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Canadian Studies Center, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington

UW and Fulbright Canada sign MOU for Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Arctic Studies

Michael Hawes, CEO, Fulbright Canada, and UW President Ana Mari Cauce sign new MOU with representatives of supporting units: Nadine Fabbi, managing director of the Canadian Studies Center; Resat Kasaba, director of the Jackson School of International Studies; Richard Watts, director of the Canadian Studies Center; Lisa Graumlich, dean of College of the Environment. Photo credit: Dennis Wise.

March 14, 2019

In February 2019, the University of Washington and Fulbright Canada signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair in Arctic Studies. UW President Ana Mari Cauce, Fulbright Canada’s CEO Michael Hawes, and representatives of the supporting units signed the MOU to continue the relationship that began in 2006. The Chair provides enhanced visibility for initiatives concerning the Arctic region and has brought cutting-edge research to students and scholars at the University of Washington.

Since 2006, the UW has collaborated with the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States of America (Fulbright Canada), supporting a Visiting Research Chair to energize research on Canada across units. From 2006 to 2012, five individuals held this position, representing provincial governments, political science, fisheries, ethnomusicology, sociology/anthropology, and law and Arctic Studies. This first UW-Fulbright Canada MOU increased Canada’s visibility on campus and its important role in international relations.

During the 2013–2014 academic year, in response to growing interest in Arctic Studies, including the Future of Ice Initiative and the development of the interdisciplinary minor in Arctic Studies (Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and School of Oceanography), various units collaborated to sign a new MOU with Fulbright Canada for a Fulbright Research Chair in Arctic Studies (Office of Global Affairs; the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies; Social Sciences Division, College of Arts and Sciences; College of the Environment; and Fulbright Canada). This was the first such chair in North America. (Dartmouth University has since established a second Research Chair in Arctic Studies in the United States.)

To date, seven scholars have spent at least one academic quarter at the UW, developing new synergies between the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of the Environment, and between social sciences, humanities and natural sciences. The current Chair is Dr. Andrew Chater, who is studying the influence of Indigenous Peoples on the Arctic Council.

See the full list of Fulbright Visiting Research Chairs in Arctic Studies.