Josef Korbel School Program and Assistant Professor Named to The Economist's Global Diversity List

With announcements in New York City and London, The Economist has named a program and an associate professor at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies to its Global Diversity List. The list is a newly-established assessment of organizations and individuals with outstanding commitment to diversity, as nominated by readers of The Economist and judged by a panel of experts.

The Josef Korbel School’s International Career Advancement Program (ICAP) is named as one of the Top Ten Ethnicity Employee Networks, a category which recognizes the achievements of employee network groups established to work on ethnic and racial diversity within organizations. Co-sponsored by the Aspen Institute, ICAP mentors mid-level international affairs professionals from diverse disadvantaged groups to reach senior executive positions in government, international institutions and NGOs. Established in 1997, the ICAP Alumni Network consists of over 440 professionals who have become ambassadors and other senior government officials, heads of NGOs, prominent business leaders, key Presidential political appointees and Congressional staff members. The program is intended for individuals from all underrepresented groups broadly defined and for advocates of diversity in U.S. leadership. 

Dr. E. Thomas Rowe, creator of ICAP and associate professor at the Korbel School, is named as one of the Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life. Rowe created ICAP in the belief that the diversity of U.S. society should be reflected in its leadership. To mitigate institutionalized discriminatory practices, he promoted the idea of mentors and role models, and created mid-career support and career advice to deal with the obstacles for the underrepresented seeking to rise to the highest echelons of international affairs in government, nonprofits and the private sector.

“Both the International Career Advancement Program and Dr. Rowe richly deserve this recognition on The Economist’s Global Diversity List,” said Ambassador Christopher R. Hill, Dean of the Josef Korbel School. “In creating ICAP, Dr. Rowe recognized that it is not enough to increase the pool of talented professionals from underrepresented groups. We have to go further and mentor these individuals to rise to the highest levels of international public service.”

The diversity profession has developed as a branch of human resources over the last two decades. As yet, there are no formal qualifications required to be a diversity professional. The Economist’s goal with the Global Diversity List is to create an independent standard to quantify the performance of organizations and professionals in the delivery of diversity.

Founded in 1964, the Josef Korbel School of International Studies is one of the world’s leading schools for the study of international relations. The School offers degree programs in international affairs and is named in honor of its founder and first dean, Josef Korbel.