David Rossiter is new director of WWU Center for Canadian-American Studies

David Rossiter has been named director of the Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University.

Rossiter is an associate professor in Western’s Department of Environmental Studies in Huxley College of the Environment and a core faculty member in the Canadian-American Studies program. He succeeds longtime director Don Alper, who resigned from the position at the end of September and will be retiring from the university at the end of the year.

“David Rossiter brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Center for Canadian-American Studies. His work in the program and his research give him a broad and deep understanding of the Canada-U.S. relationship and the needs of Western students in this area. He is perfectly positioned to carry on the tradition of a strong Canadian-American Studies program at Western established by Bob Monahan and Don Alper.” said Brian Burton, associate vice president for Academic Affairs at Western.

Rossiter received his doctorate in Geography from York University in Toronto, Canada in 2005. A broadly-trained human geographer with interests in cultural, historical, and political sub-fields, Rossiter has researched contested spaces and resources in British Columbia and the U.S. Pacific Northwest. His past projects have explored early industrial forestry in B.C.; anti-logging campaigns in B.C.; the intersection of aboriginal claims and environmental politics in both B.C. and the state of Washington; the spaces of the B.C.-Washington border, and pipeline politics in B.C. He is currently in the midst of a study of historical geographies of nature and recreation in the mountainous North Shore region of Vancouver, B.C.

“I am extremely honored and excited to have the opportunity to take on this leadership role with Canadian-American Studies at Western. The program strongly reflects the University’s emphasis on both interdisciplinary and international study, and I look forward to working with students, faculty, and staff in building upon the excellent work done by Professors Monahan and Alper,” Rossiter said.

The Center for Canadian American Studies offers a comprehensive program for the study of Canada in the United States. In consortium with the Canadian Studies Center at the University of Washington, the WWU Center is one of only two U.S. Department of Education designated National Resource Centers for the study of Canada in the United States. The Center, which has won 9 Title VI federal grants from the U.S. Department of Education, is a nationally recognized center of excellence for American scholarship on Canada.