S.99-38
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC
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MEMORANDUM
To: ?
Senate
From: ?
D. Gagan, Chair
Senate Committee on Academic
Subject: ?
Faculty of Arts -
Centre for Scottish Studies
(SCAP Reference: SCAP 99- 18)
Date:
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April 19, 1999
Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Academic Planning gives rise to
the following motion:
Motion:
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that Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors
as set forth in S.99 - 38, the proposed Centre for Scottish Studies."
SCAP 99—iS
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
Office of the Vice-President, Academic
MEMORANDUM
TO: Alison Watt
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FROM: David Gagan
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Secretary, Senate Committee ?
Vice-President, Academic
on Academic Planning (SCAP)
RE: Centre for Scottish Studies
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DATE: April 7, 1999
Attached is a proposal from Dr. John Pierce, Dean of Arts, for the establishment
of a Centre for Scottish Studies as a Schedule A Centre.
The Governing Committee for Centres and Institutes recommends that the
Centre be granted approval by SCAP. Once approved by SCAP, the proposal is to be
forwarded to Senate, followed by submission to the Board of Governors.
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Governing Committee:
David Gagan
Acting Vice-President, Research
David Gagan
Vice-President, Academic
Attachment
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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OFFICE OF THE DEAN
FACULTY OF ARTS
MEMORANDUM
To: ?
David Gagan
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From:
John Pierce
Vice-President Academic
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Dean of Arts
Subject:
Scottish Studies
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Date: ?
March 30, 1999
I am forwarding the proposal from Steve Duguid that a Centre for Scottish Studies be created. If
created this would be a schedule A Centre reporting directly to the Dean of Arts. Outlines of a
constitution are provided along with a rationale for the Centre. The Dept. of Humanities will house
the Centre and provide space. An endowment, now in the process of being created, will fund the
operating budget. Having met with the principal organizers for the endowment, I am confident that
they will be able to raise sufficient monies to meet the operating targets of the Centre. The growth
and diversity of programming of the Centre will, of course, be directly tied to the size of the
endowment income. I believe SFU is a natural home for the Centre for Scottish Studies.
JTP
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Simon Fraser University
Department of Humanities
Memorandum
To: John Pierce, Dean of Arts ?
From:
S. Duguid, Humanities
Subject:
Centre for Scottish Studies
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Date:
29 March 1999
As you have seen from the materials forwarded to your office, considerable progress has been
made over the past few months in working toward the establishment of a Centre for Scottish
Studies at Simon Fraser University. I am now proposing to you, on behalf of
our ad hoc
steering committee, that such a Centre be established.
We anticipate that
our
committee, working closely with the University Advancement Office,
will be successful in raising funds for an endowment which will eventually be used to fund the
Centre and its activities. In the interim, the Department of Humanities and the Institute for the
Humanities will provide essential staff and financial support. As well, the Centre will be
hosting a major conference on Scottish Studies in March 2000 which we anticipate will result
in funds for both the endowment and for the on-going operation of the Centre. Likewise, the
Department of Humanities will provide space for the Centre. I will act as Director of the Centre
until a formal process of election is undertaken in the Fall Semester, 1999.
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The founding members of the Centre for Scottish Studies are:
Leith Davis, English
Steve Duguid, Humanities
Jack Little, History
Sheila Roberts, English.
Judith Osborne, Criminology
Rob Gordon, Criminology
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CONSTITUTION
CENTRE FOR SCOTTISH STUDIES
March, 1999
1. OBJECTIVES
The activities and programs of the Centre for Scottish Studies are intended to promote
teaching, research and community programming in the field of Scottish Studies. The
Centre supports and initiates research, publications, non-credit and credit instruction,
colloquia, conferences, visiting speakers and international relationships. In the pursuit of
these objectives, the Centre seeks to provide support to existing individual, departmental
and cross-departmental activities at Simon Fraser University in the area of Scottish
Studies.
2. ADMINISTRATION
2a. The Centre for Scottish Studies shall be governed in accordance with University
policies including R.40.01, CENTRES AND INSTITUTES. If this document and
University policy differ on any issue, University policy shall prevail.
2b. The Centre for Scottish Studies is a Schedule A Centre (R 40.01, page 2) and comes
under the direct authority of the Dean of Arts.
2c.
The Centre for Scottish Studies is housed in the Department of Humanities.
3. APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS
3a. The Director of the Centre shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation
of the Governing Committee for Centres, which in turn acts on the recommendation of
the Dean of Arts and the advice of the Centre Steering Committee. Term of office shall
normally be for three years.
3b.
In the absence of the Director, an Acting Director may be drawn from the Centre
Steering Committee.
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4. INTERNAL GOVERNING PROCEDURE
4a.
The Centre shall be governed by a Steering Committee made up of five Simon Fraser
University faculty members - at least one of which must be from the Department of
Humanities - and up to three representatives from the community. Members will be
appointed by recommendation to the Dean of Arts by the Director. Appointments shall
be for a three year term.
4b.
The Steering Committee shall be Chaired by the Director of the Centre. Meetings
will normally take place once a month.
5.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS OF THE CENTRE FOR SCOTTISH STUDIES
The Centre shall consist of a body of interested associates from both within the
University community and outside it and individuals linked to the Centre through the
projects and other activities it sponsors and supports. Associate member status is
proposed by the Director and approved by the Steering Committee.
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Centre for Scottish Studies
The Centre for Scottish Studies at SFU
In its relatively short life, Simon Fraser University has won an international reputation as
a first class academic institution. A "comprehensive" university, SFU has programs in the
liberal and fine arts, applied sciences, sciences, business and education. However,
despite its name, its celebrated pipe band, the claymore symbolically presented at each
convocation ceremony and the presence of a strong Scottish-Canadian community in
British Columbia, the University does not include programs or courses in Scottish
Studies. The Centre for Scottish Studies will provide a focal point for faculty, students
and members of the community interested in exploring Scottish history and culture and
the impact of Scots on other cultures and nations, including in particular Canada.
The Centre for Scottish Studies will be housed in the new Department of Humanities and
will have as its initial objective the creation of an endowment sufficient to support the
Centre in its first three phases of development:
Phase 1. The Centre will encourage the inclusion of Scottish themes or subject matter in
existing academic courses, sponsor conferences and other scholarly and public events,
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support a visiting speakers program, build a network of support on campus and in the
community, and work closely with individuals and groups in the community in raising
funds for the Scottish Studies Endowment Fund.
Phase 2. Working closely with faculty in various academic departments, the Centre will
seek to establish a credit program in Scottish Studies (either a Minor or a Certificate) and
will seek university approval for a set of core courses in Scottish Studies to anchor that
program. Using funds from the Endowment, the Centre will establish a Visiting Scholar
program, with the visitors teaching some of the core courses and as well teaching in other
academic units as appropriate. In recognition of the vital role of community support for
the Centre, an annual public conference and/or lecture series will be established.
Phase 3. The work of the earlier phases will be enhanced by the establishment of a Chair
in Scottish Studies funded by the endowment. In recognition of the interdisciplinary
nature of Scottish Studies and the need to work closely with a variety of existing
academic units in mounting courses and ensuring breadth, the Chair will be a rotating
position.
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Why Scottish Studies?
Historical and contemporary Scotland resonates with themes that have important
connections with Canada. Lying next to its own elephant with a shorter but just as
undefended a border, modern Scotland has managed to retain its unique identity and
create a diverse economy and a vibrant culture. Especially relevant to contemporary
political concerns, Scotland has chosen to sustain this national identity, economy and
culture via a process of devolution rather than separation - a "stateless nationhood"
which may provide an important model for a new 21' century nationalism or
transnationalism. British Columbians, living in a diverse and multi-ethnic community
and in a state with two founding nations, could clearly benefit from an on-going
examination of this evolving Scottish relationship with England and with the European
Community.
Historically, Scots played a major role in the exploration, exploitation and settlement of
North America from the
17th
century on, with Western Canada in particular owing much
to the likes of Alexander MacKenzie and Simon Fraser. Towns, rivers, mountains and
regions across the West were named in honour of the Scottish explorers, traders, and
adventurers who formed the vanguard of the movement of Europeans across the
continent. In more modern times, emigrants from Scotland played a leading role in the
social, political and economic history of Canada, being prominent in banking, in labour
unions, and in the leadership of political parties - from John A. Macdonald to Tommy
Douglas. In literature, writers like Burns, Scott and Stevenson who were always popular
with Scottish immigrants, are being re-discovered and re-evaluated in modem literary
studies while contemporary writers and poets such as Hugh MacDiarmond, Edwin Muir,
Muriel Spark, William Mdflvanny, Liz Lochhead, Sorley MacLean and Irvine Welsh
demonstrate the on-going strength of this literary tradition.
Besides these more obvious points of connection between the interests of contemporary
Canadians and the study of Scottish themes, there are more esoteric but equally important
sets of themes. Important archaeological work goes on in Scotland from the Orkneys to
the Borders, the Roman struggle with the Cells remains an important chapter in ancient
history, medieval Scotland figures prominently in history and theology, and in the
Reformation Scotland plays a central role in the emergence of Protestantism. Finally, in
the modem era
18'
century Edinburgh was known as the 'Athens of the North', reflecting
its central contribution to the European Enlightenment and the establishment of modem
thought through the work of individuals such as Adam Smith in economics, David Hume
in philosophy, and James Hutton in geology. Clearly, there will be no shortage of
scholarly topics, issues, themes and controversies for students, faculty and individuals
from the community to engage with through the activities of the Centre for Scottish
Studies.
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Why Simon Fraser University?
Several universities in Eastern Canada have well established academic programs in
Scottish, Celtic or Irish Studies, but west of Ontario it becomes nearly impossible for
students to engage with this central influence on Canadian history and culture. The
Centre for Scottish Studies at Simon Fraser University will begin the process of
correcting this regional imbalance in Scottish Studies in Canada. Simon Fraser
University reflects, in many respects, the Scottish heritage implicit in its name. Its
symbol is a claymore donated by Lord Lovat, Chief of Clan Fraser. The name of the
University has been proudly carried by the SFU Pipe Band to the homeland of the Frasers
on many occasions, to the extent that almost anyone in Scotland will know of Simon
Fraser University. Finally, of central importance to the project is the existence at Simon
Fraser of a strong core of faculty from several disciplines who are willing to see the
project through to a successful conclusion. There is an 'elective affinity', then, between
this university and Scotland and the establishment of this Centre will serve to make that
affinity a concrete reality.
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