Andrea Tudhope
The Colorado Independent
July 7, 2013
Screen capture from University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School.
Hundreds of students, staffers and alumni are protesting the University of Denver’s decision to honor former President George W. Bush with an award traditionally recognizing recipients for their work on behalf of humanity.
“It’s been mostly just a lot of surprise,” Seth Masket, associate professor of Political Science said of the award to be bestowed by the University’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies.
“Why Korbel sought out to do this and honor Bush in this way — it all seems very unusual.”
The Korbel School was founded by Josef Korbel, father of former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Among various other widely recognized graduates of Korbel is former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and U.S. Army General George Casey.
The school hosts the Korbel Dinner to present the award each year. In June, the Sept. 9 dinner was announced and invitations circulated both by mail and on the school’s website, pictured below, saying the 43rd president would be welcomed and honored as the 2013 recipient of the “Improving the Human Condition Award.”
On June 23, Christine Hart — a 2012 Korbel graduate with a master’s degree in human rights — saw the announcement and wrote a petition objecting to her alma mater’s choice of honoree.
“As students, alumni, faculty, and supporters of the Josef Korbel School and the University of Denver, we urge you to choose an alternative recipient of the 2013 ‘Improving the Human Condition Award’ who better represents a humanitarian spirit, a commitment to human rights and human dignity, and whose contributions and leadership have truly resulted in positive change,” reads the petition.
In addition to the petition, posted at Change.org, Hart set up a Facebook page called “Josef Korbel School Against Bush ‘Improving the Human Condition’ Award” as a platform where people frustrated by the decision could share information, organize courses of action and disseminate the petition.