Josef Korbel School Wins Prestigious Grants from National Science Foundation and Carnegie Corporation
Faculty and Research Staff Driving Surge in Sponsored Research
The University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies has been awarded significant research grants from the National Science Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation, building on the school’s upward trajectory in securing sponsored research.
The Josef Korbel School is one of sixteen institutions to receive a National Science Foundation grant to explore how humans interact with the environment. The $1.8 million grant, awarded to professors Sarah Glaser, Dale Rothman and Karin Wedig, will fund research on how the growth of aquaculture in and around Lake Victoria will affect the wild fisheries for Nile perch and tilapia, and whether aquaculture can be designed to provide income in an equitable fashion. The project also looks at aquaculture’s potential pollution impacts, trade-offs in investment for farmed versus wild fish, and how supply and demand for the different types of fish might impact the global market.
“I am excited about the potential for linking two important models–-the Pardee Center’s International Futures model and an ecosystem services model called MIMES-–and the lessons we can learn for sustainable and equitable development of aquaculture,” said Principal Investigator Sarah Glaser. “We will collaborate directly with the federal fisheries agencies in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania so our work can be guided by real-world applications and needs.”
The second award is a $1 million combined grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, won by Professor Timothy Sisk. The project, “Innovations in Peacebuilding: International Norms and Local Dynamics in Conflict-Affected Countries,” explores innovations in peacebuilding in Nepal and South Africa. Through cross-regional research on Asia, Africa and the Americas, researchers will focus on how local stakeholders in conflict-affected countries relate to, and advance, international human rights norms.
“The project is exciting in terms of the focus on Nepal and South Africa. Both countries are seen as ‘peacebuilding’ successes, but have experienced recent significant social turmoil and political violence,” said Sisk. His team will collaborate with DU alumna Dr. Astri Suhrke, a Norwegian researcher on ethnic conflict and peacebuilding. Suhrke earned her PhD in 1969 at the Korbel School (then known as the Graduate School of International Studies) under the supervision of Professor Josef Korbel.
“These recent successes of our faculty and research staff build on the Korbel School’s upward trajectory with regard to sponsored research,” said Associate Dean for Research Erica Chenoweth. “Since 2007, the Korbel School’s sponsored research activity has seen a twenty-three fold increase. With nearly $4 million in new research project-related funding during this fiscal year alone, we are among the most competitive social science research institutions in the country. All of our funded projects link scholarship to the real world, giving them some added distinction. These really are ideas with impact.”
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.
