The Korbel Honors is an annual celebration of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and members of our community making a difference in the world. The 2023 Korbel Honors commemorated the legacy of Secretary Madeleine Korbel Albright, daughter of Josef and Mandula Korbel and a lifelong champion of our institution. The evening was dedicated to the memory of Dr. John Korbel, the son of Josef and Mandula Korbel, brother of Madeleine Korbel Albright, and a long-time member of our Advisory Board, the Social Science Foundation. Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton joined us to pay tribute to Secretary Albright in her keynote conversation with Dean Fritz Mayer.
Singumbe Muyeba is an Assistant Professor at Josef Korbel School of Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations International Studies. His research and teaching focuses on international development, urbanization, and property rights for the urban poor. He has previously worked for the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Dr. Muyeba is the author of Globalisation and Africa in the Twenty-First Century: A Zambian Perspective, and several articles on foreign aid, institutional capital and urban poverty, and property rights in Southern Africa. He has also conducted research and published on the ‘Housing First’ model and utilization of emergency public services in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
At the Josef Korbel School, Professor Muyeba teaches courses on the economics of development and political economy of sustainable development in Africa, and contributes to the graduate seminar on "Great Issues in International Affairs." He also co-leads a travel and research course in Nairobi each December, serves on several dissertation committees, and regularly supervises graduate student research.
Professor Muyeba holds a PhD in Sociology and MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and a BA from the University of Zambia.
Ambassador Claudia Fuentes Julio is the Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva. After earning her PhD from the Josef Korbel School in 2014, Ambassador Fuentes Julio went on to research, publish, and teach about issues of foreign policy, human rights, the responsibility to protect, gender and diplomacy, and conflict resolution. She has taught at the Department of Peace Studies at Chapman University in California, USA, the International Relations Institute (IRI) at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brazil, and the Department of Government at Alberto Hurtado University in Chile. Before she was associate researcher at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO-Chile).
As a representative of Chile, Ambassador Fuentes Julio has collaborated closely with several United Nations entities on various projects ranging from conflict prevention and recovery, gender and disarmament in Latin America, to developing strategies on human security and multilateral institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. She also worked as election monitor for the Organization of American States.
Madeleine K. Albright was a professor, author, diplomat, and businesswoman who served as the 64th Secretary of State of the United States. In 1997, she was named the first female Secretary of State and became, at that time, the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. From 1993 to 1997, Dr. Albright served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and was a member of the President’s Cabinet. She was a Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Dr. Albright was Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, and Chair of Albright Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm focused on emerging markets. She also chaired the National Democratic Institute, served as the President of the Truman Scholarship Foundation and was Honorary Chair of the World Refugee & Migration Council. In 2021, she was appointed Chair of the Defense Policy Board,a group tasked with providing the Secretary of Defense with independent, informed advice and opinion concerning matters of defense policy. In 2012, she was chosen by President Obama to receive the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in recognition of her contributions to international peace and democracy.
Dr. Albright was a seven-time New York Times bestselling author. Her final book, Hell and Other Destinations was published in April 2020. Her other books include: her autobiography, Madam Secretary: A Memoir (2003); The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (2006); Memo to the President: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership (2008); Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box (2009); Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948 (2012), and Fascism: A Warning (2018).
