If we were to paint a portrait of a personified Alma Mater, Inger would have to be the model. She was endowed with a brilliant mind, a scientific curiosity and a natural sense of authority, and became a pioneer in many realms.
Inger Moen spent all her professional life at the University of Oslo with a sincere devotion both to her discipline and to her colleagues and students. She started her career in 1969 in English linguistics and phonetics and continued in applied linguistics in the 1980s where she became professor in 1993, initiating a new field of research in Norway: clinical linguistics. Inger was an inspiring lecturer and supervisor, a caring mentor and an internationally renowned researcher in phonetics and neurolinguistics. In 2001 she was created a Doctor honoris causa at the University of St. Petersburg.
Inger was a pioneer. She contributed to the initiation of the first organized program for PhD candidates at the University of Oslo in 1986, and through this she became the «mother» of a whole generation of young linguists. In clinical linguistics she sought to bridge gaps between general linguistics and speech and language therapy. By founding a research group in clinical linguistics – something quite rare at the time at the Faculty of Humanities – she created excellent opportunities for collaboration with colleagues and students. As members of her research group we are grateful for her pioneering work.
For women in academia she was a particularly inspiring role model. As the first woman president of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 1998 she brought renewal and openness to the institution. Her portrait by Tore Juell, which hangs alongside all her male predecessors, is a testimony to her strength and elegance as well as to her very characteristic personality: a combination of a lively presence and a calmness which made everyone around her feel safe.
Inger will be missed by all her colleagues and students, in Norway and abroad. She is a gold standard to all of us!