Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.). Canadian Studies Program

Biography

The Canadian Studies Program was established in the Department of Political Science on July 1, 1974, with Professor R. Barry Farrell as its director. An initial three year grant of $120,320 from the William H. Donner Foundation provided the original funding. A series of grants from the H. B. Earhart Foundation provided later funding as did governmental grants from the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Private donors and corporations also gave small amounts.

The program was developed to serve as a major forum on Canada to the midwest business and media community and to offer academic courses on Canadian politics and Canada--U.S. relations. These undergraduate and graduate courses have brought to Northwestern Canadian experts in politics and business, as well as academics for lectures, seminars, and as visiting professors. An advisory committee of faculty and students assisted with discussions on policy. 

Major efforts included a fellowship program for students to study in Quebec: summer internships in the political section of the U.S. embassy in Ottawa: and several short conferences. Of special interest was a two-week tour of Canada by a group of U.S. journalists sponsored by Northern Telecom. Support also enabled the Northwestern University Library to increase its holdings of Canadian material. 

The Program was successful in its efforts to expand and deepen knowledge of Canada in the midwest (as shown by favorable mention in the Canadian press and House of Commons) but difficulties in funding and Farrell's death, in 1991, led to the Program's demise.

Found in 1 Collection or Record: