I don't know that a master's degree is a magic bullet. I would suggest that 18 hours toward an MA in a specific language would permit the lab director to teach  a course in the language , if this were needed. It would also lend that credibility to the language part of the director's role. Lit.-havy PhDs or MAs may be useless if the lab handles no literary problems. I have a lit-heavy PhD, but in the last week, I have begun updating a language tutorial, found a quick work-around to a domain name rcognition problem, and installed new software needed in the wake of a textbook web site upgrade. I also teach nearly a full load to help French students graduate on time.

We will have to think through this issue because I retire at the end of this semester. I don't think the Univ.'s budget will permit any kind of search until I am gone, and the I do not know how or if it will be conducted.

TBob

Robert D. Peckham, Ph.D.
Professor of French
University of Tennessee at Martin
Chair, AATF Commission on Advocacy
Director, Globe-gate Intercultural Web Project
Director, Muriel Tomlinson Language Resource Center