Canadian-American Studies Bylaws Approved February 22nd, 2024

Download a PDF copy of the Center for Canadian-American Studies Bylaws here.

1. Canadian American Studies

a. Mission & Goals

The Center for Canadian-American Studies (the Center) was established by Western Washington University in 1971. Situated on Coast Salish territories in the Salish Sea bioregion, less than 25 miles (40 km) from the Canada-U.S. international border, the mission of the Center is to expand knowledge of the cross-border and transboundary relationship between Canada and the United States by supporting critical and interdisciplinary inquiry to the community, K-16 students and educators through educational services and resources. The Center, in consortium with the Canadian Studies Center at the University of Washington, forms the Pacific Northwest National Resource Center on Canada (NRC) and is a recipient of Title VI support by the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of its leading role as a center of excellence on Canada. Together with its consortium partner, the overall goal of the Center is to enhance student, faculty, and community engagement with Canada and Canadian-American relations, with a particular emphasis on the sense of place, interaction of diverse identities, and claims to belonging in northern North America.

The Center offers two academic degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Canadian-American Studies and a Minor in Canadian-American Studies. The curriculum for these programs is highly interdisciplinary, drawing on courses and faculty from five campus colleges: College of Business and Economics, College of Fine and Performing Arts, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, and the College of the Environment. The Center’s academic programs enable students to gain national scale understanding of Canada, its relationship with the U.S., and the diverse and contested histories that shape the present. The Center supports the mission of Western Washington University by providing a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary academic program to Western students and a transformative outreach program to the community and K-12/K-16 educators, both of which focus on the Canada-U.S. relationship through the engagement of place and through the pursuit of social justice and equity.

2. Organizational Structure

a. Director of the Center for Canadian-American Studies

The Director is responsible for all matters relating to the strategic leadership, campus partnerships, budget management, and academic program oversight of the Center. The Director reports directly to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (AVPAA) regarding program activities. The Director also presents and discusses any official program reports to/with the Faculty Advisory Council (FAC).If a Director is up for Tenure & Promotion or Post Tenure Review, the Director will be evaluated in accordance with the agreed terms in the Director’s signed letter of offer in regards to teaching, research, and service. The review will be chaired by a member of the APIC Personnel and Professional Development Committee (PPDC).

b. Faculty Advisory Council

The responsibilities of the Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) are to facilitate coordination of the academic program activities and curriculum, assist and advise the Director in strategic planning, discuss and vote on proposed changes to the Center’s bylaws, and perform routine reviews of the Director and permanent faculty members as necessary (tenured Council members only).

The FAC shall consist of the Director, the Administrative Services Manager, and a minimum of 3 permanent or affiliated faculty members representing at least 2 different colleges, nominated by either the Director or a standing FAC member. At least two FAC members must be tenured faculty who will also be responsible for the review of probationary and tenured faculty. Each term shall be two years, with an automatic term renewal unless the faculty member communicates their wish to the Director to step down. The Director may appoint one member of the Council as needed to serve as liaison for any faculty-shared governance purposes, such as the Council on University Programs (CUP). The FAC shall meet a minimum of once per academic year. The Director, who also acts as Council Chair, and the Administrative Services Manager are non-voting members. Serving on the C/AM FAC is recorded as service to the University.

3. Faculty

Procedures for appointment, titles, and evaluation of both tenure track (TT) and non tenure-track (NTT) faculty teaching under the C/AM rubric will be in accordance with the most recent, ratified Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiated by the University and United Faculty of Western Washington, Sections 7 and 8. Additional information described here is for the purpose of clarity and does not supersede the CBA. Center faculty members (permanent and affiliated) must have tenure track or non-tenure track appointments at Western Washington University and have teaching or research interests in Canadian-American Studies (broadly defined). They will participate in Center activities and work to advance the Center’s priorities and mission, consistent with the framework outlined below.

a. Permanent Faculty

Current permanent faculty members are either tenured or tenure-track faculty holding a formal joint appointment with the Center and one or more other academic units on campus (center, department, institute, program). Such an appointment is appropriate when it best serves the university’s mission and strategic plan more than would a full appointment in one such unit. Joint appointments may be made at the time of initial hire, or when circumstances suggest that such an appointment would serve the best interests of the university, the university faculty member, and the academic units involved. The teaching, research, and service responsibilities of faculty must be equally distributed between all participating academic units as best possible, depending on programmatic needs and resources. The faculty member’s home unit will be the academic unit of their area of specialization (e.g., Political Science, History, etc.). Faculty are evaluated according to the Unit Evaluation Plan (UEP) of their home academic unit. The remaining language in this document regarding the appointment, benefits, and responsibilities of permanent faculty reflects the Center’s current agreement between them and the Office of the Provost regarding joint appointments.

i. Appointment

As stated above, the Center’s permanent faculty members have an academic appointment in an academic unit at the university (e.g., Department of History, Fairhaven College, etc.). They shall be regular faculty members of that unit, according to that unit’s evaluation plan, with the modifications listed below. The funding line for each position shall be determined during the hiring process. The expectations of the faculty members in terms of responsibilities to the home unit, to the Center, and any other academic unit to which the faculty member may be jointly appointed, will be specified in the letter of offer upon hiring.

ii. Benefits

Permanent faculty members are presently eligible to apply for an annual award of up to $1,000 from the Center, available for professional development activities or travel credit, consistent with the policies and procedures of WWU. This is in addition to professional development funds awarded to faculty in the CBA and any professional development or travel funds provided by the home academic unit. To apply, permanent faculty members are required to submit a funding request form for approval before any purchases are made. Unused funds do not roll over from one academic year to the next. Faculty are also eligible to apply for any additional funds available from – and advertised by – the Center, to be used for interdisciplinary teaching and research support (including student support). The Center is to be recognized in any final version of scholarly/creative deliverable or conference presentation that has resulted from program funding. Additionally, faculty have priority use of the Canada House conference room for teaching and program activities.

The Center benefits from permanent faculty who teach required and/or elective courses, develop funding and course proposals, and bring excellence to the Center’s and University’s missions through, for example, research, community engagement, and student recruitment/growth. The home unit will benefit by having a faculty member with teaching and research expertise that meets the needs of their unit with an added Canadian Studies comparative angle.

iii. Teaching

Permanent faculty members’ teaching load (as defined by the department and college) will be evenly split between C/AM and their other units. For example, if a faculty member is jointly appointed with C/AM and one other academic unit, a regular 6-course teaching load per academic year will equal contributing three courses to each academic unit. Courses taught in C/AM that directly support the Center’s mission and the curriculum of the faculty’s other units are encouraged. Cross-listed courses are particularly encouraged for junior or NTT faculty but are open to all faculty members. Cross-listed courses, which must have a minimum of 50% Canadian content, will evenly contribute to the teaching responsibilities of each unit involved. For example, one section of C/AM 277 – HIST 277 will count as 2 of a regular 6-course teaching load. However, only a maximum of two cross-listed courses (not sections) per academic year may be taught (not counting Summer Session).

Faculty members are encouraged to develop new courses within the C/AM academic program that align with their research paths. Faculty are also encouraged to develop and teach C/AM courses for Summer Session. Substitutions that allow some of the C/AM-rubric classes to be taught by another faculty member may be permissible by agreement between the chairs or directors of each unit, under special circumstances. For instance, if an upper-division course in the faculty member’s home unit could best be taught by a permanent C/AM faculty on a short-term basis (example: professional leave), that could be arranged as long as the C/AM-rubric classes are also covered from within that home unit department.

iv. Research

All permanent faculty members are expected to maintain an active research program that contributes to the Center’s mission and responds to the conditions of their joint appointments. They are encouraged to engage in interdisciplinary, scholarly activity (broadly defined) with other affiliated faculty members or scholarly activity that evenly benefits each of their academic units. Faculty members may have research-specific stipulations in their letter of offer, such as the expectation to conduct community-engaged research that contributes to one or more academic units. Faculty members are reminded that the Center is to be recognized in any final version of scholarly/creative deliverable or conference presentation that has resulted from program funding.

v. Service

For permanent faculty members, service to the Center may take the form of committee membership (FAC), community engagement that supports the Center’s missions, student mentorship for C/AM capstone courses or independent studies, etc. Upon attaining tenure, permanent faculty shall rotate service on the FAC every two years in addition to any student mentorship required. Tenure-track faculty may commit to C/AM service committee membership, but it is not required. However, they may be asked to act as faculty mentor (as needed) of students in research projects and capstone courses during the academic year. Service in the form of mentorship prior to receiving tenure will be modestly compensated by the Center. Throughout the academic year, all faculty are expected to assist in supporting the growth of the program by identifying potential students to enroll in the Major or Minor.

Faculty may have specific stipulations in their letter of offer, such as the expectation to conduct community-engaged service that contributes to one or more academic units. Stipulations such as these must be taken into consideration by both the Director and faculty member when discussing service commitments to all academic units pre-tenure. Service to the Center in all forms described above will count towards that faculty member’s overall university service duties. Faculty are also encouraged to perform community outreach and engagement that furthers the missions of the Center and their other academic units.

vi. Review

The Center follows the review process outlined in the APIC Operating Procedures and Evaluation Plan (OPEP). Faculty are strongly encouraged to consult that document prior to submitting their dossier for evaluation. Overview: The faculty’s home unit will conduct the promotion and tenure processes, as well as post-tenure review, while allowing for substantive input from the Center. Probationary faculty are strongly encouraged to seek out mentorship in crafting their faculty statement(s) in a way that fully demonstrates their commitments to C/AM as an integral and equally distributed component of their appointment. Mentorship can come from either the Director or another C/AM faculty member. When the candidate is up for review, the tenured members of the Center’s FAC shall review the candidate’s dossier utilizing the approved APIC faculty review form (see the APIC OPEP). The Director will use these reviews to summarize the candidate’s accomplishments in teaching, research, and service as they pertain to the mission and activities of the Center, in a letter of support.

The faculty member shall receive a copy and will have five days from the date of the letter to respond to any factual inaccuracies before it is submitted to the faculty member’s home department Chair to be included in their recommendation to the Dean. This letter is not to be considered a “vote” in the tenure process. Rather, its purpose is to serve as supportive documentation of the faculty member’s commitments to the Center as outlined in their contract. For probationary faculty, the home unit chair is encouraged to meet with the Director and any chair(s) or director(s) of other academic units with which the faculty member may be jointly appointed to discuss the candidate’s progress and professional development. The letter of support provided by the Director will also be included in the candidate’s dossier in any subsequent year of review so that the candidate’s home unit’s colleagues are kept informed of the candidate’s contractual commitments to, and engagements with, the Center.

vii. Retention of Faculty Lines

Permanent faculty positions can be vacated through the ending of employment with the University or through a consensual renegotiation of the original letter of offer, as allowed by the CBA. In either case, the position is retained by the Center at the discretion of the Provost. If the position is vacated through renegotiation, the Department/College receiving the faculty member is responsible for funding the faculty member’s position so that the Center and the other academic units retain the original line.

b. Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Non-tenure track (NTT) faculty are appointed and evaluated based on expectations and duties defined in the letter of offer, which primarily refers to teaching responsibilities. Non-tenure track faculty are not expected to pursue scholarly activity, although it often contributes to the quality of instruction. Service contributions are not expected as part of their employment unless otherwise indicated in the letter of offer. Service performed by NTT faculty for the Center is modestly compensated. The Director is primarily responsible for hiring NTT faculty, but both permanent and affiliated faculty members as well as members of the Center’s FAC are welcome to participate in the hiring and evaluation process.

iv. Review

The Center follows the review process and procedures outlined in the APIC OPEP. NTT faculty are strongly encouraged to consult that document prior to the beginning of their evaluation. Overview: NTT faculty shall be evaluated by the Director based on expectations and duties defined in the letter/email of offer. The faculty member works with the Director to identify a 2-week evaluation period. Senior instructors are evaluated once every three years. All other non-tenure track faculty are evaluated annually. The evaluation will be based on student evaluations of the instructional quality for all courses taught, the Director’s observations of the various C/AM classes taught by the faculty member, review of the instructor’s learning management site for the course (if available), and interactions and observations of the faculty member in their professional C/AM employment capacity.

NTT faculty are expected to provide an opportunity for all students enrolled in their courses to complete evaluations for all sections. The Director may consult with other faculty or request that other faculty observe the faculty member’s classes, if deemed appropriate. The Director shall summarize the results of the evaluation in a letter. The faculty member shall receive a copy and will have five working days from the date of the letter to respond to any factual inaccuracies before it is submitted to the Provost (or the Provost’s designee), who will review it to verify compliance with university standards. A copy of the final letter shall be provided to the faculty member and the Provost (or designee).

v. Benefits

The Center benefits from NTT faculty who teach required and/or elective courses and bring excellence to the Center’s and University’s missions through, for example, community engagement, and student recruitment/growth. NTT faculty are eligible for annual funding to be used for professional development, interdisciplinary teaching, and research support (including student support). The number of awards will be contingent on the Center’s annual budget. To apply, NTT faculty are required to submit a funding request form for approval before any purchases are made. NTT faculty will be eligible for travel funding based on their FTE status and as described in the CBA. The Center is to be recognized in any final version of scholarly/creative deliverable or conference presentation that has resulted from program funding. NTT teaching faculty shall have access to temporary/short term workspaces, support staff, supplies, and materials as needed and appropriate, to perform duties outlined in the letter of offer and as determined by the Center and any other academic unit. Such materials may include, but are not limited to, a computer and access to a printer in Canada House as well as use of the Canada House conference room for teaching C/AM courses.

vi. Contributions to the Center

NTT faculty may contribute to the mission and strategic priorities of the Center in any of the following ways:

● Teaching in the C/AM program, as negotiated with their home unit.
● Serving on the C/AM Faculty Advisory Council.
● Mentoring of students in research projects and capstone courses (as needed).
● Participation in the Center’s outreach activities.
● Participation in the Center’s advancement of scholarly and creative initiatives.
● Participation in the Center’s efforts to seek external funding to support scholarly, instructional, and programmatic development projects that advance the Center’s mission and strategic priorities.

c. Affiliated Faculty

i. Appointment

Affiliated faculty members will have a single academic appointment in another unit at the university (e.g., Economics, Political Science, Fairhaven College, etc.). They shall be regular NTT, TT, or tenured faculty members of that unit according to its unit evaluation plan. As affiliated faculty, their current role is to teach courses that are part of the C/AM Studies program. Scholarship and service participation that advance the Center’s mission and strategic plan are encouraged, but not required.

ii. Benefits

Affiliated faculty members play an important role in the development and enhancement of the Center. To recognize their contributions, affiliated faculty members who teach program courses under the C/AM rubric, including cross-listed courses, are eligible for special project support grants for experiential learning activities in those courses (e.g., guest speaker honoraria, field trip transportation, student research support, etc.). Faculty are eligible to apply for funds to assist with professional development or experiential learning activities that relate to the Center’s mission and goals by submitting a funding request form for approval before any purchases are made. The number of awards will be contingent on the Center’s annual budget. Additionally, all affiliated faculty may apply for use of the Canada House conference room for teaching and program activities. The Center is to be recognized in any final version of scholarly/creative deliverable or conference presentation that has resulted from program funding.

iii. Contributions to the Center

Affiliated faculty members may contribute to the mission and strategic priorities of the Center in any of the following ways:

4. Funding & Gifts

Gifts to the Center (e.g., cash, equipment, etc.) shall be controlled by the Foundation for WWU & Alumni and managed by the Director with assistance provided by the FAC and oversight from the Provost’s Office. When Center faculty or other center-funded personnel (e.g., postdoctoral fellows, research associates, etc.) receive external grants related to the program, a portion of indirect costs equal to half the amount returned to the colleges will be returned to the Center and used toward internal research grants. Qualifying grants shall be identified as such by the Research and Sponsored Programs office upon the recommendation of the Director.

5. Bylaws Review and Amendment

These bylaws are required to be reviewed by the FAC a minimum of every three years, or at minimum in the academic year following the publication of the most recent CBA. These bylaws may be amended by an affirmative vote of a simple majority of the FAC, present at any regular or special meeting, provided that the amendment is distributed in writing to the council members at least 7 days prior to the meeting for which the vote is scheduled.