The Alexander Gode Medal, ATA’s most prestigious award, is presented to an individual or institution in recognition of outstanding service to the translation and interpreting professions. This award may be given annually. Nominations are solicited from past recipients and from the membership at large.
Who was Alexander Gode?
Dr. Alexander Gottfried Friederich Gode von Aesch was the founding president of ATA. A professor of German and a translator specializing in medical and pharmacological subjects, Gode is credited with the development of Interlingua, an international auxiliary language designed to serve the world’s scientists and engineers.
Gode became an organizing force behind ATA and championed its inclusive membership, uniting academia and commercial interests, translators and interpreters. He helped ATA grow quickly, adding an annual conference and printed membership directory within a few years.
While he served as ATA president for four years, his influence lasted for more than a decade. He also served as ATA’s executive director until shortly before his death in 1970.
How to Apply
Eligibility
The individual or institution nominated does not need to be a member of ATA, although a history of constructive relations with ATA and with the language professions in general is desirable. Nominees do not need to be U.S. citizens.
Nominations Criteria
Past recipients of the Gode Medal, and all ATA members, are welcome to submit nominations. (Petitions and letter campaigns are discouraged.) Nominations should include:
- Full name and contact information for the nominee and the nominator;
- A detailed description of the nominee's record of service to the translation and/or interpreting professions.
Award
- Presentation of the Gode Medal at the ATA Annual Conference
- Complimentary registration to the ATA Annual Conference
- Transportation to and from the ATA Annual Conference
- Up to four nights' lodging at the ATA Annual Conference host hotel
Please send nominations to:
Chair, Gode Medal Award Committee
American Translators Association
211 N. Union Street, Suite 100
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: +1-703-683-6100
Fax: +1-703-778-7222
Email: honors_awards@bianlifan.com
Award Recipients
2024
Gertrud Champe
2023
None Awarded
2022
None Awarded
2021
InterpretAmerica
2020
Sue Ellen Wright
2019
Kent State University
2018
Siegfried Ramler
2017
Georganne Weller
2016
None Awarded
2015
None Awarded
2014
None Awarded
2013
Alan K. Melby
2012
None Awarded
2011
Holly Mikkelson
2010
Glenn Nordin
2009
None Awarded
2008
Peter Krawutschke
2007
None Awarded
2006
Peter Less
2005
None Awarded
2004
None Awarded
2003
None Awarded
2002
Susana Greiss
2001
Christine Durban
2000
Gabe Bokor
1999
S. Edmund Berger
1998
Josephine Thornton
1997
Danica Seleskovitch
1996
Javier Collazo and William Gladstone
1995
None Awarded
1994
None Awarded
1993
Karl Kummer
1992
Deanna L. Hammond
1991
None Awarded
1990
Benjamin Teague
1989
None Awarded
1988
Marilyn Gaddis Rose
1987
William I. Bertsche
1986
Patricia Newman
1985
Ludmilla Callaham and Richard Ernst
1984
Charles M. Stern
1983
Françoise Cestac
1982
None Awarded
1981
Georgetown University, Monterey Institute of International Studies, and SUNY Binghamton
1980
Gregory Rabassa
1979
None Awarded
1978
Royal L. Tinsley, Jr.
1977
Eugene A. Nida
1976
None Awarded
1975
Frederick Ungar
1974
Eliot F. Beach
1973
Jean-Paul Vinay
1972
Lewis Galantière
1971
Lewis Bertrand
1970
Carl V. Bertsche
1969
Henry Fischbach
1968
Pierre-François Caillé
1967
The National Translations Center (University of Texas)
1966
Richard Winston Clara Winston
1965
Kurt Gingold
1964
Alexander Gode
