Korbel School Celebrates Launch of Institute for Comparative and Regional Studies
Institute will expand advanced research, education, and training opportunities for students and faculty programs
The Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver celebrated the launch of the Institute for Comparative and Regional Studies (ICRS).
The Institute will conduct research, facilitate dialogue, and offer advanced education and training in regional studies on four key world regions: Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Together the area centers that comprise the Institute will also consider common issues of human security and sustainable peace; democracy, governance and human rights; prosperity with sustainability; and regional cooperation and integration.
“We are experiencing a time of unprecedented global challenges,” says Fritz Mayer, Dean of the Korbel School. “Each region of the world experiences those challenges differently, yet they also share much in common. By combining our area studies programs, we can not only better support regional research, but also enable comparative analysis across regions and countries. The important work of the ICRS will help us find paths to a more peaceful, sustainable and prosperous future worldwide.”
The comparative and regional research of ICRS will produce context-specific knowledge to address these challenges in what are highly diverse settings in countries, cities, and communities around the world.
“At a time when the world is heading in the wrong direction – new escalations in intractable conflicts, creeping authoritarianism, and unjust and growing inequality – there is an urgent need to understand these dynamics in local contexts worldwide,” ICRS director and Korbel Professor of international and comparative politics Timothy Sisk contends. “As a strategy, ICRS will enable research by a new generation of scholars, convene problem-solving dialogues, and launch new advanced education and training for conflict and governance assessment.”
The Institute was made possible by a gift from the DT Institute. John DeBlasio, Chairman of DT Institute, added “DT Institute is proud to contribute to the expanded research agenda at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. This partnership will further the DT Institute’s mission to support and deliver data-driven, sustainable solutions that transform lives and empower communities through a global platform that links learning to impact.”
In addition to producing important research, the Institute will enrich student learning experiences through hands-on research and area-specific expertise. ICRS will also engage the broader community by hosting educational events, symposia and workshops on critical topics of global importance.
