About

The mission of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies is to strengthen Notre Dame’s presence in Europe, deepen the understanding of Europe within the Notre Dame community, and contribute to academic discourse and research on European studies. The Nanovic Institute seeks to enrich the intellectual culture of Notre Dame by creating an integrated, interdisciplinary home for students, faculty, and visiting scholars to explore the evolving ideas, cultures, traditions, beliefs, moral challenges, and institutions that shape Europe.

To pursue its mission, the Institute works to promote European studies at Notre Dame, to transform Notre Dame’s undergraduates, to professionalize its graduate students, to foster interdisciplinary and international faculty research, and to coordinate an international network in the spirit of respectful listening.

Nanovic supports students and scholars who are researching, writing, and teaching across disciplines and at all career stages. With its foundational strength in the humanities, the Institute provides an intellectual home for students and faculty from all eight colleges and schools at Notre Dame, including the neuroscience major writing a report on European healthcare policy during the coronavirus pandemic; the doctoral candidate researching violence and political rhetoric in medieval France and Germany; and the research cluster of faculty from history, romance languages, and theology that is considering migration and cross-cultural exchange in Europe through the centuries.

Nanovic connects all branches of the Notre Dame community—students, faculty, staff, and alumni—to Europe, and brings Europe to Notre Dame. Signature events, such as the Nanovic Forum, the Keeley-Vatican Lecture, and the Laura Shannon Prize, anchor a rich public events calendar. The Institute continues to build its robust international network by bringing distinguished speakers to campus, welcoming accomplished visiting scholars from across Europe, and collaborating with the member institutions of the Catholic Universities Partnership. Alumni, friends, and colleagues of Nanovic can be found in every corner of Europe.

Guillaume Lacroix, the Consul General of France to the Midwest in Chicago meets with students after his lecture at the Nanovic Institute, February 2019 

Now approaching its 30th year, the Nanovic Institute has played a key role in the internationalization of Notre Dame. Since 2014, the Institute has continued to pursue this goal as one of 9 institutes within the Keough School of Global Affairs. As a member of the Keough School, Nanovic views European issues as global issues, and questions about Europe as questions about the planet, our common home. The Institute also contributes to the work of the Keough School by elevating the crucial role of the humanities within the realm of policy and politics. In situations where policymakers have to make decisions about diplomacy, healthcare, military intervention, or how to respond to a global pandemic, the Nanovic Institute insists that language, history, and culture matter.