National Association for Ethnic Studies to Move to WWU

The headquarters of the National Association for Ethnic Studies (NAES) will be moving to Western Washington University.

The association, founded in 1972, provides an interdisciplinary forum for scholars and activists concerned with the national and international dimensions of ethnicity. Its basic purpose is the promotion of activities and scholarship in the field of ethnic and cultural studies. For the past 10 years, the NAES home office has been housed at Arizona State University, in Tempe, Ariz.

The association serves as a forum to its members for promoting research, study, curriculum design and publications. Western will provide office space, as well as support through Fairhaven College and the Office of the President, for the NAES.

The NAES publishes “The Ethnic Reporter,” a twice-yearly newsletter that provides news on conferences and research opportunities to association members, and “Ethnic Studies Review,” a national journal that features work by leading scholars in the field of ethnic studies.

“To house the national office will enhance Western’s efforts to increase comparative research and continued dialogue centered on the issues of race and ethnicity in the Americas,” said Larry Estrada, associate professor at Fairhaven College and director of the American Cultural Studies program at Western.

Estrada, who recently was re-elected president of the NAES board of directors, said the move also will “reinforce Western’s various diversity initiatives, the stature of ethnic/cultural studies on this campus and the quality of teacher education, as well as supporting Western’s increasingly diverse student population.”
“Selection of Western as the national home site of NAES also says a great deal about the quality of faculty and scholarship engaged in cultural and ethnic studies on this campus,” Estrada said.

“We’re pleased to support the work of NAES, an organization whose efforts in the area of ethnic studies underscore the mission of Fairhaven College,” said Ron Riggins, dean of Fairhaven College. “We’re also excited that one of our faculty members, Larry Estrada, is continuing his leadership role in the Association.”
NAES, a non-profit corporation, began with a small group of scholars in the Midwest who saw a need for an organization that could bring together those interested in an interdisciplinary approach to ethnicity. The organization’s Annual Conference on Ethnic Studies, held each year since 1973, attracts domestic and international scholars and others committed to ethnic studies.

The NAES previously also has been housed at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, and California Polytechnic University. Through mutual agreement with Arizona State University, the NAES board sought bids from other universities interested in becoming the host institution for the organization, and recently selected Western.