Wegs Prize
Wegs Prize
Requirements
All essays must have been submitted by a registered minor in European studies student. All essays submitted in fulfillment of this requirement each academic year will be considered for the award, whether written in the Fall or Spring semester. Essays written in a European language other than English will also be considered.
Criteria
Essays will be judged on the quality of both the student’s research and writing.
The J. Robert Wegs Prize is awarded to the minor in European Studies who authors the best essay written in fulfillment of the capstone essay requirements for the minor. This prize carries a $250 award. The prize is named in honor of J. Robert Wegs (1937-2010), founding Director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies who served until 2002. One of his contributions to the Nanovic Institute was the development of the Minor in European Studies.
About James Robert (Bob) Wegs
A popular and sought-after lecturer, Wegs accompanied a Notre Dame-sponsored cruise on the Danube River in the early 1990s, giving daily talks on the history and culture of the region. Among the passengers were a 1954 Notre Dame alumnus, Robert Nanovic, and his wife, Elizabeth. Impressed, the Nanovics endowed a lecture series on European issues, which evolved into the Nanovic Institute for European Studies through the vision of Bob Wegs and the generosity of the Nanovics. Paul W. Schroeder, Professor Emeritus of History and Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, described Wegs as “one of the most self-motivated, self-directing, hard-working, disciplined, and goal-centered scholars I have ever met. He set himself a goal, knew or carefully found out how to go about reaching it, and never wavered from it until it was achieved, and achieved well.”
A. James McAdams, William M. Scholl Professor of International Affairs and former director of the Nanovic Institute explained, “The Nanovic Institute would never have come into being without Bob’s vision and inspired leadership. He recognized Notre Dame’s great potential in European studies and made it possible for the Institute to become what it is today.”
Recipients
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Eoghan Fay
This Greek Sink of Iniquity: British Fiscal Policy in Greece, Shifting Great Power Politics, and the Truman Doctrine 1944-1947
2023 | Major in History with minors in German, Italian, and European Studies
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Kate Connolly
The Constitution as an Authoritarian Tool: Orban and Hungary
2022 | Majors in International Economics (Russian) and Political Science with minors in European Studies and Computing and Digital Technologies
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Joseph Weas
Financial Speculation, the Decline of the Liberal Party, and the Rise of the Labour Party
2021 | Major in Finance with a minor in European Studies
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Mary Kriscovich
Social Enterprise Institutions in France
2020 | Majors in French and Finance with a minor in European Studies
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Christian Brunner-Lopez
The Rise of Populism in Europe - Impacts on the European Project and the Future Economy
2019 | Major in Finance with a minor in European Studies
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Jacob Vila
Weathering the Storm: Thomas Cranmer's Approach to Politics and Religious Reform during the Tudor Era
2018 | Major in Finance with a minor in European Studies
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Maria Camila Rolon
The Front National: Views from the Right and the Left
2017 | Major in Finance with a minor in European Studies
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Thomas Lis
Martyrs, Again: Establishing a Polish-European Identity in Lwów, 1918-1921
2016 | Majors in History and Economics with a minor in European Studies
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Julia Banasikowski
Slaughter, Suit, and Sorrow: The Experience of Witomiła Wołk-Jezierska and the Katyń Massacre
2015 | Major in Accountancy with a minor in European Studies
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Marielle Hampe
Academic Writing, Writing Centres, and Peer Tutors in British Universities
2014 | Major in English with a minor in European Studies
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Lauren Ann Dunn
The Health Situation of the Roma in the EU and Its Underlying Factors: A Comparative Analysis of the Roma in France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania
2013 | Major in Science-Business with a minor in European Studies
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Kyle Collins
Language Use in Mobile Communications in Valencia and Catalonia
2012 | Major in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in European Studies