Canadian
Studies Program
International and Area Studies
University of California at
Berkeley
Distinguished Professorship
and
Endowed Chair
Case for Support
Introduction: "Friends,
Neighbors, Family"
Shortly after 11 September 2001, Canada expressed its condolences to
the
United States in a short statement delivered by Prime Minister Jean
Chrétien
ending with these words. They sum up what has long been both a
sentiment
and a fact. "Friends" because in two World Wars, Korea, Cold War, and
Desert
Storm and such peacetimes as have obtained in the past century the two
nations were linked in the closet alliance; because in commerce and the
economy the most intimate linkage the world has known has made them
each
other’s largest trading partner; because they share a culture which if
never quite common still makes distinction difficult. "Neighbours"
because
they share the longest undefended border in the world against which the
vast majority of Canadians live within one-hundred miles of an even
more
populous United States and the north-south ties binding the two peoples
together are almost as powerful as the east-west ligaments within each
country. "Family" because the founding non-indigenous peoples of both
came
from the same corner of the European littoral; because the fundamental
values of both nations have been defined by institutions of law and
governance
imposed by the same imperial power; because migration between the two
countries
has been continuous and at times massive and immigration to both from
outside
North America has been of largely the same peoples. Since we are indeed
"friends, neighbours, and family," American knowledge of Canada is
essential
to maintaining, deepening, and furthering that special relationship
founded
on history and geography in the North American arena. If the special
relationship
is to grow stronger, deeper, and more extensive, American understanding
of Canada must increase.
Though in most areas the two nations usually make common cause, some
of the traditional amity that bridges occasional differences has
suffered
in the two years since 9/11. The war against terrorism, abroad
and
domestically, has not only complicated trans-border relationships, but
it has also introduced significant division in foreign-policy,
especially
with the Iraq War. The special relationship needs
bolstering.
American academics have a dual role to play in this undertaking:
interpreting
Canada to Americans and the United States to Canadians.
To strengthen, deepen, and expand that special relationship American
understanding of Canada must be increased. The Canadian Studies
Program,
within the International and Area Studies (IAS) division at the
University of California, Berkeley, is well placed to contribute to
that
enterprise.
Program Mission
A handful of Berkeley faculty from different disciplines established
the
Canadian
Studies Program in January 1982, with the encouragement and modest
financial assistance of the Canadian Government. None of the faculty
involved
was primarily a "Canadianist," but all developed a strong interest in
teaching
and research with a Canadian focus. The Program’s commitment remains
centered
on that dual role, bringing the skills and enthusiasm of an outstanding
faculty in the nation’s pre-eminent public university to the
instruction
of students at all levels and in all relevant faculties and
professional
schools and to advancing the knowledge of Canada in their respective
fields
by published scholarship. The Program’s regular offerings of colloquia,
symposia, conferences, exhibits, and business seminars attract the
active
participation of scholars in other colleges and universities in
Northern
California that do not have their own programs, as well as providing an
opportunity for the area’s public—many of them expatriate Canadians—to
keep up with Canadian affairs. The program is also a resource for local
businessmen and professionals who need to learn more about Canada
without
extensive travel. The Program’s offerings reinforce the instructional
and
research undertakings of the faculty and serve as a forum in which
faculty,
visiting scholars, post-doctoral students, and graduate students
present
their research to the enrichment of all and the advance of our
knowledge
of Canada.
With a modest budget and an even more modest staff, the Program has
maintained its lively program. The two faculty Co-Chairs, Thomas G.
Barnes
(Professor of History & Law) and Nelson Graburn (Professor of
Anthropology)
receive neither compensation nor release time for their Program
activity.
The Vice-Chair, Dr. Rita Ross, the only paid staffer, is part time. An
Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of John A. Sproul, a
distinguished
alumnus, college and law school, of the University, and former senior
executive
of Pacific Gas and Electric, has provided advice and support from the
beginning.
Please check our Activities
page for past and current activities of the Program.
The Campaign for a
Distinguished
Professorship and Endowed Chair in Canadian Studies
Impressive accomplishments notwithstanding, it is
clear that the continued strength and future growth of the Canadian
Studies
Program depend on establishing a more secure financial base — part of
which
must be generated by private support. Indeed, UC Berkeley and the
Canadian
government have concluded that, in order to secure the long-term future
of Canadian Studies at the University, a collaborative fundraising
campaign
is necessary to create an endowed distinguished professorship in
Canadian
Studies. Creation of the distinguished professorship requires at least
$1 million in funding, with a chairholder’s endowment of at least
$500,000
at its core. The endowed portion will generate earnings in perpetuity
to
support the chairholder’s research and teaching activities. The
remaining
funds, will be invested as an additional endowment, and will be used to
strengthen the infrastructure for future activities. In March 2001, the
Canadian government expressed publicly the vital importance of this
educational
collaboration. It has committed approximately $250,000US over a
three-year
period, in the form of a four to one matching grant, to serve as the
cornerstone
of the campaign to create the first ever endowed distinguished
professorship
in Canadian studies at UC Berkeley. John Sproul, Chair
of
the Advisory Board, is Co-Chair of the Chair Campaign in
the
United States and is joined by Canadian Co-Chair Russell Kalmacoff,
alumnus of the Haas School of Business and President and CEO of
Rockmount
Financial Corporation in Calgary.
A distinguished professorship in Canadian
studies
will recognize the highest caliber of academic talent. Its existence
alone
will serve to attract top graduate and postdoctoral students to
Berkeley.
In turn, the University’s extensive offerings in Canadian studies will
be better utilized, and the impact of the John A. Sproul Postdoctoral
Research
Fellowship endowment — established in the early 1990s with gifts from
private
individuals, corporations, and the Canadian government — will be
magnified.
The campaign for a distinguished professorship
in Canadian Studies is an International and Area Studies development
priority
and enjoys the full support of the division’s dean, David Leonard. It
is
the most ambitious project undertaken since the Canadian Studies
Program’s
founding two decades ago. With the arrival of the lead gift from the
Canadian
government, the campaign is now well under way.
Conclusion: Shaping the
Future
of Canadian Studies
Private support for the endowment of a
distinguished
professorship in Canadian studies is essential if the Canadian
Studies
Program at UC Berkeley is not only to continue to promote greater
understanding
of Canada within the United States, but also to grow programmatically,
and thereby help create even stronger American-Canadian relationships
and
partnerships in the future. By enabling the University’s Canadian
Studies
Program to attain even higher levels of distinction in the areas of
teaching and research, the establishment of the distinguished
professorship
will also help to shape the future of Canadian Studies worldwide.
Contacts and
Important
Information
Canadian Studies Program
454 Boalt Hall # 7200
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
canada@uclink.berkeley.edu
510-642-0531
Thomas G. Barnes, Co-Chair
Nelson Graburn, Co-Chair
Rita Ross, Vice-Chair
Development Office, Office of the Dean
International and Area Studies
360 Stephens Hall # 2300
Berkeley CA 94720-2300
ias@uclink.berkeley.edu
510-643-3567
Donations by check to the Canadian Studies
Campaign
should be made out to the UC Regents and mailed to the IAS Development
Office at the above address. Donations may also be made online at the
"Giving
to Cal" online donation website:
https://colt.berkeley.edu:444/urelgift/ias_canadian.html
All gifts are tax-deductible as prescribed by
law. The University of California, Berkeley is recognized as a
tax-exempt
organization by Revenue Canada.
Thank
you for your commitment and generosity.
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