The Center is pleased to report that this past year your donations helped increase our academic and community programming. With over 40 events and collaborations, we reached more than 3,200 students, staff, faculty, and community members across our region and even throughout North America!
This Give Day, your donations will directly support student scholarships and fieldtrips, faculty exchanges, community engagement with the arts, humanities and sciences, and learning opportunities that highlight the transboundary nature of the Canada - U.S. relationship.
Your generosity will allow us to continue welcoming in more students to our program who represent our commitment to multi-/interdisciplinary teaching and learning – students like Mehana Tamashiro, C/AM Studies’ 2023 Outstanding Graduating Senior and Laura Gold Rasmussen, this year’s C/AM Studies Student Scholarship recipient (see images below). Both Mehana and Laura come from non-traditional backgrounds and have found deep personal meaning and intellectual stimulation through Canadian-American Studies. They are stewards of the program for Western and non-Western students alike and are always eager to collaborate on creative and experiential ways to better understand Canada.
"The Canadian-American Studies program has provided me with numerous opportunities to grow as an individual. I expanded on skills like public speaking, networking, and academic research. These opportunities are not really offered in my other major, so I’m thankful that the C/AM program allows students in the department to be more involved. Perhaps the greatest part of the program is that your work will never go unnoticed, and they celebrate your achievements with you. I was given the opportunity to showcase my senior capstone project at the Scholar’s Week poster session."
- Mehana Tamashiro, 2023 C/AM Outstanding Graduate and Scholar
Your gift today can go directly to:
Our annual Canadian-American Studies Student Scholarship fund which helps students alleviate the financial burden of tuition, fees, and housing. We see Give Day as a way for the Western family to show our students how much we care about them as they are are highly motivated to learn about Canada. Please consider supporting their education and their dreams of making a difference.
Our general Center for Canadian-American Studies fund, established to help our growing programmatic and community needs, such as research opportunities for students and faculty, new course development, transboundary fieldtrips, community learning opportunities, events, etc.
Please consider a gift to support Canadian-American Studies today! To discuss the establishment of an endowment or to explore a term-limited gift, please contact Fred Gold, Director of Development and Annual Giving at goldf@wwu.edu or 360-650-6464.
"The Canadian-American Studies Program has given me the opportunity to learn about my own native country and the country I live in now. I have learned how to communicate more effectively and build relationships; this has also helped my current position at Western Washington University. This program has made me feel that I can make a difference in the world through culture and education."
- Laura Gold Rasmussen, 2023 C/AM Student Scholarship recipient
Who We Are:
The Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University supports critical and interdisciplinary inquiry into the historical construction and modern constitution of Canada and its relationship with the United States. The Center places particular emphasis on the interaction of diverse identities and claims to belonging in northern North America.
Having recently celebrated our 50th anniversary, the Center is one of the most well-established Canadian Studies programs in the United States. Since 1988 we have served as a US Department of Education National Resource Center on Canada, in consortium with the Canadian Studies Center at the University of Washington. Recent years have seen a rapid increase in faculty, student demand, and partnerships with local community and government organizations that have enriched the experiences of our students and our position as a leading interdisciplinary program at Western Washington University. For instance, recently we were able to support students attending the 64th annual meeting of the Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers in order to present their academic posters (see photo below).
What We Do:
Together with our partner programs in Canada House (Salish Sea Institute, Border Policy Research Institute), the Center for Canadian-American Studies offers two growing academic programs of study: Bachelor of Arts in Canadian-American Studies and Minor in Canadian-American Studies. The Canadian-American Studies major and minor are designed to expand knowledge of Canada and understanding of the shared Canadian-American experience, including opportunities and challenges. Through these programs, students gain the tools necessary for engaging with key cultural, environmental and economic issues that face both Canada and the United States.
Our curriculum prepares students for positions in education, business, government, communications, and international organizations in the United States, Canada, and other areas of the world. It also provides an entry-point for opportunities in Canadian-American Studies and combines well with other majors and minors to add depth and international expertise. Examples include combining Canadian-American Studies with: environmental science and policy, international business, geography, anthropology, political science, marketing, communications, journalism, history, and foreign languages.
Opportunities for study in Canada and internships are also available. As well, the Center for Canadian-American Studies offers yearly student scholarship opportunities, community events, and curriculum development workshops for K12 educators.
To see what we've been up to lately, check out our Spring 2023 News recap!
For more information, see our website and Instagram page, or send us an email at canam@wwu.edu.
