About the EUCE

 

The Center

The UW-Madison 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.
(The network of EU Centers of Excellence also has its own website).

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

The Wisconsin Idea has become a recognized concept around the U.S. The essence of the concept is that the university has a responsibility to disseminate the knowledge it has acquired and produced to encourage a better-educated citizenry.

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 and its commitment 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 6th 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, and Temple Universities, and The Johns Hopkins University Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
  • other EU Centers of Excellence in the U.S.
A more detailed list of EUCE partners can be found here.