UND Granted $16,000 by Canadian Embassy

Document Type

News Article

Publication Date

10-1-2011

Campus Unit

College of Arts & Sciences

Abstract

The Government of Canada, through the Research and Academic Relations Office of the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C., along with the Consulate General of Canada in Minneapolis, MN, has awarded the University of North Dakota Program in Canadian, Quebec and North American Francophone Studies a grant totaling CAD$16,000. This Program Enhancement Grant will enhance UND's ability to maintain and develop a wide spectrum of course offerings and outreach activities in the Canadian Studies Minor on campus. Dr. Timothy Pasch, Assistant Professor in the Communication Program, wrote the grant.

"The UND Program in Canadian, Quebec and North American Francophone Studies is engaged beyond the University campus itself, and is active in various cultural, economic, and governmental events," said Dr. Pasch. In March 2011, Dr. Virgil Benoit and Dr. Pasch traveled to Bismarck for Canada Day in the North Dakota Capitol to visit with state and provincial legislators. As Canadian Consul General Martin Loken stated at the North Dakota State Legislature, "Canada and North Dakota traded an average of $3.5 billion in goods annually during the past three years. We make and grow things together, and that's a benefit for both of us." Speaker of the House David Drovdal said "We share so much and do so much business with our northern neighbors. More than one-half of exports from North Dakota go to Canada, and the number of Canadian tourists exceeds the number from any other country, contributing approximately $300 million in tourism revenue annually to our economy. It is important to recognize those economic connections."

The UND Canadian Studies Program seeks to optimize this mutually beneficial relationship between Canada and North Dakota. "Benefitting from the close proximity of Grand Forks to the Canadian border, the Program works to enhance the networking opportunities between Canadian students, faculty, staff, and alumni at UND, and functions to create awareness among all students at UND, and among the Greater Grand Forks Community, about opportunities that exist for mutually beneficial exchanges with Canada" said Pasch.

The UND Program in Canadian, Quebec and North American Francophone Studies is committed to maintaining and developing a wide spectrum of course offerings in Canadian Studies on campus, and to functioning as a University Center in the Upper Midwest for the development of Canada-US Relations. The Program, situated in the College of Arts and Sciences of the University, welcomes interdisciplinary exchanges focused on linguistic, economic, historical, legal, socio-political and cultural aspects shared by Canada and the United States. Members include Dr. Virgil Benoit, Dr. Kyle Conway, Dr. James Mochoruk, Dr. Douglas Munski, and Dr. Timothy Pasch.

The University of North Dakota College of Arts & Sciences is proud to be the home of Canadian, Quebec and North American Francophone studies along with eighteen departments and nearly a dozen special programs of study. For more information or to support any of our programs, visit www.und.edu/arts-sciences.

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