First Meetings
LACUS was founded in August 1974 by a group of linguists of the Great Lakes Region. Their plan was to create a forum for the free flow of ideas and discussion on human communicating behavor from all possible points of view, going beyond traditional grammatical studies in the various traditional modes. As the inaugural meeting at Lake Forest College drew to a close, it seemed clear from the reactions of those present that many linguists from around the world would respond positively to such an organization.
It was decided to hold an annual Forum at a university campus each year, alternating between Canada and the United States. The 1975 meeting was at the University of Toronto. The 1976 Meeting was at the University of Texas at El Paso, and the first elected President, Professor Dwight L. Bolinger of Harvard University, delivered the first Presidential Address in Ciudad Juarez on the Mexican side of the border.
Presidents of LACUS
| 1975-76 | Dwight L. Bolinger |
| 1976-77 | Roger W. Wescott |
| 1977-78 | Kenneth L. Pike |
| 1978-79 | Ernst Pulgram |
| 1979-80 | H. A. Gleason, Jr. |
| 1980-81 | Saul Levin |
| 1981-82 | Charles F. Hockett |
| 1982-83 | Michael A. K. Halliday |
| 1983-84 | Sydney M. Lamb |
| 1984-85 | Robert A. Hall, Jr. |
| 1985-86 | Victor H. Yngve |
| 1986-87 | Allen Walker Read |
| 1987-88 | Carleton T. Hodge |
| 1988-89 | Walter Hirtle |
| 1989-90 | Robert J. DiPietro |
| 1990-91 | Velma B. Pickett |
| 1991-92 | Sebastian K. Shaumyan |
| 1992-93 | James E. Copeland |
| 1993-94 | Ruth Brend |
| 1994-95 | Robert E. Longacre |
| 1995-96 | Valerie Becker Makkai |
| 1996-97 | David G. Lockwood |
| 1997-98 | William J. Sullivan |
| 1998-99 | Gary D. Prideaux |
| 1999-2000 | Michel Paradis |
| 2000-01 | Sheila Embleton |
| 2001-02 | Adam Makkai |
| 2002-03 | Angela Della Volpe |
| 2003-04 | Connie Eble |
| 2004-05 | Toby Griffen |
| 2005-06 | Lois Stanford |
| 2006-07 | Peter A. Reich |
| 2007-08 | Michael Cummings |
| 2008-09 | John Regan |
Venues and Dates of LACUS Meetings
| I | 1974 | Lake Forest College, August 18-21 |
| II | 1975 | University of Toronto, August 3-7 |
| III | 1976 | University of Texas at El Paso, August 20-24 |
| IV | 1977 | McGill University, August 13-17 |
| V | 1978 | State University of New York at Buffalo, August 9-13 |
| VI | 1979 | University of Calgary, August 24-28 |
| VII | 1980 | Rice University, August 11-15 |
| VIII | 1981 | Glendon College, York University, August 10-14 |
| IX | 1982 | Northwestern University, August 2-6 |
| X | 1983 | Université Laval, August 7-11 |
| XI | 1984 | Cornell University, August 12-16 |
| XII | 1985 | University of Saskatchewan, August 5-9 |
| XIII | 1986 | University of Texas at Arlington, August 12-16 |
| XIV | 1987 | York University, August 4-8 |
| XV | 1988 | Michigan State University, August 16-20 |
| XVI | 1989 | Queen’s University, August 15-19 |
| XVII | 1990 | California State University at Fullerton, August 7-11 |
| XVIII | 1991 | University of Michigan, Auigust 13-17 |
| XIX | 1992 | Université du Québec à Montréal, August 4-8 |
| XX | 1993 | University of Illinois at Chicago, July 20-24 |
| XXI | 1994 | University of British Columbia, August 9-13 |
| XXII | 1995 | Trinity University, San Antonio, August 8-12 |
| XXIII | 1996 | Brigham Young University, August 6-10 |
| XXIV | 1997 | York University, July 29 – August 2 |
| XXV | 1998 | Claremont Graduate University, July 28 – August 1 |
| XXVI | 1999 | University of Alberta, August 3-7 |
| XXVII | 2000 | Rice University, July 25-29 |
| XXVIII | 2001 | Université du Québec à Montréal, July 31 – August 4 |
| XXIX | 2002 | University of Toledo, July 30 – August 3 |
| XXX | 2003 | University of Victoria, July 29 – August 2 |
| XXXI | 2004 | University of Illinois at Chicago, July 27-31 |
| XXXII | 2005 | Dartmouth College, August 2-6 |
| XXXIII | 2006 | University of Toronto, July 31 – August 4 |
| XXXIV | 2007 | Eastern Kentucky University, July 24-28 |
| XXXV | 2008 | Université Laval, June 10-14 |
| XXXVI | 2009 | The Claremont Colleges, July 28 – August 1 |
| XXXVII | 2010 | McMaster University |