Rate My Professor Ignacio Montoya

Ignacio Montoya is an associate professor of linguistics in the Department of English at the University of Nevada, Reno. He earned a Ph.D. in Linguistics in 2017 and an M.A. in Linguistics in 2013 from The Graduate Center, City University of New York, an M.A. in Educational Leadership in 2007 from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.A. in Psychology in 1997 from Harvard College. Before pursuing graduate studies in linguistics, Montoya taught in a variety of elementary and middle school classrooms, an experience that partly inspired his academic career in linguistics.

Montoya addresses theoretical issues in linguistics from functionalist perspectives, drawing on findings from applied fields to inform theory. His academic interests encompass language revitalization and reclamation, Indigenous languages in North America, language prescriptivism, morphology, and cognitive and usage-based approaches to grammar. Notable publications include "Rethinking Expertise: Creating a Decolonial Space in a University Setting by Broadening (and Sometimes Narrowing!) Who We Think Knows What" (2024, co-authored with Julien De Jesus and Macario Mendoza-Carrillo, Language Documentation and Conservation), "Manifestations of Colonialism in Linguistics and Opportunities for Decolonization Through Refusal" (2024, chapter in Decolonizing Linguistics, Oxford University Press), and "A collaborative development of workshops for teachers of Great Basin languages using principles of decolonization and language reclamation" (2020, co-authored with Debra Harry and Jennie Burns, Language Documentation & Conservation). As principal investigator, he received a $247,926 grant to host the Institute on Collaborative Language Research (CoLang) 2026 at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he serves as co-director. Montoya was awarded the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Leadership Award by the University of Nevada, Reno in 2023. He is a faculty associate in the Gender, Race, and Identity program and contributes to initiatives such as Paiute language classes.