BGSU Canadian Studies Center victim of budget

7/18/2009

The Canadian Studies Center at Bowling Green State University, a two-decades-old program dedicated to understanding and strengthening the cultural, social, and business ties between the United States and Canada, has ceased its operations because of Ohio budget cuts.

The center, begun in 1990-91, lost its funding through a line-item veto in the Ohio budget signed Friday.

A minor in Canadian studies that was created a year before the center was founded and offered by the university s College of Arts & Sciences will continue to be offered. It is unknown what will become of the center s signature event, the annual Reddin Symposium, which has sponsored national and international experts discussing a variety of key topics. Over the years, the 22-year-old symposium has covered issues such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Canadian health-care system, secession politics in Quebec, the environment, and most recently. water rights between Canada and the United States.

Supporters of the center and the university both attempted to find other funding to allow the Canadian Studies Center to continue, but the attempts were unsuccessful and a decision was made to close the center June 3