Eu centers proposal submission guidelines

May 2009April DATE, 2012 – Conference 3: “Elite Policymaking and Financing in the EU and US: Accountability or Paralysis?”
A central question in EU countries and the US today is the extent to which policymaking latitudes of government, state administrative, business, trade union, and other key elite groups are being constricted by globalization, climate change, resource costs, weak economic growth, high unemployment, ethnic communal tensions, and many other difficulties. Enthusiasts of unfettered democracy applaud and seek more constricted elite latitudes, believing this increases accountability to citizens’ needs and wishes. Others see in constricted latitudes a creeping paralysis of policymaking that will produce protracted economic stagnation and heightened social conflict. These competing views are abiding themes in theories and research about political elites in EU countries and the US: selectivity in recruitment, forms of social distinctiveness; rates of circulation; structures of policy networks; magnitudes of accord and discord on major policy questions; in short, the policymaking capacities and qualities of political elites in these countries. Relevant theories are, however, diverse, and research findings tend to be piecemeal. It is therefore proposed to convene a symposium at the University of Texas in early April 2012 to aggregate and assess what we know and do not know about the capacities and qualities of elite policymaking. A dozen senior scholars who have long studied political elites in EU countries and the US, augmented by several prominent media observers, will be assembled. The symposium will be organized by the Center for European Studies and Department of Government at the University of Texas in collaboration with the International Political Science Association’s Research Committee on Political Elites, whose current chair, Prof. John Higley, is a University of Texas faculty member. Prof. Higley will later edit a volume containing symposium papers and discussions. Strong efforts to attract coverage of the symposium by National Public Radio, Deutsche Welle, The Economist, New York Times, Financial Times, etc. will be made.
Probable participants:
EU Scholars

• 
  Heinrich Best, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Collaborative Research Center, University of Jena, and an expert on European parliamentary elites;
  
• 
  Maurizio Cotta, Professor of Political Science, University of Siena, and Director of the 17-country EU-funded project on elite and citizen views of European integration;
  
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  Jean-Pascal Daloz, Professor & Research Director, C.N.R.S., France, and an authority on the social distinctiveness of historical and contemporary European elites;
  
• 
  Patrick Dumont, Professor of Political Science, Univ. of Luxembourg, and a specialist on the recruitment and circulation of cabinet ministers in EU countries;
  
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  William Genieys, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Latin European Studies, Univ. of Montpellier, and an expert on French policymaking elites;
  
• 
  Ursula Hoffmann-Lange, Professor of Political Science, Univ. of Frankfurt, leader of three studies of German policymaking elites and a fourth study now being launched;
  
• 
  Miguel Jerez-Mir, Professor of Political Science, Univ. of Granada, and a leading student of Spanish ministerial and parliamentary elites.
  
• 
  György Lengyel, Professor of Sociology, Corvinus University, Budapest, and a leading scholar of East European business elites;
  

US Scholars

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  Michael Burton, Professor of Sociology, Loyola Univ. Maryland, and co-author of Elite Foundations of Liberal Democracy (2006);
  
• 
  G. William Domhoff, Professor of Sociology, Univ. of California Santa Cruz, and author of six editions of Who Rules America?;
  
• 
  Michael Lindsay, President of Gordon University, Boston, and director of a large new survey study of US elites;
  
• 
  Gwen Moore, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, State Univ. of New York Albany, and an expert on the networks and gender compositions of US and European political elites.
  

EU and US Observers

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  A senior EU official to be chosen in consultation with the EU Commission;
  
• 
  Two commentators on elite policymaking in Europe, e.g. Gideon Rachman of The Financial Times; Prof. Anatole Leiven, Kings College & Global Research Institute, London.
  
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  Two commentators on elite policymaking in the US, e.g. Karl Rove, chief political strategist in the George W. Bush administration, and an Austin resident who speaks frequently at UT-Austin and appears on Fox Cable News; Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont and head of the Democratic National Campaign Committee, who appears frequently on MSNBC.
  

Possible Keynote Speaker:

• 
  Fareed Zakaria, CNN commentator and author of The Future of Freedom.
  

“Policing Globalized Borders: Perspectives from the US and Europe”.
Themes: Learning from common border challenges. Policy problems regarding border security. Human rights concerns at the border. Dealing with cross-border crime. Problems do not recognize borders, can solutions also be as trans-bordered?
Invited Attendees:

The Conference will highlight a mix of policy makers, border experts from think-tanks and academics.

Phil Wilson – Texas Secretary of State (Texas State official in charge of border affairs)

Senator Edie Lucio – Chair of the Texas Senate Committee on International Relations and Trade

Elispeth Guild – Center for European Policy Studies, Brussels (expert on European border and immigration policy)

Sergio Carrera – CEPS (expert on European border and immigration policy)

To be determined – Spanish Government Official from the Ministry of Interior

To be determined – FRONTEX Official (if possible)

YEAR 2:
October 2009November DATE, 2012 – Conference 1: “EU-US Energy: Comparative Energy Public Policies and Technologies.”
This conference will bring together representatives from European and American academia and industry for a collaborative conference on a variety of energy policies and technologies. We will focus on France as a partner country for a variety of historical, technical and intellectual reasons. The central thesis is that France and the United States both share a similar set of concerns related to the abundance, safety, reliability and cleanliness of energy.  However, we have taken very different approaches to achieving our goals. Consequently, each country has different positive and negative results to share. This conference would seek to share best practices for solutions to the energy problem while educating participants about the problems and solutions and establishing a collaborative relationship with our European peers. Future versions of this conference might focus on other countries (UK, Serbia, etc.) whose energy challenges are different.
Areas of 12 speakers

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  One representative from GDF Suez (world-leading gas company), EDF (world-leading electricity utility)
  
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  One representative from Total Petrochemical (5th largest oil/gas company in the world)
  
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  One representative from Areva (world-leading nuclear company)
  
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  Three academics and policymakers from French institutions.  
  
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  Three academics from across the US (Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Rice, etc.)
  
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  Three representatives from industry, labor unions, and environmental groups to the conference.  
  

• 
  “IKEA and Wal-Mart”: European success stories in doing business in America (vs. American failures in Europe)”.
  

Themes: Business opportunities for European companies in America. Learning to adapt to different consumer cultures. Learning to live with business regulation. European and U.S. markets compared.

Invited Attendees:

The Conference will highlight a mix of policy makers, business leaders and academics.

Mike Duke – head of international operations Wal-Mart

To be determined – head of IKEA operations in US

Michael Cannon – President of Global Operations, Dell

Jim O’Donnell – Head of US operations BMW

Tim Buthe – Political Science, Duke University (expert on international business regulations)

Andrea Renda – CEPS expert on competition policy and industrial policy

March DATE, 20130 – Conference 2: “Reassessing EU/US Policy on Secession: The Lessons of Yugoslavia and Georgia”
Several EU states and EU candidates face secessionist movements, violent or otherwise. It is vital and timely, therefore, to assess the lessons learned from recent US and EU policy on unilateral secession in two countries: the former Yugoslavia and Georgia. In 2008, the US and a large majority of EU states recognized the independence of Kosovo from Serbia. Later that year, Russia and a small handful of allies, but not the US or any EU states, recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia. In both cases, most of the international community did not recognize the unilateral secessions, resulting in ambiguous sovereignty that inhibits regional integration, economic growth, and stability. These events also raise dangerous precedents for ongoing secessionist conflicts in EU states, including Spain, and potential EU candidates, including Moldova.
CES proposes a conference of scholars and practitioners from the US and EU, comprising three panels: 1) Serbia/Kosovo; 2) Georgia; 3) US/EU policy lessons learned.
UT faculty participants would include:

• 
  Prof. Alan J. Kuperman of the LBJ School of Public Affairs
  
• 
  Prof. Mary C. Neuburger of the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREEES)
  
• 
  Prof. Zoltan Barany of the Government Department
  
• 
  Prof. Zachary Elkins of the School of Law.
  

Invited participants could include the following:

• 
  Gerard Gallucci, retired U.S. diplomat
  
• 
  Gordon N. Bardos, Columbia University
  
• 
  Nicholas Burns, Harvard University
  
• 
  Prof. Julie George, Queens College;
  
• 
  Matthew J. Bryza, U.S. State Department
  
• 
  Prof. Cory Welt, Georgetown University
  
• 
  Rafael Garranzo, Foreign Ministry of Spain
  
• 
  Jason Sorens, University at Buffalo
  
• 
  Neophytos G. Loizides, Queens’s University Belfast.
  

“America and Europe in the 21^st Century: Assessment of the first decade of US-EU Foreign Relations”.
Themes: Assessment of U.S./EU relations in the first decade of the 21^st Century. Tensions in the Atlantic alliance. Future challenges and opportunities for the Transatlantic alliance.
Invited Attendees:

Dr. Condoleezza Rice – (Former) U.S. Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright – Former U.S. Secretary of State

Chris Patten – Former EU Commissioner for External Relations

Benita Ferrero-Waldner – (Former) EU Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy

To be determined - UK Ambassador to the United States

May 2010April DATE, 2013 – Conference 3:
Comparative Politics of Identity in the European UnionMARKO: NEED TO CHANGE TITLE and get rid of Old and New Europe

Confer with Mary Neuburger and rewrite this, please, into Euro-speech for the EU Delegation, keeping the focus on Politics of Identity….AND I NEED SOME NAMES FOR A LIST OF FOLKS; WITH PRACTIONERS IN THERE, NOT JUST ACADEMICS

Comparative Politics of Identity in Old & New Europe and the US

This conference will explore models of identity politics, with a focus on ethnicity, race, and religion, in the Old and New EuropeEU, as well as in the US. In the broadest sense, the conference will draw on scholars and practitioners from a range of disciplines and professionals from both Europe and the US in an effort to examine and compare models of state policy and political engagement as related to issues of identity. More specifically, we will see how widely divergent state policies translate into differing modes of political engagement by ethnic, religious and other social groupings in these various contexts. Participants will address such questions as; how effective are American, Western or Eastern models or structures of political participation by ethnic or religious groups in ameliorating tensions among majority/minority populations? From the point of view of minority populations, which models have allowed for the greatest latitude in preserving ethnic or religious identities through education, media, etc.? Finally, which state or grass roots models of political involvement tend to provoke minority or majority radicalism or tensions between various constituents. In short, the American melting pot model, as well as model of grass roots political engagement will provide a point of comparison for the very different models that continue to evolve in the European setting, particularly as it expands East into contexts where historical and contemporary models are quite different.

• 
  Rob Moser – UT govt.
  
• 
  Zoltan Barany – UT govt.
  
• 
  Mary Neuburger – UT history
  
• 
  Marko Papic – Stratfor
  
• 
  
  
• 
  MARKO: FILL THIS OUT WITH PEOPLE FRO MEUROPE, ETC
  
• 
  Member of the European Union Commission, preferably from the office of Viviane Reding, DG Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship.
  
• 
  Prof. Dr. David Chadwick, University of Kent
  
• 
  Dr. Mathias Kaelberer, University of Memphis
  
• 
  Dr. Benjamin Cohen, UC Santa Barbara
  
• 
  Dr. Benedict Anderson, Cornell University
  
• 
  Dr. Wilfried Loth, University of Duisburg
  
• 
  Dr. Thomas Risse, Freie Universitat Berlin
  

The conference will also invite two senior policy makers from EU Member States, yet to be determined.

“Public Health Concerns: Trans-Border Challenges to the US and EU”.
Themes: Cross border challenges for prevention of contagious diseases. Policy diffusion in public health policy.
Invited Attendees:

Peter Allebeck – Professor of Social Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

To be determined – High ranking official from DG Sanco

To be determined – Head of the Texas Department of State Health Services

To be determined – Official from the US Department of Health and Human Services

Sietske de Fijter - Chief, Bioterrorism Surveillance & Epidemiology Program, Bureau of Infectious Disease Control

YEAR 3:
November DATE,October 20130 – Conference 1: “Sexual Citizenship and Human Rights: What Can the U.S. Learn from the EU and European Law?”
This conference will confront several areas of legal dispute in both the US and Europe: (1) extension of marital and adoption rights to non-traditional families, (2) anti-discrimination laws protecting sexual minorities in housing and employment, (3) transgender rights, (4) age of consent and the sexual rights of minors, (5) regulation and protection of sex workers, (6) definition of child pornography, and (7) punishment and treatment of sex offenders. We will bring to UT experts in each of these seven areas from various European countries, who can speak about the evolving legal situation in Europe and/or sexological, sociological, or criminological research pertaining to European practices that may differ significantly from those in the US. In addition, we will seek the participation of several American scholars who work on these questions.

    We have so far secured the interest of:

• 
  Noted sexologist Prof. Dr. Erwin Haeberle of the Magnus Hirschfeld Institut in Berlin
  
• 
  Prominent human rights attorney Dr. Helmut Graupner of Vienna, president of Rechtskommittee Lambda, the leading gay rights organization in Austria
  
• 
  Former British MP Peter Tatchell
  
• 
  Dr. Laura Agustin of Sweden (recently Visiting Professor of Women's Studies at the University of Geneva in Switzerland)
  

Overall we anticipate inviting 5 European authorities, and about the same number of American counterparts.

European Union, United States and Russia – Partners or Challengers?”
Themes: Foreign policy challenges and opportunities of engaging with Russia. Comparative approaches to a Russian Foreign Policy, evidence from EU and U.S. experience. Russia as a partner. Russia as a threat. Democratization in Russia.
Invited Attendees:

Dr. Michael McFaul – Director of the Center on Democracy, Development, and Rule of Law – Stanford.

Mark Leonard – European foreign policy expert

Stephen Kotkin – Professor of History and director of the Program in Russian Studies – Princeton.

William Joseph Burns – (Former) U.S. Ambassador. to Russia

Marc Franco – (Former) Head of Delegation – EU Commission Delegation to the Russian Federation.

April March DATE, 20141 – Conference 2: “Comparing European Union and North-American Approaches to International Law and Human Rights”
The objective of the conference is to bring experts from Europe and the United States to discuss the differences and convergences in the approaches to human rights and international legal issues in the legal and political institutions of the European Union and the United States. The conference will pair scholars from both sides of the Atlantic and discuss their different perspectives on similar themes. It will be tied to a workshop seminar taught at the law school, though the talks will be open to the public.
Possible Topics and Speakers (to be narrowed down when the conference is to take place, based on the availability of the scholar and paired commentators):

• 
  The EU external relations and international dispute resolution: Matthew Craven (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London).
  
• 
  Women’s Rights in the European Union: Christine Chinkin (London School of Economics).
  
• 
  The European history of international law: Martti Koskenniemi (University of Helsinki, Finland).
  
• 
  European Harmonization of Private Law: Horatia Muir Watt (University of Paris I (Pantheon-Sorbonne).
  
• 
  The EU as an international actor in the fight against terrorism: Martin Scheinin (European University Institute, Italy).
  
• 
  The Rights of Migrant Workers in the European Union: Gregor Noll (Lund University, Sweden).
  
• 
  The European Union and Refugees: Patricia Tuitt (Birkbeck School of Law, University of London).
  
• 
  Judging in the European Union and the United States: Mitchel Lasser (Cornell Law School)
  
• 
  Governance and Legitimacy in the European Union: Joseph Weiler (New York University School of Law)
  
• 
  The Limits of Integration in European Governance: David Kennedy (Harvard Law School)
  
• 
  European Family Law: Philomila Tsoukala (Georgetown University)
  
• 
  European Contract Law in Comparative Perspective: Daniela Caruso (Boston University School of Law)
  
• 
  The protection of indigenous peoples in International and European Law: S. James Anaya (University of Arizona)
  
• 
  
  

“Media and Journalism in the 21^st Century: The Ultimate Trans-Border Opportunity”.
Themes: Media and Journalism in the 21^st Century. Media as the ultimate globalized industry. Covering Europe in Texas. Covering the U.S. in Europe.
Invited Attendees:

To be determined – Senior editor of the Houston Chronicle

To be determined – Senior editor of the Austin American Statesman

To be determined – Senior official from the European Broadcasting Union

To be determined – Senior editor of BBC, The Guardian or Le Monde.

Richard Ventre – Senior Lecturer in Broadcast Journalism – Nottingham Trent University

Lilie Chouliaraki – Research Professor of Media & Discourse Studies, Copenhagen Business School

Richard Sambrook – Director of the BBC’s global news division.

Robin Mansell – Professor of New Media at LSE.
MayApril DATE, 20141 – Conference 3: “European Public Sphere: Understanding the role of Mass Media and Interpersonal Discussion in Shaping Today's European Citizenship.”
This conference seeks to advance the understanding of today's European citizenship. And it does so in a particular way as it takes up the challenge to explore the role of the mass media and people's interpersonal discussion habits about politics in explaining civic and political participatory behaviors that foster an European citizenship.

For years researchers have inquired about the mechanisms that elicit today's European Union. There seems to be a consensus in the academic community that points to certain aspects as being central for the advancement of the European Union. Social identity features, cultural traits, a strong and deliberative public sphere, and sociopolitical elements have all been theorized to provide a healthier, more cohesive, and more participatory European Union. Some authors argue that the key to solidifying the European Union is for it to be accepted by the large variety of cultures within the EU as well as it is to promote political engagement among its citizens. In fact, Article 109 of the Treaty on European Union addresses this issue and regards particular nations’ cultural legacies as basic pillars in constructing the new Europe as citizens get involved with their governing institutions at all levels. Nevertheless, how Europeans participate and get involved in the political process is largely mediated, and it has been somewhat overlooked. That is, the ways in which European citizens engage in civic and political activities greatly depend on the effects of the mass media and the ways in which citizens' discuss important public issues among themselves. Hence, the importance of studying the role of the mass media and how people discuss relevant issues for public life, perhaps generating a European public sphere. The communication mediation model has provided evidence that interpersonal networks of political discussion and informational uses of media result in increased community integration and civic participation. Similarly, communication practices have a direct effect on participatory behaviors, but they also have indirect effects through gains in political knowledge and political efficacy that also result in participation.

Drawing from the expertise provided by academics, professionals, and media experts from the USA and the European Union, this conference aims to shed light over all these processes as they shape today's European citizenship.
Participant list (tentative): MARKO: THOSE IN BOLD WE’D CUT TO SAVE MONEY

• 
  Dhavan Shah -- University of Wisconsin at Madison
  
• 
  Jacob Groshek -- Rotterdam University
  
• 
  Bruce Bimber -- University of California at Santa Barbara
  
• 
  Markus Thiel -- Florida International University
  
• 
  Gumersindo Lafuente -- Director El Pais
  
• 
  Jose Madariaga -- Universidad Rey Juan Carlos I
  
• 
  Magdalena Wozjieczack -- Instituto de Empresa (IE)
  
• 
  Claes De Vrees -- Director AsCOR, Amsterdam University
  
• 
  Hernando Rojas -- University of Wisconsin at Madison
  
• 
  Celica Rico -- Universidad Europea de Madrid
  
• 
  Begoña González Cuesta -- IE University at Segovia
  
• 
  Marion Demossier -- University of Bath at United Kingdom
  
• 
  Valentin Puente Varona -- Radio Televisión Española (TVE)
  
• 
  Homero Gil de Zúñiga -- University of Texas at Austin
  

“Regulatory Frameworks in Europe and the U.S. – Impediments to Convergence”
Themes: Regulatory convergence in Europe and the U.S. Simplifying business regulation for foreign companies in U.S. and Europe. Overcoming hurdles of regulation.
Invited Attendees:

To be determined – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner

To be determined – U.S. Trade Representative for European Affairs, Executive Office of the President

To be determined – Senior member of the European Food Safety Authority

Dr. Jonathan Wiener – Duke Law School, expert on EU regulatory policy

Thomas Christiansen – Senior Lecturer, European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht, The Netherlands
CONFERENCES II (these conferences that do not vary year by year):
January 2012/2013/2014 - Conference 1: Texas EU SUMMIT, 1, 2, &3: EU Center of Excellence “Connecting Central Texas Businesses to the European Markets”
Texas is the second largest exporting state to the EU. Total Texas export to the EU in 2010 exceeded $26.5 billion. The UK, Germany and France are the leading FDI sources in Texas. The existing trade relationship between Texas/US and the EU will be highlighted for new-to-export and established firms as well as exposing small businesses to the growing trade opportunities in emerging markets within the EU.
The Texas EU Summit will include plenary sessions led by international trade policy experts, political and business leaders, as well as EU chambers of commerce that will set the stage for the focused breakout sessions. The focused breakout sessions will provide attendees with the hands-on information that they will need in order to successfully do business with the EU. This will include much information on international marketing and sales, understanding the legal requirements and risks, how to ship products into foreign markets, payment methods and export financing alternatives. There will also be a session focused on investment opportunities and incentives. We project that 150 to 200 small businesses, economic development entities and government officials from throughout Texas and the EU will attend this event.

Information, Dissemination and Measurable Criteria aspect:

• 
  We will involve the local media in these business summits.
  
• 
  The Center will use the contacts with local and State business partners that the McCombs School of Business has developed in order to attract a wide audience for these summits.
  
• 
  All participants will be asked to fill out a satisfaction survey and offer suggestions on how the summits could be more useful for their needs.
  

Objective 2:

• 
  These summits will “promote greater understanding of the EU and EU-US relations among regional outreach constituencies,” which in this case is the business community.
  
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  These summits will provide a venue for trade representatives of the various EU Member States to make the case for increased investment in Europe by the Texas business community.
  

Objective 5:

• 
  The summits will continue a long tradition of the McCombs School of Business to work closely with the Texas business community in developing strategies for investment.
  
• 
  The summits will raise the profile of the Center in the business community, leading to new sources of funding.
  

All Business workshops will have a consistent and robust participation by the UT’s academic community, especially those from the McCombs School of Business and the UT School of Law.
May March and April 201209/20130/20141 – Conference 24: Model European Union ConferenceEuro Challenge
BLAH BLAH BLAH: Sally has to help write this part

Themes: Will provide a forum for high school students to simulate the experience of the European Union and its institutions. Organized in collaboration with Austin High School Academy of Global Studies.
Attendees: Will vary from year to year. In 2009 only Austin area high schools will be invited. In 2010 the attendees will be expanded to include interested schools from Central Texas. In 2011 we will try to involve as many high schools from the entire state of Texas as possible.
Information, Dissemination and Measurable Criteria aspect:

12. 
    We will involve the local media in this project.
    
13. 
    The Center will work closely with the Austin High School Academy of Global Studies to inform local area schools of the project for the first year, gathering enough momentum to involve an ever widening net of high schools.
    
14. 
    The Center website will disseminate conference reports and resolutions compiled by the participants, thus creating a database that future participants can build on and learn from.
    

Objective 2: Promote greater understanding of the EU and EU-US relations among regional outreach constituencies.

• 
  This event will involve secondary school teachers by allowing them to prepare their students for an exciting and inter-school event.
  
• 
  This conference will directly involve high school students and will promote the Center and the University of Texas as a viable career path to pursue their interest of global affairs in general and of the European Union in particular.
  

WORKSHOPS I (workshops that vary year by year: series on promoting business opportunities in Europe):
Information, Dissemination and Measurable Criteria aspect:

15. 
    We will involve the local media in these business workshops.
    
16. 
    The Center will use the contacts with local and State business partners that the McCombs School of Business has developed in order to attract a wide audience for these events.
    
17. 
    Every workshop will produce a concise and clear report which will disseminate information and strategies. The report will be available on the website.
    
18. 
    All participants will be asked to fill out a satisfaction survey and offer suggestions on how the workshop events could be more useful for their needs.
    

Objective 2:

19. 
    These workshops will “promote greater understanding of the EU and EU-US relations among regional outreach constituencies,” which in this case is the business community.
    
20. 
    These workshops will provide a venue for trade representatives of the various EU Member States to make the case for increased investment in Europe by the Texas business community.
    

Objective 5:

21. 
    The workshops will continue a long tradition of the McCombs School of Business to work closely with the Texas business community in developing strategies for investment.
    
22. 
    The workshops will raise the profile of the Center in the business community, leading to new sources of funding.
    

All Business workshops will have a consistent and robust participation by the UT’s academic community, especially those from the McCombs School of Business and the UT School of Law.


YEAR 1:
November 2008 – Workshop 2: How to Start/Expand a Business in Europe – Workshop catering to the business community of Central Texas with participation from the European Consulates in Texas.
Themes: Setting up a new business in Europe
Invited Attendees:

To be determined – Representative from the French-American Chamber of Commerce in Houston

To be determined – Representative from the British Consulate in Houston, Trade Section
YEAR 2:
January 2010 – Workshop 2: “How to recruit talent in Europe?” - Workshop catering to the business community of Central Texas with participation from the European Consulates in Texas.
Themes: Recruiting European talent for American/Texan businesses.
Invited Attendees:

To be determined – Representative from the French-American Chamber of Commerce in Houston

To be determined – Representative from the Finnish National Technology Agency (TEKES)

YEAR 3:
January 2011 – Workshop 2: “Doing Business in New Europe” - Workshop catering to the business community of Central Texas with participation from the European Consulates in Texas.
Themes: Expanding American business into “New” Europe.
Invited Attendees:

To be determined – Representative from the Embassy of Republic of Poland Trade and Investment Section

To be determined – Representative from Dell’s Global Operations
WORKSHOPS II ((workshops that do not vary year by year):

year):

October 201108, 201209, 20130 – Workshop 1: “Grants and fellowships for studying in and researching on Europe” – One day workshop for students, faculty and researchers on obtaining grants and fellowships for research on/in Europe.
Attendees: Entire University community as well as the researchers, faculty and students from our regional partner universities and colleges in Austin and Central Texas.
Information, Dissemination and Measurable Criteria aspect:

• 
  The Center will conduct a University-wide information campaign to maximize attendance at this event.
  
• 
  The Center will compile a handbook for scholars interested in Europe on how to obtain research grants from the various University departments, as well as external, sponsors.
  
• 
  We will measure the success of our workshop both in terms of numbers of attendance and in terms of satisfaction, measured by a survey voluntarily completed by those attending.
  

Objective 1:

• 
  These annual workshops will increase the numbers of doctoral students who focus their dissertation research on EU and EU-U.S. relations by opening up new research grant avenues.
  
• 
  The workshops should also increase the number of faculty conducting research on EU issues.
  

Objective 2:

• 
  The Center will make sure that participation from regional partner universities and colleges is high by advertising the workshop event year round.
  

Objective 3:

• 
  The workshops will “encourage greater synergies with other programs sponsored by the European Commission, including the Jean Monnet Action and other elements of Erasmus Mundus, and the EU-US Higher Education and Vocational Training Agreement.”
  

Objective 4:

• 
  By stressing external funding opportunities the workshops will also foster networking and coordination with other EU Centers of Excellence
  

Summer 2012, 2013, 2914 2009, 2010, 2011 – Workshop 23: Teaching European Union in Texas High Schools.
Attendees: Secondary school teachers of all disciplines. Will vary from year to year. In 201209 only Austin area high schools will be invited. In 20130 the attendees will be expanded to include interested schools from Central Texas. In 20141 we will try to involve as many high schools from the entire state of Texas as possible.
Information, Dissemination and Measurable Criteria aspect:

• 
  The Center will work closely with the Austin High School Academy of Global Studies to inform local area schools of the project for the first year, gathering enough momentum to involve an ever widening net of high schools.
  
• 
  All workshop materials and reports will be available on the internet so that the secondary school teachers can use the information throughout their school year. SALLy, is this good?
  
• 
  We will measure the success of these workshops both on the number of participants and on their satisfaction. All participants will be asked to take a voluntary survey indicating the level of satisfaction with the project.
  

Objective 2: Promote greater understanding of the EU and EU-US relations among regional outreach constituencies.

• 
  This event will involve secondary school teachers by allowing them to prepare their classes in a way that involves European Union issues.
  
• 
  The workshops will provide curriculum development exercises.
  
• 
  The workshops will provide information materials on the European Union.
  

EU CENTERS 2008-112011-2014

Proposal Narrative Form
4.A.2. Activities: Scholars in Residence and Other Visitors. Indicate all visitors (either specific individuals or ‘profiles’) planned during each academic year for the entire 2008-11 grant period, including the timing of their stay and the likely nature and impact of their activities. Where relevant, indicate the means of selecting visitors via a competitive process. Please also specify how these activities will further the program policy objectives and produce the related outcomes set out in section II of the Call for Proposals, and provide measurable criteria for evaluating their implementation. Attach additional page(s) if necessary.
European Scholar I and II:
The Center will work with the Department of Germanic Studies and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts to invite two European scholars each year—one from Germany (in connection with the distinguished DAAD program housed at UT), the other from Sweden (in connection with UT’s commitment to Swedish studies in the broader context of Europe studies)— to teach one course in one semester. Potential topics would be European Union human rights, media, government, foreign policy, defense policy, immigration policy, journalism, law, business and public health

topics. We are open to suggestions from our professional schools and departments and hope to work closely with them to make our decision.

We will select our European scholars through a competitive process by sending a call for applications to a number of European Universities. The scholar will be selected by a blind reading of applications by the Executive Committee and the Director.
The European Scholar program will fulfill:

Objective 1: development of new courses, refinement of existing EU studies certificates, increasing the number of faculty and students researching the EU.

Objective 2: We will encourage the visiting scholars to give talks as part of our Colloquium Series on Europe,, thus making their expertise available to the wider public and allowing them to establish contacts with the non-academic community of Texas.

Objective 3: increasing the number of exchange programs for faculty with universities in the EU, brining in visiting EU scholars,

Objective 5: the visiting scholar program will allow the Center to become even further embedded in ongoing University programs by increasing its visibility and value.
Lecture Series
CES plans to hold two lecture series and co-ordinate on a third with the Strauss Center and LBJ. There are as follows: (1) EU Center of Excellence EU-US Distinguished Business and Politics Lecture Series; (2) EU Center of Excellence “Europe and Islam Speak” Lecture and Seminar Cultural Exchange Series; and (3) EU Center of Excellence Diplomat Speakers Series. What follows are details regarding the lecture series and relevant target objectives.
I. EU Center of Excellence EU-US Distinguished Business and Politics Lecture Series

We propose a series of presentations that address contemporary developments in the economies and international relations of the EU and US. The lecture series will bring in a number of speakers to the University of Texas. This series will be widely advertised and open to the public as well as our partner educational institutions in Austin and Central Texas. We will work closely with these partners as well as with the Austin’s International Hospitality Council, the Texas Governor Office, The Texas Senate Committee on International Relations and Trade, the Texas House Committee on Border and International Affairs, the Austin Chamber of Congress to choose the speakers who would most effectively contribute to the policy debate in Texas. We will also contact the Central Texas business community when organizing the colloquium series.

Our overarching theme for the lecture series will fall under the title of “Shared Prosperity?  The Common Economic Interests of the US and the EU.”  The term “shared prosperity” comes from a famous FDR quote and was applied specifically to the US and Europe by Averill Herriman, Truman’s commerce secretary, in the context of the Marshall Plan.  The phrase is both historically interesting and also something of a challenge to consider whether it still holds true in the present global economy in the context of the EU and EU-US relations.
We have already identified the first year’s speakers and the topics of their talks for the series. They will be:

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  The Future of the Nuclear Energy Business in Europe and the U.S.
  

Rex Tillerson Chairman and CEO, Exxon Mobil Corp.

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  Reshoring in the U.S. and Europe:  The End of the Outsourcing Era?
  

Caspar Hunsche, Senior Director, The Supply Chain Council, Inc.

• 
  Interdependencies in the Global Downturn and the Risks of Protectionism
  

Pankaj Ghemawat, Professor of Global Strategy, IESE Business School, Barcelona and Author of World 3.0:  Global Prosperity and How to Achieve It
The lecture series events are also highly structured and incorporated, moreover, into our outreach efforts. To this end, each invited speaker will be asked to participate in a series of events, including:

DAY 1

5:00pm: Public lecture (45 minutes) plus question and answer period (30-minutes) Free to faculty and students. Broadcast of lecture posted on UT-sponsor websites/ University Channel. Faculty MCs to be determine.

6:15pm: 45-minute reception for attendees.

7:15pm: Private dinner and discussion session with invited faculty, university and local VIPs, and corporate sponsors. Discussions off the record. (Max. 20 guests.)

DAY 2

8:00am: (Time flexible) Breakfast meeting in partnership with International Center of Austin for business community and public.

Colloquium Series on Europe:

The Colloquium Series will bring in a number of speakers to the University of Texas. This series will be widely advertised and open to the public as well as our partner educational institutions in Austin and Central Texas. We will work closely with these partners as well as with the Austin’s International Hospitality Council, the Texas Governor Office, The Texas Senate Committee on International Relations and Trade, the Texas House Committee on Border and International Affairs to choose the speakers who would most effectively contribute to the policy debate in Texas. We will also contact the Central Texas business community when organizing the colloquium series.
The Series will be held in the prestigious Presidential Suite of the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum where recent speakers have included the former President Bill Clinton, President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, US Congressmen and members of the diplomatic core in the United States.
November 2008 – “How European Businesses Succeed in the US” (Speaker from IKEA-USA Corporate Headquarters, to be determined).

January 2008 “Treaty of Lisbon and US-European Relations: ‘Finally A Phone to Europe?’” (Speaker from the EU Commission Delegation to United States).

April 2009 – “German Perspective on Peace Keeping Operations.” (Speaker from the German Defense Department).

May 2009 – “Policing the Border: European Perspective on Border Policy” (Speaker: Elspeth Guild from the Center for European Policy Studies, Brussels).

November 2009 – “Engagement and Enlargement in the Balkans”. (Speaker from the EU Commission who has dealt with the Balkans and the enlargement process, possibly Olie Rehn).

December 2009 – “Breaking Down the European Union Budget” (Speaker from the Center for European Policy Studies, possibly Daniel Gros).

April 2010 – “US-EU in the 21^st Century” (A lecture by an Ambassador from one of the EU Member States).

May 2010 – “Public Health Challenges to the European Union and the United States” (Guest Speaker from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control or a speaker from DG-SANCO).

November 2010 – “How European Union Perceives Russia?” (Invited speaker: Michael Emerson from CEPS, Brussels).

November 2010 “Russia, Europe and the United States – reflections of an Ambassador” (Invited speaker: H.E. Russian Ambassador to the United States Yuri V. Ushakov).

April 2011 – “European Media and coverage of the United States” (A lecture by a leading European journalist/media figure, head of either the European Broadcasting Union or a major media conglomerate).

May 2011 “Regulatory Policy in EU and the US” (Guest Speaker from a major European University with expertise in comparative regulatory frameworks, possibly Walter Mattli of Oxford).

The Colloquium Lecture Series will fulfill: ADD TO OBJECTIVES

Objective 1: The high profile speakers will increase the awareness of European Union policies on campus.

Objective 2: The Colloquium Lecture Series will be open to the public and will thus fulfill most of the expected outcomes under Objective 2. Furthermore, we intend to work closely with our regional educational, business and institutional partners in order to plan the Colloquium Lecture Series in a way that is most beneficial to them. Local media will also be invited to participate in covering the speakers and interviewing them.

Objective 5: We will open the Colloquium Lecture Series to the faculty in a way where they can integrate their class activities around the talks. In that way we will embed the center activities in the ongoing University programs. The Lecture Series will continue a long tradition of the McCombs School of Business to work closely with the Texas business community in developing strategies for investment. Furthermore, the Lecture Series will raise the profile of the Center in the business community, leading to new sources of funding.
Information, Dissemination and Measurable Criteria aspect:

• 
  We will involve the local media in these lectures.
  
• 
  The Center will use the contacts with local and State business partners that the McCombs School of Business has developed in order to attract a wide audience for these lectures, as well as the vast contact of the LBJ School.
  
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  All participants will be asked to fill out a satisfaction survey and offer suggestions on how the lectures series could be more useful for their needs.
  

II. EU Center of Excellence “Europe and Islam Speak” Lecture and Seminar Cultural Exchange Series
Islam has unquestionably “globalized” itself in the last thirty years. Immigration and new technologies of communication such as the Internet have favored the establishment of Muslim communities in Europe and the EU. The consequences of this change are felt strongest in France, the western European country with the highest population of Muslims and with one of Europe’s oldest shared histories with Islam. Today, France’s Muslims number 5-6 million. They have been at the forefront of efforts to rethink Islam and its place in the world, either looking within Europe and the EU for a “Euro-Islam” (the Europeanization of Islam) or to pan-Islamic movements that identify outwards towards the global community of believers (ummah). These in turn have been confronted by both France’s leftist traditions of secularism (laicïté), which see Islam as an existential threat to cherished Republican institutions, and the right-wing’s integralist nationalism that construes Islam as essentially alien to the Catholic France they support. Understanding the historical, sociological, and cultural dimensions of Islam and French national identity is a difficult task, and it is central to a nuanced understanding of Islam in Europe and the EU. The proposed institutional affiliation and cooperation between the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS, as well as the Centre d’Histoire Sociale de l'Islam Méditerranéen), in Paris, and UT would mark an important link forward for scholarship. It would bring together researchers representing many different fields of study in the United States and France to clearly indentify the core issues at stake in these events and chart their broader historical importance as they relate to the US, Europe, and the EU. We will organize through the exchange 3 such lectures/seminars over the course of the grant cycle.
The Lecture Series will fulfill:

IDENTIFY

OBJECTIVES
Objective 1: The high profile speakers will increase the awareness of European Union policies towards Islam on campus.

Objective 2: The Lecture Series will be open to the public and will thus fulfill most of the expected outcomes under Objective 2. Furthermore, we intend to work closely with our regional educational, business and institutional partners in order to plan the Lecture Series in a way that is most beneficial to them. Local media will also be invited to participate in covering the speakers and interviewing them.

Objective 5: We will open the Lecture Series to the faculty in a way where they can integrate their class activities around the talks. In that way we will embed the center activities in the ongoing University programs.
III. EU Center of Excellence Anthropology Lecture Series. CES, in collaboration with the Department of Anthropology, proposes to bring bring one speaker each year for three years who works with (or in) Europe and on EU-related issues. MARIAH IS WORKING ON THIS
IV. EU Center of Excellence Diplomat Speakers Series
The Center will cooperate with the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs and the Strauss Center to continue to bring high level and senior policy makers and diplomats from Europe to the University of Texas. The two institutes will offer their speakers as an “in-kind” contribution to the Center and CES will help them with the selection of speakers.


MARKO: HERE we have to tread lightly. WE don’t have this budgeted, but we can, I believe, say that we will be involved with the Strauss Center and LBJ, which have typically brought in BLAH diplomats from Europe to UT each year. This would be an “in-kind” contribution.


EU CENTERS 2008-11

Proposal Narrative Form
4.A.3. Activities: Faculty and Student Research Grants. Indicate all faculty and research grants planned during each academic year for the entire 2008-112011-2014 grant period, including the likely nature and impact of grant recipients’ activities. All grants in this category must be made by competitive process, and none can be awarded to EU Center staff (see section III of the Call for Proposals). Please also specify how these activities will further the program policy objectives and produce the related outcomes set out in section II of the Call for Proposals, and provide measurable criteria for evaluating their implementation. Attach additional page(s) if necessary.
All research and travel grants will be awarded through a competitive process and will not be open to the EU Center staff, the Director nor members of its Executive Board. Furthermore, students working as research assistants for the faculty members sitting on the Executive Board or the Director will also not be able to apply for the research grants.
We hope to evaluate our research grant program by requiring the recipients to produce a report of activities following the conclusion of their grant. The report will be read by the members of the Executive Board and the Director and taken into consideration for the next round of the grants.
The EU center will offer the following 44 grant programs in each of the three years of its program:

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  September 1 – Summer – Essay Competition: Call for an essay competition to be open to all regional partner institutions. Papers to be published in the student-led journal on European Union Public Policy, Law and Business.
  
• 
  September 1 – Summer – European Court Graduate Travel Stipend: Competition for one stipend of 1,000 euros for UT School of Law students to take part in European Court of Justice in Luxemburg.
  
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  Travel Stipend I: Competition for two stipends of 1,000 euros for UT School of Law students to take part in the Law School exchange programs in Europe.
  
• 
  September 1– Summer – PhD Research Grant: Competition for 2 grant of 1,000 euros for research on EU Public Policy or EU-US Relations.
  
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  Travel Stipend II: Competition for two stipends of 1,000 euros for two McCombs School of Business students to take part in the Business School exchange programs in Europe.
  
• 
  September 1 – Summer – Travel Business Faculty Stipend III: Competition : for two faculty research grants of 3,000 euros each with a focus on Business in the EU and Business relations between the EU and US.
  
• 
  September 1 – Summer – Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty Stipend: Competition for two faculty research grants of 1,500 euros each.Competition for two stipends of 1000 euros for School of Journalism students to take part in the Journalism School exchange programs in Europe.
  

23. 
    September 1 – Summer – PhD Research Grant: Competition for two grants of 2,000 euros each (travel + research) for students enrolled in the University of Texas “Doctoral Portfolio Program in Interdisciplinary European Studies.”
    

The Essay Competition grant will be open to all graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Texas as well as within our network of partner educational institutions. It is therefore an important part of our effort to fulfill the expected outcomes of Objective 2 (promoting greater understanding of the EU and EU-US relations among regional outreach constituencies) as well as Objective 1 (increasing the number of research papers and briefing articles devoted to issues of the EU). The winner of the essay competition will receive 800 euros while the second and third placed papers will receive 300 and 200 euros respectively.