EU Center Grants Awarded to University of Illinois Faculty and Students

Champaign, IL   December 5, 2012 – The European Union Center (EUC) at the University of Illinois is pleased to announce awards totaling over $30,000 to University of Illinois faculty and students, and visiting scholars, for research, travel, and course development activities in European Union studies. The faculty awards are made possible through generous funding to the EU Center from its US Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center grant and European Union Center of Excellence grant from the European Union. Graduate student awards are made possible through these sources, as well as through a grant to the EU Center from the Focal Point initiative of the University of Illinois Graduate College.

The European Union Center at University of Illinois was established in 1998 with support from the European Commission, as one of the ten original EU Centers in the United States. In 2003, the US Department of Education designated the EUC as a Title VI National Resource Center. In 2011, the European Union recognized the EUC as a European Union Center of Excellence. Since its inception, the EU Center has become the focal point on campus for teaching, research, and outreach programs on the European Union. The EUC brings together faculty and students from diverse disciplines across campus to promote the study of the EU and transatlantic relations, making it one of the most comprehensive EU centers in the US.

EUC Faculty Research and Course Development Grants are designed to support research proposals pursuing contemporary EU topics that meet the highest standards of excellence and contribute significantly to the advancement of EU studies and EU Center academic programs at the University of Illinois. Applications that feature research projects combining course development and proposals for EU-related courses are given preference in award selection. Award amounts this year range from $2,500 to $4,000. Recipients of the Faculty Research and Course Development Grants and their projects are:

• Donna Buchanan, Associate Professor of Musicology, to support continuing research on her project, “Music, Postsocialist Expressive Culture, and EU Identity Politics,” and for the development of a related course to be made available in AY 2013-14
• Zsuzsanna Fagyal, Associate Professor of French, and Eda Derhemi, Lecturer of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, for their project, “Language and Minorities in the EU: A Survey,” which will aid in the development of an inter-disciplinary e-textbook proposal and an up-to-date companion website for their course “Language and Minorities in Europe”
• Stefanos Katsikas, Director of Modern Greek Studies and Lecturer of Linguistics, for his project, “Religion, Peace and Conflict: Greece, the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean,” which will lead to a General Education course by the same name
• Carl Niekerk, Head and Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, for the development of a new undergraduate course titled “Europe in Trouble” to be taught in spring 2013
• Helaine Silverman, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Collaborative for Cultural Heritage Management and Policy (CHAMP), for the development of a summer study abroad undergraduate course with the Ironbridge Institute at the University of Birmingham, England, titled “Cultural Heritage Tourism & Economic Development-UK”

EUC Faculty Conference Travel Grants are designed to support the professional development of EU Center-affiliated faculty who will present one or more papers at academic conferences in the United States or abroad. The award range this year is $400 to $1,000. Recipients of the Faculty Conference Travel Grants and their projects are:

• Nancy Blake, Professor of Comparative & World Literature, to present her paper “Sex or Gender? When translation demands a theoretical decision” at the Translation as Innovation Conference in Paris, France in December 2012
• Stefanos Katsikas, Director of Modern Greek Studies and Lecturer of Linguistics, to present his paper “Greece and its Muslims 1913-1923: An Uneasy Relationship?” at the Bridging the Balkans Conference in London, UK in May 2013
• K. Peter Kuchinke, Professor of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, to present a conference paper at the University Forum for Human Resource Development Conference in Brighton, UK in June 2013
• Terry Weech, Associate Professor of Library and Information Science, to present a paper on “Innovation in Teaching LIS Professionals at the University of Illinois” at the French National School of Library and Information Studies Conference in Villeurbanne, France in December 2012

EUC Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum (FLAC) Grants support development and teaching of one-credit enhancement or applied language sections in various European languages to accompany courses in any discipline. The recipient of this year’s $1,500 Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum (FLAC) Grant is:

• Stefanos Katsikas, Director of Modern Greek Studies and Lecturer of Linguistics, for the development of a one-credit enhancement course in Modern Greek

EU Center of Excellence Scholar in Residence Grants enable the EU Center and partner units at the University of Illinois to host emerging and leading scholars of the EU, broadly defined. This opportunity is open to European and American scholars of the EU. It allows for research and professional development for visiting scholars, strengthening ties between the EU Center and departments with similar goals in the U.S. and EU. Visitors also benefit from the University of Illinois’ world class library system, working with the Center’s MA students and affiliated doctoral students, and partnering with leading faculty in various EU-related fields. Scholars utilize their time at Illinois to work in collaboration with EUC faculty affiliates on relevant EU-focused research projects and to develop and improve courses and lectures on EU topics. The recipient of a spring 2013 €2,500 (approximately $3,240) EUCE Scholar in Residence Grant is:

• Antoine Cazé, Professor and Director of the Center for Translation Studies, Université Denis Diderot Paris VII, for his project and course, “Translation Beyond Invisibility: How to Weaken Texts”

EUC Graduate Student Research Travel Grants provide funds for travel and other expenses associated with research concerning contemporary EU topics, whether for exploring a potential thesis or dissertation topic or for conducting thesis or dissertation research. Awards ranged from $1,000 to $1,300 (€1,000) this year. Recipients of the Graduate Student Research Travel Grants and their projects are:

• Cristina Alvarez-Mingote, Department of Political Science, for her research project, “European Union’s Democratic Processes and its Effect on Migrant Families: a Case Study of the Ecuadorian Population Living in Spain” and travel to Spain to conduct survey interviews
• Michelle Asbill, European Union Studies, for her research project, “The Relationship Between EU Human Trafficking Policy & Small Non-Profit Organizations” and travel to Greece to further her research
• Danail Koev, Department of Political Science, for his research project, “Explaining Divergent Strategies in the Political Participation of Ethnic Minorities in Europe” and travel to Bulgaria to further his research
• Devon Lechtenberg, Department of Geography, for his research project, “Of Bureaucracies and Highways: Administrative Reform & Motorway Policies in Poland and the Czech Republic” and travel to Poland to conduct field research
• Matthew Spears, Department of Political Science, for his research project, “For the Good of the Group: How Identities Condition Individual Support for Redistribution” and travel to Ireland and the UK to conduct further research

EUC Undergraduate Research Fellow Grants provide funds to help students produce and present research posters at relevant conferences, such as the University of Illinois Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, on EU affairs and contemporary EU topics including research for EU-related capstone projects such as senior theses. The recipient of a €200 (approximately $260) EUC Undergraduate Research Fellow Grant is:

• Eleni Yannelis, Accounting major, for her research project, “The European Debt Crisis: Greece and Technology,” supervised by Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics Evangelia Chalioti

The EU Center congratulates all award recipients and wishes them the best of luck in carrying out their projects.

More information about these and other EU Center Funding opportunities for faculty, students and visiting scholars is available at the Center’s website, http://www.euc.illinois.edu/funding/overview/. These are annual competitions and all eligible individuals are encouraged to apply in future funding cycles.