Clemson University inaugurates Canada Center

Published: March 8, 2011

Canada Center logo image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON, S.C. — Canada’s ambassador to the United States, Gary Doer, visited Clemson University on Tuesday to help launch the university’s new Canada Center.

The center will support and coordinate Clemson’s collaborations with Canadian institutions and provide a framework for developing more extensive ties to America’s largest trading partner and closest ally.

"The links between Canada and South Carolina — our trade, investment, tourism and friendships — are growing,” Ambassador Doer said. “Closer bilateral relations make our two nations stronger and more competitive in today's globalized economy. The launch of the new Canada Center at Clemson University, and the academic and research ties that are being nurtured by this institution, will play an important role in further advancing this strong partnership."

Doer and David Wilkins, chairman of Clemson’s board of trustees and a former U.S. ambassador to Canada, both championed the creation of the new center. The importance of ties between the United States and Canada cannot be overstated, Wilkins said.

Also on hand for the inauguration was Stephen Brereton, Canada’s consul general in Atlanta.

David Grigsby, senior vice provost and director of international affairs, said Clemson already has a substantial number of collaborations with top-ranked Canadian institutions and the number is expected to grow with the opening of the Canada Center. It is the only such center in South Carolina and one of three in the Southeast.

The center will operate out of Clemson’s Office of International Affairs. It will not require additional staff or facilities to begin operations.

At the inauguration ceremony, two Clemson students, two students from Canada here on Killam Fellowships and two uniformed members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police unveiled the center’s logo, which incorporates Canada’s maple leaf and Clemson’s tiger paw.

Clemson President James F. Barker said the Canada Center will create more opportunities for students to engage in international studies. “This center also is about sharing knowledge, about working together to solve some of the toughest issues we face in sustainability, economics and health care,” Barker said.

Current Clemson-Canada activities involve a wide range of academic areas, as these examples indicate:

• Bill Bowerman, a professor of wildlife ecology and toxicology in Clemson’s forestry and natural resources department, is the U.S. co-chairman of the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board for the U.S.-Canada International Joint Commission. The board advises the commission on scientific research and matters relating to air and water quality and ecosystem health.

• Two Clemson students are studying at Canadian universities this semester and two Canadian students are studying at Clemson, under the Killam Fellowship Program, a residential exchange program for undergraduate students. Clemson has been a university partner since 2008.

• Canada-U.S. tourism is a research interest of several faculty members in the department of parks, recreation and tourism.

• David Allison, professor of architecture and director of Clemson’s Graduate Studies in Architecture + Health program, is collaborating with David Detrich of Clemson’s art department and Thomas Garvey, director of the School of Industrial Design at Carleton University in Ottawa, on the design of a patient room prototype.

END