Improving the Human Condition
At the Pardee Institute in DU's Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, student researchers contribute to the future of international relations
“I’m hoping the work I do, and the work I do in the future, can help bring more stability to the world, so that future generations can enjoy the kind of community I have enjoyed.”
At the University of Denver, we are challenging convention and redefining the promise of higher education. The Pardee Institute, founded at DU in 2006, exemplifies this mission by developing data and tools that help policymakers, academics, and the public better understand the long-term future.
The Institute was founded and has been sustained thanks to a series of gifts totaling nearly $25 million from Frederick Pardee, whose vision — to improve the human condition — steers the Institute every day.
In 2024–25, the Institute engaged 88 DU students across various roles and capacities. By studying past, present, and future trends in human, natural, and social systems, Pardee researchers seek to build knowledge about the future, which may help others reduce poverty, eliminate hunger, improve education, and support effective governance across the globe.
Pardee has developed a first-of-its-kind open-access software, the International Futures Tool, which tracks trends and dynamics of global interactions and helps researchers understand how projects, priorities, and people intersect around the world.
The tool is representative of why DU earned the prestigious R1 research classification — we’re generating new knowledge and expanding our capacity to address complex societal challenges.
For example, the tool enables researchers to closely track the travel patterns of government leaders, which can provide valuable insights into international relations and global diplomacy. The Pardee Institute collaborates with international originations including the African Union and the United Nations. Students who work with Pardee get to see these partnerships in action.
Barry Hughes, PhD, Distinguished Professor at DU and Founder of the Pardee Institute
Barry Hughes, PhD, Distinguished Professor at DU and Founder of the Pardee Institute
“The team that's leading it is very strong. They're a generation younger, and they're doing all kinds of good things with the further development of the tool. [...] We are positioned to keep climbing.”
The 4D Experience in Action
Our distinctive 4D Experience is our holistic approach to education by fostering learning environments where students not only grow intellectually but also develop their sense of character, well-being, and purpose.
The Pardee Institute empowers students to bring the 4D Experience to life, providing real-world, hands-on opportunities that prepare them for impactful careers.
Each year, undergraduate and graduate students from the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs are selected to work with the Pardee Institute as Pardee Fellows, who focus on exploring and expanding the International Futures Tool and its platform. Other student teams include the International Futures Data Team, the Core Diplometrics team, and the Country and Organization Leader Travel team, which provide opportunities for students to gain real-life experiences in various aspects of international relations.
Collin Meisel came to DU because of the reputation that the Korbel School has for its deep engagement with foreign affairs, foreign policy, and international relations. He was drawn to the Pardee Institute because the job combined his quantitative training and his interest in diplomacy. One of his hopes for the Institute is that by providing people all over the world — from political leaders to everyday citizens — with more reliable forecasts about the future, they can make better decisions.
This is The Denver Difference: thinking bigger and bolder to anticipate “what’s next.”
Collin Meisel demonstrates the International Futures Tool
Collin Meisel demonstrates the International Futures Tool
“[The International Futures Tool] is a mutigenerational effort [...] that can provide long-term forecasts for 188 countries through the end of the century across more integrated systems than any other tool in the world.”
Elevating Research
Students who work with the Pardee Institute not only get in-depth training in using the International Futures Tool to solve real-life problems but also get to be a part of its maintenance and development alongside faculty.
Pardee’s International Futures Tool is open-access and free to use, meaning you can try it out yourself. Click below to explore hundreds of data points representing global health, economics, and migration, from 188 countries. You can see, at a glance, the factors that influence countries and politics.
The Next Generation of International Futures
Meet three exceptional DU staff and students who work as Pardee researchers
Kylie
“Being able to learn about so many different complex relations across the globe, and how they all interconnect. Yeah, that's definitely a fascinating field to be in.”
– Kylie McKee, Pardee Institute, Research and Project Manager
Jagger
“I want to build a community. I want to be around, people I trust, people I love, people I enjoy, and I want to be able to foster that for other people.”
– Jagger Livengood, Pardee Institute Student Research Assistant
Anna
"I'm a child of immigrants, so learning about my heritage, my family abroad, kind of sparked my interest into other cultures and societies — how they operate and then how we interact with them.”
– Anna Zapata, Lead Student Researcher, COLT
Let’s show the world what DU can do.
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