Welcome to the European Union Center

Thank you for your interest in the European Union and the EU Center at the University of Oklahoma. Utilizing the links to the left, this website will provide you with information regarding the European Union, EU Center programs and activities and other news and events relevant to the study of the European Union. If you have any questions about the Center or if we can be of any service, please don't hesitate to contact the Center and its staff using the contact information to the left.

About the EU Center

The European Union Center at OU was founded in September 2001, when University of Oklahoma became one of 15 national universities to host a center for European Union studies. Activities during the Center's first three years were supported by a grant awarded through a national competition by the Commission of the European Communities. The EU Center is now in its sixth year of operation. Robert Cox, Associate Professor and Director of the School of International and Area Studies, and Mitchell Smith, Associate Professor of Political Science and International and Area Studies, have served as Co-Directors of the European Union Center since its inception.

The Center seeks to advance knowledge of the European Union at the University of Oklahoma, as well as throughout the local community, the state of Oklahoma, and the southwestern United States. The European Union Center at the University of Oklahoma has established a network of affiliates at universities throughout the southwest providing the program opportunities for reaching a broad regional audience. Activities of the Center include a speaker series, “Issues in an Expanding Europe,” a Model European Union Summit, research grants for graduate students, and summer seminars for university faculty and for Oklahoma high school teachers.

Objectives of the EU Center at the University of Oklahoma

• Promote the study of the European Union at universities in the Southwest
• Educate business and policy leaders on the importance of the EU
• Develop outreach networks with universities in the Southwest
• Help regional educators at the high school level develop teaching materials on the EU
• Promote people to people contact through exchanges

Major Programs and Activities

• Model EU Simulation
• Annual Conference on the EU
• Business Briefings
• Summer Curriculum Development Seminar for College Instructors
• Research Grant Program for faculty and graduate students
• New courses (web-enhanced) on European Affairs
• Distinguished Visitor-in-residence, Mr. Henry McLeish, Former First Minister of Scotland
• Southwest Regional Network

Institutional Support

The EU Center is housed within the School of International and Area Studies, 729 Elm Ave., Room 116, Norman, OK 73019-2105. Tel (405) 325-1584. Fax (405) 325-7402. Email sias at ou.edu