Geographically, governmentally and now monetarily linked, the European Union has emerged over the last decade with tremendous economic might and almost unprecedented strategic centrality on the world’s stage. Europe’s arrival as a single market economy has been much anticipated and debated. The reality of this mammoth economic fact is now at hand, and understanding its implications for economic globalization and world politics is part and parcel of The Eur-Am Center’s bridge-building work between two critical continents.

Strategically placed at Europe’s window onto the Atlantic, The Eur-Am Center lies at the crossroads of time-honored trade pathways connecting England and Italy, Northern Europe, Iberia, all of the European Union and the Americas. Now these ancient routes of exchange carry intellectual property and services just as surely as they have always seen to the transport of manufactured goods. Second generation internet in the European Union, which pierces into France from Amsterdam in a direct path to Paris, extends through the Loire Valley on its way to Bordeaux, via The Eur-Am Center campus and its fiber-optic computer facilities with high speed wireless capabilities.

Throughout its first millennium and a half, the ancient town of Pontlevoy bridged together the lands beyond the rivers Cher and Loire. Now as the home of The Eur-Am Center, Pontlevoy will connect the wider worlds of America and Europe. Through learning, debate, seminars, and an expansive menu of educational experiences, the town and its stately campus will open an innovative portal to a global future.