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Featuring: UNC Global Education Center

CES Prepares for Move to Global Education Center

Artist's sketch of the new Global Education Center

The Center for European Studies will be transitioning into the new Global Education Center over the holiday break. By the start of the new year, all of our program offices—the European Union Center of Excellence, the Transatlantic Master’s Program, the EURO undergraduate major, and the Languages Across the Curriculum program will be housed in the new complex. The GEC will house six area studies centers, covering Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe & Eurasia, and Europe—as well as the Office of Study Abroad, the Curriculum in International and Area Studies, the University Center for International Studies, and the Institute for Advanced Research in International and Area Studies.

Construction progress at the Global Education Center, August 2006
Construction Progress, August 2006

"The Global Education Center will be, in many ways, a one-stop shop for our internationalization efforts," according to Dr. Peter Coclanis, associate provost for international affairs at UNC. "There are not too many campuses that have this particular vision right now for global education and this building will help to stamp us as a university fully committed to pushing that vision forward. The Global Education Center is where our students will realize that the world is as close as their doorstep."

Construction progress at the Global Education Center, April 2006
Construction Progress, April 2006

The center is unique among U.S. colleges and universities for bringing together in one facility the three major components of international education: student services, academic programs and faculty research. When completed, the center will be an 80,000 square-foot building with a three-story main structure topped by a smaller fourth floor.

Artist's sketch of the new Global Education Center

According to UNC's Sustainability Project, the Global Education Center is one of 16 North Carolina buildings designed using the state’s High Performance Building Guidelines. The project focused on water conservation and low-impact site development. Formerly a 140-space surface parking lot, the site will be transformed into a global meeting place, flooded with natural light. The design consultant, Leers Weinzapfel, has extensive experience with sustainable design and developing highly efficient, environmentally sensitive buildings.

For more progress snapshots and an overview of the project, visit UNC's Facilities Planning & Construction website.

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