About the EUCE

 

The Center

The UW-Madison first won a grant from the European Commission to establish a European Union Center in 1998.

In 2005 the center was among 10 in the U.S. that were awarded new grants as European Union Centers of Excellence for the period 2005-2008. In 2008 the European Commission renewed the Center's funding through 2011 with a grant of 300,000 Euro.

With the renewal Wisconsin remains within a select group of only eleven U.S. universities which can claim the designation EU “Center of Excellence.” Faculty, graduate students, visiting scholars, the regional Midwestern media, the K-14 community and public policymakers will focus on a unique series of research projects on Europe from a Trans-Atlantic perspective. Participation cuts across disciplinary lines, involving UW-Madison faculty ranging from Law, Journalism and Mass Communication, Engineering, Sociology and Medicine, who will research topics as diverse as energy security and product safety. The three core themes for 2008-2011 are “The EU as a Global Actor” led by Professor Jeremi Suri of History, “Transformations of European Law and Governance,” led by Assistant Professor Nils Ringe of Political Science, and “Exporting EU Governance, led by Zeitlin, Professor of Sociology, Public Affairs, Political Science, and History.

On the UW-Madison campus, the EUCE is a member center of the International Institute and collaborates closely with and complements the activities of the other members of the European Studies Alliance (ESA):

The EUCE organizes well-integrated, multi-disciplinary programs centered around three themes. Activities organized under these themes collectively aim to:

  • highlight the role of the EU as a major player in efforts to address global governance challenges, including security, regulatory, trade, and monetary/current account issues;
  • demonstrate the continuing importance of transatlantic relations and the effective management of transatlantic conflicts in light of common concerns; and
  • show the importance of greater understanding in the U.S. of EU models of governance, both because understanding EU governance is important in its own right in light of the Union’s 27 Member States and 450 million citizens, and because of the contemporary relevance of EU policies to U.S. governance challenges. Often overlooked in academic and policy discussions is the importance of the social dimension of European integration, which the UW EUCE will help to highlight.

The EUCE and the Wisconsin Idea

First attributed to UW President Charles Van Hise in 1904, the Wisconsin Idea is the principle that education should influence and improve people’s lives beyond the university classroom. For more than 100 years, this idea has guided the university’s work. Read more about the Wisconsin Idea and its history.

The EUCE brings together a strong core of specialists on European integration from over a dozen UW-Madison departments representing the social sciences, humanities, business, and law and works to bring UW resources and expertise on the European Union to the Wisconsin Idea.

Specifically, the EUCE promotes and supports scholarship, teaching, and outreach activities aimed at:
(1) improving understanding of the European Union as a complex, evolving governance system and international actor;
(2) enhancing awareness of the growing importance and widening scope of EU-U.S. relations; and
(3) promoting intensified “people-to-people” links among EU and U.S. students, academics, policymakers, and citizens.

EUCE Activities

  • The EUCE contributes to the further development of the UW-Madison’s rich resources in European studies. A major campus resource is the UW Library, which serves as an official EU repository and hosts a wealth of print and online resources related to the EU.
  • The EUCE encourages interdisciplinary teaching and research on economic, social, political, and cultural aspects of transatlantic relationships. See the list of currently offered courses, as well as the center's current research themes;
  • The EUCE supports UW faculty visits to the EU, and hosts visitors from Europe, including annually appointed European Marshall-Monnet scholars-in-residence who participate in teaching advanced courses at the UW and in community outreach. For a list of current EUCE activities, see our events calendar. Faculty interested in EU-related teaching and research are encouraged to contact the center.
  • The EUCE encourages graduate study by providing fellowships for travel and/or advanced studies at European universities; regularly offering graduate seminars with segments co-taught via video with EU network partners, and sponsoring faculty-graduate student conferences and panels.
  • The EUCE adds new courses to the curriculum in History, Political Science, Sociology, Business, Law, Environmental and International Studies.

EUCE Partners

The EUCE coordinates activities with individuals in a number of centers and institutions in both the U.S. and Europe.

  • EU 7th Framework Program research initiatives, including the Integrated Project on New Modes of Governance (NEWGOV), the Network of Excellence on Efficient and Democratic Governance in a Multi-Level Europe (CONNEX), and the Coordination Action on Human Rights Violations (CAHRV)
  • collaborators in the U.S. at Northwestern, Columbia, Temple Universities, and Marquette University.
  • other EU Centers of Excellence in the U.S. and abroad.
A more detailed list of EUCE partners can be found here.