John McCormick
IU School of Liberal Arts
Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Politics and Director of Graduate Studies
Fulbright Teaching and Research Scholarship
Belgium, 2013
I have a Fulbright-Schuman Chair at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. This is a joint program between Fulbright and the European Commission. I am required to teach a course on EU-US relations at the college and work with any students who may want me as their thesis supervisor. The College of Europe is a graduate institution offering several one-year MA programs, focusing is on EU-US relations. Specifically, I am working on a research project about the role of the US in European integration.
What were the benefits of the Fulbright project?
While I am based in Belgium, I have used this opportunity to travel to EU countries that I have not visited before. I have traveled to Greece, Luxembourg, Ireland and the Czech Republic, and will be visiting Portugal to lecture at the University of Coimbra.
The main benefit is my association with the College of Europe, one of the premier institutions of its kind in Europe. I also am able to work on research and visit EU institutions and think-tanks in Brussels, which is an hour away by train.
What kind of challenges did you confront?
I have not confronted any challenges thus far, other than being away from home for an extended period. I have visited Europe multiple times before, so there is no difficulty becoming acclimatized.
