
Sue Ellen has always
balanced work as a freelance
translator and a college
professor, first at Baldwin
Wallace College, Cleveland
State University, and most
recently at Kent State
University. She retired
from teaching translation
at Kent State University's
Translation Program in
2020, leaving behind a
legacy of achievements:

to manage terminology and
support translation.
* She was a member of the
original development
team for the LISA TBX
(Termbase eXchange)
standard, which is now the
International Organization
for Standardization (ISO)
standard ISO 30042:2019.
* She is the co-compiler
(with Gerhard Budin of the
University of Vienna) of the
Handbook for Terminology
Management and the author
of many articles on applied
terminology management
in industry.
* She has written numerous
articles outlining the role
that the ISO's Technical
Committee 37 plays
in a variety of venues,
including translation and
localization, translator
training, and knowledge
resource management.
* She chaired ATA's former
Terminology Committee.

* She and her late husband,
Leland D. Wright, Jr., and
several other Clevelandbased translators founded
ATA's third chapter, the
Northeast Ohio Translators
Association, in 1977.

* Her numerous (and often
humorous) presentations
at ATA Annual Conferences
over the years have had
an impact on several
generations of translators
and interpreters.

* Together with her husband
and other collaborators, Sue
Ellen pioneered the use of
computer-based approaches

Far from resting on her
laurels, Sue Ellen continues
in many capacities in her
" retirement " :

* She is active in the
national and international
standards community
(ASTM International and
ISO), chairing several
committees and convening
proposals related to
translation technology and
terminology applications.
* She also participated in
the initial development of
ASTM F2575-06, Standard
Guide for Quality Assurance
in Translation, and is also a
member of the ASTM effort
to create an evaluation
metric for annotating
translation errors.
Sue Ellen continues to
be an outstanding, warm,
and welcoming teacher
and mentor to hundreds of
students at the undergraduate,
master's, and PhD levels. In
the past, students have been
regularly invited to the Wright
home for meals, hired as pet
and house sitters, and made
to feel part of the family. A
former student sums it up
nicely: " She has always been
my model and mentor, and
I have her to thank for my
career. Dr. Wright sparked
my love of translation and
terminology that has kept me
going for almost 25 years. "
For these reasons,
Sue Ellen's nomination
as a recipient of the
Alexander Gode Medal was
unanimously supported.

Michael Meigs
(Photo by Steve
Rogers Photography)

Lewis
Galantière
Award
Michael Meigs

ichael Meigs
was awarded
the 2020
Lewis Galantière Award
for his translation
from Spanish into
English of Dolores
Redondo's novel All
This I Will Give to You
(Amazon Crossing,
2018). Michael has also
translated Redondo's
newest novel, The
North Face of the Heart
(Amazon Crossing,
June 2021).

The Alexander Gode Medal, ATA's highest honor, is named for ATA's founder and guiding spirit,
who was the first recipient. The medalists represent a record of achievement in a variety of
linguistic fields, including not only translators and interpreters, but also lexicographers, theorists,
association leaders, and institutions. This award may be given annually.
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The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2021

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