Fletcher Donor Report 2018

in the news

Thank you from Interim Dean Ian Johnstone

Thanks to your generous support, The Fletcher School is preparing leaders to tackle our global challenges now and in the future. I am pleased to share this report about our recent achievements to give you a taste of the tremendous impact you have on the school and, through it, the world.

This is an exciting time to be at The Fletcher School. The skills and expertise of our faculty and graduates are in demand as leaders around the globe grapple with a changing environment, displaced populations, shifts in our economy, and the rise of populism.

In 1933, The Fletcher School began as an innovation: the first graduate school in the United States dedicated solely to international relations. We continue to innovate to this day, offering a broad professional education for students committed to maintaining the stability and prosperity of a complex, challenging, and increasingly global society.

As we look ahead, we are positioning ourselves for ongoing success by focusing on increasing aid to support our hard-working students and enhancing our interdisciplinary curriculum to educate them for the future.

I am humbled to have stewarded this exceptional school for the past year as interim dean, and I hope you will join me in welcoming Dean Rachel Kyte, F02. A Fletcher alumna herself, our new dean understands that there is no mission more noble than educating young people who will build a better world.

Thank you for ensuring that The Fletcher School will continue this essential work.

Ian Johnstone
Dean ad interim July 2018–September 2019
Professor of International Law

Fink Distinguished Alumni Speakers

The Geoffrey and Cyrena Fink Distinguished Alumni Speakers Series gives students access to a variety of successful Fletcher alumni and their career insights. We hosted (from top left):

THOM SHANKER, F82
Assistant Washington editor at the New York Times

DR. XANTHE SCHARFF, F06, F11
Co-founder and executive director at the Fuller Project for International Reporting

PERRY POUND, F11
Real estate developer

DR. OLAF GROTH, F95, F97
CEO of Cambrian.ai, professor at HULT International Business School, and author

NICHOLAS RAY, F94
CEO of Vision Capital, author, and scholar

Building sustainable solutions to the “existential” challenge of climate change

At the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP), Fletcher faculty and students are building sustainable solutions to the urgent topic of climate change. “This is the existential issue of our time,” says Barbara Kates-Garnick, faculty member and CIERP board member. CIERP’s pioneering work is strengthened by The Fletcher School’s expertise in related topics such as security, energy, and migration. CIERP board member John Harper, F85, takes pride in CIERP’s international impact and its success in preparing a new generation of climate change leaders.

Building stronger U.S.-Russian relationships

The recent strain in relations between the United States and Russia recalls the tensions of the Cold War. The Fletcher School’s growing partnership with MGIMO University aims to lessen this widening gap using education and collaboration. The joint program offers classes via live teleconferences and gives students and professors in both Boston and Moscow opportunities to travel to meet their peers.

Building sustainable solutions to the “existential” challenge of climate change

At the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP), Fletcher faculty and students are building sustainable solutions to the urgent topic of climate change. “This is the existential issue of our time,” says Barbara Kates-Garnick, faculty member and CIERP board member. CIERP’s pioneering work is strengthened by Fletcher’s expertise in related topics such as security, energy, and migration. CIERP board member John Harper, F85, takes pride in CIERP’s international impact and their success in preparing a new generation of climate change leaders.

Making Headlines

Introducing Center for International Law and Governance

The Fletcher School’s new Center for International Law and Governance conducts policy-oriented research and promotes practical solutions to global challenges. “The moment is right to start exploring ways that international law and governance institutions can meet the big problems of the day,” says Ian Johnstone, professor of international law and one of two faculty directors of the center. The other director is Joel P. Trachtman, also a professor of international law.

The center hosts conferences, conducts research, and provides executive education. Its first conference focused on cybersecurity. Future gatherings may tackle infectious disease, environmental challenges, and migration—the kinds of problems, Johnstone says, “where there are gaps in international law and governance, and where The Fletcher School’s multidimensional approach will make a difference.”

World Peace Foundation

100+ years working to build peace

Edwin Ginn is best known at The Fletcher School as the namesake donor of Ginn Library. But the 1862 Tufts graduate, university trustee, and successful publisher also founded another Fletcher institution: the World Peace Foundation.

The foundation, which was underwritten by a $1 million bequest from Ginn more than 100 years ago, moved to The Fletcher School in 2011. Today it conducts innovative research and teaching on issues such as famine, the global arms trade, and mass atrocities.

Since the World Peace Foundation’s creation, “considerable progress has actually been made in bringing down levels of violence, organized warfare, and atrocity around the world,” says Executive Director Alex de Waal (top). The challenge now, he says, is: “What can be achieved in the next 100 years?”

six exceptional TOPOL Scholars funded in 2019

Topol fellows

Exploring nonviolent resistance in diverse global contexts

The Topol Fellows in Nonviolent Resistance are among The Fletcher School’s most promising students. Each fellow receives financial assistance for internships and fieldwork in nonviolent resistance in diverse global contexts, advancing knowledge, evidence-based policies, and justice. Doctoral candidate Alexandra McCauliff studies grassroots women’s peace movements; Sarada Subramanian, an MIB candidate, explores nonviolent organizing in Kerala, India; Nicholas Guarnaccia, a MALD candidate, investigates post-conflict reconciliation; MIB candidate Victoria Kulesza studies nonviolent organizing by Nicaraguan migrants; and Sarah Gold, a MALD candidate, examines Palestinian activism in the West Bank.

The Topol fellowships were created in 2015 by Sid Topol, J79P, to support scholars “who will become leaders themselves and…influence other leaders to work toward peace, reconciliation, diplomacy, and nonviolence.” Through their exceptional work, the 2019 Topol fellows are helping to realize that vision.

Fletcher Women’s Network: Building Community

Kari Sides Suva, F11, a leadership consultant and co-chair of the Fletcher Women’s Network (FWN) Executive Committee, believes that female alumni are one of Fletcher’s greatest assets. Established in 2007 to build opportunities and promote women’s leadership, FWN automatically welcomes all female graduates. This year, FWN is launching a mentoring initiative and hosting a growing number of local events, like a careers workshop for Boston-area women.

To reach a larger audience, the program, “Researching What’s Next,” will be offered as a webinar in 2020. Social media tools, including FWN’s Facebook group, help members engage and foster local groups, like the FWN’s new Geneva community. “FWN is here for all Fletcher women,” says Suva, reaffirming that the network values their voices and engagement. “The stronger Fletcher is, the stronger we all are—and FWN is a very important resource for strengthening our whole community.”