Catholic Universities Partnership

The Catholic Universities Partnership (CUP) began in 2004 as an initiative to foster mutual support, elevation, and development of Catholic higher education and civil society in post-communist and post-Soviet Europe.

Now celebrating over 20 years of progressive developments in programming, infrastructure, and research, the CUP continues to foster international collaboration among institutions of higher learning across Europe. As well as robust programs in support of CUP leaders and scholars, the Nanovic Institute helps further the CUP mission by supporting annual meetings hosted by one of its partner institutions.

The Nanovic Institute and CUP partners have developed several joint research and scholarship programs together. One program includes the "Faith and Freedom" research initiative—conducted in collaboration with CUP partners, this initiative is focused on understanding the pursuit of economic, religious, and political freedoms in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989. This research initiative has produced a publication with KUL Press entitled Faith, Freedom, and the Fall of Communism and has spawned a follow-up project currently funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Also resulting from collaboration between CUP institutions, the volumeThe Trauma of Communism was published by UCU Press in 2022. 

To stay up-to-date with information about current and upcoming CUP opportunities, please join the LinkedIN group for scholars within the CUP. You can also contact Morgan Munsen, senior research and partnerships program manager at the Nanovic Institute, with specific inquiries. 

CUP Programs

The centerpieces of the Nanovic Institute’s commitment to CUP institutions in Central and Eastern Europe are its leadership and visiting scholar programs.

Catholic Universities Partnership Institutions