Director Nadine C. Fabbi was this year’s recipient of the Donner Medal in Canadian Studies awarded by the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ASCUS) conference in Seattle. The Donner Medal is the highest honor awarded by ACSUS for distinguished achievement, scholarship, and program innovation in Canadian Studies in the United States.
“This year’s recipient of the Donner Medal, Dr. Nadine Fabbi, has built a decades-long career in service to the Canadian Studies community, as a visionary administrator, teacher, and intellectual leader in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, one of the two largest and most active Canadian Studies Centers in the U.S. She is universally esteemed for her devotion to student learning, creating cross-border exchange programs and student internship opportunities, developing courses on the Arctic, and supporting training in Indigenous languages. She has nurtured colleagues across the Pacific Northwest Canadian Studies Consortium, actively collaborated with the Consulate General of Canada, hosted numerous Fulbright scholars, and worked tirelessly to promote better cross-border understanding and relationships. Both before and after obtaining her Ph.D. in 2015, Dr. Fabbi has also amassed an impressive record of public speaking and publications and has garnered respect for her dedication to and advocacy on behalf of Indigenous nations and knowledge, a commitment that culminated in the development of the first Arctic Studies minor in the U.S. south of Alaska. Dr. Fabbi’s engagement, boundless energy, generosity of knowledge and expertise, and exemplary interpersonal skills have made her the beating heart of University of Washington’s Canadian Studies Center, and an inspiration to Canadianists in the U.S. and internationally. She richly deserves the recognition of the Donner Medal, for distinguished achievement, scholarship, and program innovation in Canadian Studies.”
Nadine has served in a leadership role with the Canadian Studies Center, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, since 1999. Her research and teaching focus on Inuit self-determination in Canada and beyond.