From far and wide, international students flock to campus. Yet America's neighbors to the north have an especially strong connection to the University.
"Canadians are the largest ex-pat[riate] community at Princeton," Director of the Committee for Canadian Studies and a French Ph.D. candidate Esther Marion said.
One hundred sixty-one undergraduate students and 70 graduate students hail from Canada. There are also "a fair number of Canadian faculty and staff, from President Tilghman on down," Director of Stewardship Jotham Johnson '64 said. "Most of them don't go around wearing maple leaves on their foreheads."
Despite the relative abundance of Canadians, many students are unaware of the Canadian studies opportunities on campus.
Students, Canadian or otherwise, have two more weeks to apply for significant research grants awarded by the Canadian studies committee. The group also sponsors lectures, social events, courses and a visiting professorship.
"We have a dual focus to support research being done on Canada and by Canadians and to promote Canadian culture," Marion said.
The Princeton Fund for Canadian Studies endowment — which began with $50,000 from the Canadian government in 1991 — funds the Committee for Canadian Studies. Canadian alumni, particularly in Montreal, were the impetus behind the fund's creation.
Eric Molson '59, chairman of the board of Molson Inc., the Canada-based brewer, "spearheaded a fundraising drive that ultimately raised $1 million," Johnson said.
Michael Peterman '66, professor of English literature at Trent University in Canada, will teach a course on Ontarian literature in the spring. Peterman is the fifth in an annual series of Canadian professors who spend a term at Princeton; he is the first alumnus.
The courses are funded separately by the Pathy Visiting Professorship, named for Ladi Pathy '56, a Montreal resident who donated money for the University's 150th anniversary fundraising campaign.
Pathy wanted "to make it possible for there to be a visiting professor each year. They add a Canadian dimension to the curriculum," Johnson said.
Canadian studies are intended to appeal to native Canadians as well as the general student body.
"Courses have often focused on Canada-specific topics, but they address larger issues as well," Marion explained. "For example, the spring 2005 course on Ontario literature explores the connections between place, identity and representation."
Past courses have included POL 430: Environmental Policy and Governance: Great Lakes of North America and HIS 451/WOM 451: Gender and the Welfare Regime in Canada.
Research grants are another priority for the Committee on Canadian Studies, which has awarded roughly $36,000 to 28 students for independent research in the last two years. All Canadian citizens can apply for funding, regardless of their research topics. Non-Canadian students are also eligible if they are conducting research relevant to Canada.
Most grants provide between $500 and $1,000. Applications are available on the committee's website — http://www.princeton.edu/~trunorth — and are due by Oct. 22.
While students have obtained funding for research, "there hasn't been enough interest to have a full-fledged certificate program," Johnson said.
"On occasion . . . there has been some discussion on whether Princeton should have an endowed chair in Canadian Studies," he added.
For now the committee will remain a subsidiary of the Council of the Humanities.
The committee, in conjunction with groups like the Princeton Canadian Club and Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, also organizes social and intellectual events. Past activities include literary readings, politics lectures, colloquia and film festivals.
The committee has benefited from the support of President Tilghman and her predecessor, President Emeritus Harold Shapiro GS '64, both Canadians.
"They've attended our Canadian Thanksgiving celebration," Marion noted, "and last spring President Tilghman hosted a tea for Canadian students."
This year's Canadian Thanksgiving celebration will be held 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Friend Center Convocation Room.
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