Jean Monnet Chair

The Jean Monnet Chair is a prestigious and university-wide post that specializes in European Union studies. Only one professor in a university can hold this position.

The agency awards Jean Monnet Chairs after a competitive selection process. Recipients must teach at least 90 hours per academic year on topics associated with European integration, conduct research on European Union subjects, and lead outreach and training activities. 

Since 2019, the Jean Monnet Chair has been held by Yannis Stivachtis, who is Professor of Political Science.

“This award [Jean Monnet Chair] demonstrates Virginia Tech’s excellence as a university, as well as its commitment to European studies,” said Stivachtis. “Receiving a Jean Monnet Professorship is a promising development, but requires a continuous commitment.”

As the institution’s Jean Monnet Chair, Stivachtis also authored a successful grant that led to the award of a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence to Virginia Tech by the European Commission. The Center for European & Transatlantic Studies (CEUTS) is Virginia Tech’s Jean Monnet Center of Excellence and is housed in the College of Liberal Arts & Humans Sciences (CLAHS)

As part of his outreach and engagement efforts, Stivachtis seeks to advance knowledge about Europe and the European Union targeting high-school students and teachers in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nearby states, participants in the university’s Lifelong Learning Program, journalists, policy-makers, and civil society organizations.

Jean Monnet was one of the founders of the European Union in the 1950s. The Jean Monnet Program is part of Erasmus+, the European Union’s education, youth, and sports initiative.