CUP
The Catholic Universities Partnership (CUP) was established in 2004 as an initiative to support Catholic universities operating in post-Soviet and post-communist countries.
Together with the University of Notre Dame, the partnership brings together the following six Catholic universities in Eastern Europe:
- The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland)
- Catholic University of Croatia (Croatia)
- Pázmány Péter Catholic University (Hungary)
- Catholic University in Ružomberok (Slovakia)
- Ukrainian Catholic University (Ukraine)
- Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University (Georgia)
The Catholic Universities Partnership was founded on the initiative of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, based at the University of Notre Dame (USA), which for more than 20 years has actively supported institutional development projects for its partner Catholic universities. To this end, a conference and working meetings on current topics are held annually at member universities.
The Nanovic Institute and CUP partners have jointly developed several collaborative research and scholarship programs. One of these programs is the research initiative "Faith and Freedom," carried out in collaboration with CUP partners, which focuses on understanding the pursuit of economic, religious, and political freedoms in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989. This research initiative, together with KUL Press, published a volume titled "Faith, Freedom, and the Fall of Communism," which laid the groundwork for a subsequent project currently funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. As a result of collaboration among CUP institutions, UCU Press published the volume "The Trauma of Communism" in 2022.
Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University joined CUP in 2016 and has been actively involved in numerous projects ever since. On 19-20 May 2022, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University hosted a CUP meeting, during which a conference on "Resilience and Recovery: Challenges for Universities" and working sessions were held.
Leadership Programs
The Nanovic Institute supports the professional and spiritual development of leaders at Catholic Universities Partnership (CUP) institutions. Through leadership programs held at the University of Notre Dame and the Notre Dame Global network, the Institute aims to build an international community of resilient and experienced leaders.
Since 2017, the Catholic Leadership Program has operated, designed for senior management at Catholic universities and focused on developing management skills, strategic planning, and philanthropy. The Mendoza College of Business is actively involved in delivering the intensive one-week trainings. The Leadership Program is held once every two years.
Since 2022, the Advanced Catholic Leadership Program has been established, focused on building sustainability in leadership. It offers up to 24 leaders the opportunity to refresh and deepen their leadership, time-management, and relationship-building skills. This program is held once every 3-5 years (as needed) and is hosted by the University of Notre Dame’s Rome campus.
Over the years, fourteen (14) representatives of Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University have taken part in the Leadership Program.
CUP Summer School
Since 2022, following Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine and the start of a full-scale war, CUP and the Catholic University of Croatia have jointly held an annual summer school called “Practicing Resilience – Preparing for Recovery”, in which students from partner universities take part.
The 10-day summer school program includes lectures, trainings, as well as social events and spiritual gatherings (meetings, meditations).
Each year, two students from Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University take part in this summer school, fully funded by the organizers.