U-M European Union Center awarded grant

ANN ARBOR—The European Union Center at the University of Michigan’s International Institute has won a European Commission grant establishing it as one of 10 European Union Centers of Excellence in the United States.

The $361,993 award will support programming and research for three years, beginning in September under the directorship of Michael Kennedy, U-M professor of sociology. The European Union Center of Excellence will offer a series of multidisciplinary research, education and outreach programs advancing the priorities of the European Commission to broaden awareness and strengthen knowledge about the European Union at U-M.

"The European Union is a critical subject in our academic mission," Kennedy said. "With a variety of particular projects supported, among others those studying energy security, law, multiculturalism and religion in this newly expanded Europe, our capacity to understand and teach about the most critical issues facing the world is significantly extended by this award. Not insignificantly, Michigan’s profile in the European vision of American higher education is distinguished further, with a range of important visitors slated to come during our three-year award."

Over the next three years, EUC will network with EU Centers across the United States and partner directly with a wide array of humanities and social science faculty in U-M’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; and the International Institute and its various area studies centers.

Some of the centers EUC works with include U-M’s Center for European Studies and Center for Russian and East European Studies; Institute for Social Research; Law School; Stephen M. Ross School of Business; School of Music; and William Davidson Institute (affiliated with the Ross School of Business).

In addition, EUC will develop collaborative projects with the Central European University, Budapest; Gazi University, Ankara; the University of Helsinki and its Aleksanteri Institute; Sciences Po, Paris; and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), representing all universities in the Netherlands.

For more information,
For more European Union centers in the United States, visit: http://www.eurunion.org/infores/eucenter.htm.