SoLV, the Innovation Group for the Study of Language Variation has been awarded $20,000/year for 3 years. The funding is from the Office of the Dean of OSU’s College of Arts & Sciences. Our PI is Rob Fox in Speech and Hearing. I am one of the founding members of this group, which includes 14 faculty members from 6 different departments: Teaching & Learning, Linguistics, Psychology, Otolaryngology, Spanish & Portuguese, and Speech & Hearing. The group has 5 focus areas: (1) improvement of language-learning environments in early childhood schools and care-centers, (2) improvement of both assessment and remediation of language disorders, (3) increase in knowledge about and appreciation of both regional and social dialect variations, (4) better understanding of the language problems of the elderly, and (5) better understanding of the challenges of the acquisition of English as a Second Language. Our planned activities include a speaker series, workshops, an annual symposium on the Study of Language Variation (including awards for the best undergraduate and graduate posters), and the facilitation of collaborative research opportunities for faculty and students.