Graduate Student Alumni

The following is a list of former UW graduate students who were Canadian Studies FLAS fellows and/or enrolled in the Center's Professional Development Program, and describes how the current professional activities of Center alumni are related to the promotion of Canada or the Canada-US relationship across our nation.
Alumni News

	Li Leung M.A., Civil and Environmental Engineering, August 2009 Advisor, Anne Goodchild Li was a master’s student working under the supervision of Anne Goodchild in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Transportation Engineering. Her thesis is entitled, "Statistical Analysis of Commercial Vehicle Border Crossing Times and Volumes: Case Study of the Pacific Highway Port-of-Entry Free And Secure Trade Lane.” Updated October 2009
	Susan Albrecht M.A., Civil and Environmental Engineering, June 2009 Advisor, Anne Goodchild Susan has a master’s degree in Policy Studies and graduate certificates in Global Trade, Transportation and Logistics Studies and Environmental Management, Program on the Environment. She completed a second master’s in International Studies. She was a research assistant in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering where she worked with Professor Anne Goodchild researching transportation logistics at the Canada-US border and the Port of Prince Rupert. Updated September 2009
	Lillian Benjamin Lillian, a 2006-07 FLAS Fellow, recently completed her Master of Public Health and Master of Arts in International Studies. She is currently working in Gabon with a hospital's Community Health Outreach Program. Updated September 2008
	Graeme Boushey Assistant Professor, Political Science San Francisco State University PhD, Political Science, 2007 Graeme, a 2002-03 FLAS Fellow, is currently an Assistant Professor of Political Science at San Francisco State University where he incorporates some Canadian content into his teaching and research on comparative political systems. Updated July 2008
	Cody Case Researcher, Canadian Studies Center Traditional Canadian Music Collection University of Washington MA, Ethnomusicology, 2008 (Chair, Ter Ellingson) Cody, a 2006-08 FLAS Fellow, is currently living in Seattle and working as a researcher on the Center's Traditional Canadian Music Collection adding Québécois hip-hop music to library acquisitions. Updated July 2008
	Natalie Debray Lecturer, Department of Communication University of Washington PhD, Communication, 2008 (Chair, Tony Chan) Natalie was just appointed as a full time Lecturer with the Department of Communication where she will teach six courses in 2008-09 that will include Canadian and Québec content. Updated July 2008
	Kate Dunsmore Assistant Professor, Communication Fairleigh Dickinson University PhD, Communication, 2008 (Chair, Nancy Rivenburgh) Kate was appointed to a tenure-track position at Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey where she will teach comparative courses on Canada and the US. Kate also hopes to start a Canadian Studies program at Fairleigh Dickinson. Updated July 2008
	Maria Fannin Lecturer, School of Geographical Sciences University of Bristol PhD, Geography, 2006 (Chair, K. England) Maria, a 2002-03 FLAS Fellow, is currently a Lecturer in the School of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol. Updated Winter 2006
	Devon Léger Festival Programs Coordinator, Seattle MA, Ethnomusicology, 2005 Devon is a Festival Programs Coordinator for Northwest Folklife, Seattle where he is able to continue to focus on his passion for Canadian traditional music, including engaging in field research and bringing Canadian artists and musicians to Seattle. In 2007 Devon created the Canadian Traditional Music Collection for the Center. Updated July 2008
	Li Leung MS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2009 Li received a master's degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering with an emphasis on transportation. Her research analyzed crossing times between the Canadian and the United States' border, specifically the Pacific Highway port of entry for commercial vehicles. Her advisor was Anne Goodchild, who supervised her thesis, entitled, "Statistical Analysis of Commercial Vehicle Border Crossing Times and Volumes: Case Study of the Pacific Highway Port-of-Entry Free And Secure Trade Lane." Updated September 2009
	Tema Milstein Assistant Professor, Communication and Journalism University of New Mexico PhD, Communication, 2007 (Chair, Gerry Philipsen) Tema Milstein is Assistant Professor of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico. Updated June 2007
	Timothy Pasch Timothy completed his dissertation, "Inuktitut Online in Nunavik: Mixed Methods Web-Based Strategies for Preserving Aboriginal and Minority Languages," in August of 2008, and his dissertation was accepted by the Graduate School on September 24! He holds the first-ever FLAS fellowship for Inuktitut in the country and has received FLAS fellowships every year since 2005. Updated September 2008
	Erich Steinman Assistant Professor, Sociology Pitzer College PhD, Sociology, 2005 Steinman is currently an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College, Claremont, CA. Updated July 2007

Timothy Pasch, Communication

Tim Pasch with his Inuk grandfather from the Inuit region of Nunavik, Québec.

The assistance of the Canadian Studies Center was completely invaluable in the successful completion of my Graduate Program. As my research focuses on the Canadian Arctic, travel to the area was integral to conducting fieldwork and collecting data about social networking among the Inuit. When beginning this project, I had very little knowledge of the language of Inuktitut and very few contacts among the Inuit and the Canadian government. Thanks to several Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships awarded through the Center, I was offered the singular opportunity to study Inuktitut and prepare for extended fieldwork in the North. Having knowledge of the language was doubtless the single most important aspect of my communicative and cultural journey North: speaking Inuktitut opened doors of friendship and research opportunity that would have been otherwise inaccessible. A Canadian Embassy Graduate Fellowship enabled payment for the flights up to the Tundra: especially important considering that these flights are some of the most expensive in the world. Meetings with the Avataq Inuit Cultural Attachés in Ottawa, members of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and even interviews with Inuit mayors: so many of these experiences and opportunities were facilitated by the Canadian Studies Center here at the University of Washington in general, and by the tireless and stellar assistance of Associate Director, Nadine Fabbi in particular.

Alumni News
 

Kate Dunsmore Awarded for Dissertation
 

Kate Dunsmore was selected by the Distinguished Dissertation Committee, Association of Canadian Studies in the US, as the recipient of this year’s biennial award for her thesis, Mediating alliance: The role of the press in sustaining reciprocity in the US-Canada relationship. Kate’s dissertation utilized the US-Canada relationship as an exemplar of international alliance.
This study demonstrated the active role of the press in both countries in sustaining the essential quality of reciprocity in the relationship. Most notably, in multiple cases, the press was found to pass up opportunities for their preferred simple, conflict-oriented news framing in favor of coverage supportive of bilateral understanding and cohesion.

Kate received her doctorate from the Department of Communication in December 2008. She was appointed to a tenure-track position at Fairleigh Dickinson University in the Department of Communication Studies last year.

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Alum Builds Canadian Studies in New Jersey

This area of New Jersey fully lives up to the state's nickname - Garden State. The tree-lined roads and traditional architecture make this a charming place to live. The Olmstead-designed former estate of Florence Vanderbilt and Hamilton Twombley, the Fairleigh Dickinson University Florham campus is beautiful.

My area of particular responsibility is international and intercultural communication. I was able to integrate Canadian material in my graduate class on globalization and intercultural communication. This semester I am bringing in many examples of Canadian multiculturalism in my global communication undergraduate course. One of my students has chosen Canada for his geographic focus area, because he wants to know more about Canada than just hockey. Another is focusing on the circumpolar region. For her first project, she explored perspectives from Russia, Nunavut and Nunavik.

The Canadian Studies community in this area is very small, but by using the approach the UW Canadian Studies Center has taken, I hope to develop ties between scholars who may now be isolated. For example, I will integrate Canadian examples into guest lectures, raising the profile of Canadian Studies among students and faculty in other departments.

Currently I am developing would have a study-abroad component that would bring Florham campus students to Vancouver, British Columbia for a week or two. Fairleigh Dickinson has a Vancouver campus so is a natural place for cross-border collaboration. The course would explore intercultural communication in the case of US-Canada relations. I hope to introduce students firsthand to the impact of official bilingualism and the different status accorded First Nations, Métis and Inuit Canadians.

I am also looking forward to activities with the Middle Atlantic and New England Council for Canadian Studies as a way to work toward regional collaboration.

I hope to see many of you at ACSUS and other conferences!

Kate Dunsmore’s research at the UW was supported, in part, by funding from a Canadian Studies Center Program Enhancement Grant, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.

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