European Union Center inaugurated

A key member of the European Union’s delegation to the United States has helped inaugurate the University of Colorado’s European Union Center of Excellence, a center the university has hailed as a strategic coup.

Luc Véron, head of the political and development section of the EU’s delegation in Washington, D.C., joined an inaugural luncheon on Dec. 18 celebrating the first semester of the Colorado European Union Center of Excellence.

The Colorado European Union Center for Excellence advances a “transformational” initiative in Flagship 2030, CU’s strategic plan, university officials have said. A key goal of Flagship 2030 is “building a global crossroads,” in which leading thinkers of the world visit, work and study at CU.

“The Colorado European Union Center of Excellence is another example of how our Flagship 2030 strategic plan is being implemented faster than we imagined,” CU-Boulder Chancellor G.P. “Bud” Peterson said. “A key component of Flagship 2030 is constructing a ‘global crossroads’ at CU, and the CEUCE embodies that important goal.”

This year, Joseph Jupille, CU associate professor of political science, was awarded a three-year grant worth 300,000 Euro (about $375,000 at today’s exchange rates) to establish the Colorado European Union Center of Excellence, which will study and teach the interactions between the EU and the United States.

For more information, contact Myka Dunkle, CEUCE’s assistant director, at 303-492-4314 or ceuce@Colorado.EDU. Or visit the center's Web site: http://ceuce.colorado.edu/