I am delighted to introduce Associate Dean Adam Herman, who joined Fletcher late last fall. Adam currently spearheads all admissions and student affairs initiatives at The Fletcher School. He kindly accepted our invitation to answer a few questions, providing insights into his background and perspectives on his experience at Fletcher so far. Enjoy the read!

Can you share more about your personal journey to The Fletcher School and what motivated you to choose Fletcher as the institution where you want to lead admissions and student affairs efforts?

For the past 90 years, the Fletcher School has prepared leaders to respond to challenging problems, using effective – and empowering – approaches, tools, techniques, and lenses. Students at Fletcher are driven and self-aware, ambitious for themselves and their organizations, and also committed to making a positive impact throughout the world.

After holding leadership roles at two globally recognized business schools, I am excited about the opportunity to help Fletcher students (and prospective students!) view Fletcher as an incubator that will give them the agency to write the professional story they want to write for the future chapters of their careers.

Recruiting top talent is a competitive endeavor. How do you plan to communicate the unique opportunities and advantages that come with being a student at The Fletcher School to prospective applicants?

Since joining the Fletcher School in the fall, students have repeatedly shared that Fletcher gives students tremendous opportunities to customize their areas of academic and professional focus. Students at Fletcher can immerse themselves across fields of study, completing courses focusing on technology, gender, the environment, or international security. Other students might build a course schedule to gain knowledge of international business, specific regions of the world, or international negotiation and conflict resolution.

The intersection of these fields is particularly potent for our students and allows them to answer big questions throughout their careers. For example: What role can global businesses and governments play in solving pressing environmental and climate challenges? How can we use technology including artificial intelligence to drive positive developments in the global context?

What sets the Fletcher School apart in the eyes of admitted students outside of the classroom?

Because graduate education has the unique ability to bring together high-achieving, high-talent adults for a period of focused academic and professional exploration, I love seeing the Fletcher community beyond the doorsill of the classroom. As part of our transformative Fletcher student experience, students can expect to benefit from the Fletcher community, engage with co-curricular programs and conferences, and achieve their career goals.

Community is more than a buzzword at Fletcher. I’ll share a few fall semester examples (and only a few, for the sake of brevity in this blog post). In October – and in celebration of Fletcher’s 90^th anniversary – students participated in Fletcher Day, including a conversation on U.S.-China relations with Former Ambassador to China Winston Lord (Fletcher class of 1960) and current Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.

In December, students planned, curated, and delivered Asia Culture Night. A much-loved Fletcher tradition, Culture Nights, helps the Fletcher community recognize and celebrate the many cultural backgrounds of our community members while coming together with a spirit of friendship, exploration, and appreciation. On the final day of fall 2023 classes, I joined students to toast the end of the semester with Cupcakes, Champagne, and Cider, and a surprise visit from Jumbo, the Tufts University mascot.

What should students know about student conferences and career development in the Fletcher Student Experience?

Conferences and a focus on career empowerment, exploration, and outcomes are both key elements of the Fletcher experience. Each year, student leaders – in partnership with Fletcher’s Office of Student Affairs and faculty mentors – plan and deliver six signature student conferences. In the same week, students had the opportunity to attend the Fletcher European Conference and the Conference on Gender and International Affairs.

• At the European Conference – under the theme Can Europe Reinvent Itself on the Global Stage? – Fletcher faculty and invited expert guests challenged the audience to elements impacting Ukraine, Technology and Sustainability, and cooperation with the Global South.

• At the Conference on Gender and International Affairs, participants grappled with questions on communication and information technology in advocacy, international negotiation and power dynamics, and engaged in conversations on mental health and boundary setting. The unifying theme for the two-day experience: Power. Policy. Progress.

Each conference at Fletcher gives students a great opportunity to explore career paths and gain knowledge in an area of interest, while also practicing their communication and networking skills in a safe “laboratory environment” that prepares them for career fairs and job interviews. These conversations help students refine their individual value proposition, and gain leads on strengthening their networking, pursuing internships, or obtaining post-graduation employment.

Let me turn to the other significant element I mentioned: Led by the Office of Career Services, Fletcher has a robust portfolio of activities designed to allow students to attain a meaningful return on their investments in pursuit of a Fletcher degree (both the financial investment and the considerable bandwidth investment).

The Office of Career Services gives students the opportunity to:

• receive one-on-one coaching to explore and identify the right path to achieve their desired career outcomes
• delivers a Professional Development Program (PDP) designed to engage students in workshops related to professional competencies
• works with top-hiring organizations (from the State Department to consulting firms) to maintain a database of employers and jobs available for Fletcher students
• hosts key career events, from Fall Career Exploration Days (where employers come to campus to engage with students) to a Spring career exploration visit in Washington, DC.

What are you most looking forward to at Fletcher during 2024?

As we continue to celebrate the Fletcher School’s 90^th anniversary, I’ll be joining our Washington, DC 90^th anniversary celebration of Fletcher in February, and seeing our students in action on the Washington, DC career exploration trip. This type of hands-on career exploration – and the exchange of ideas with employers and alumni – allows the next generation of Fletcher leaders and graduates to learn more about the careers they are pursuing and build relationships in support of great career opportunities.

I’m also excited to see my first Fletcher School May commencement this Spring, when we send off another class of outstanding graduates, to make a meaningful difference in the world, throughout their lives. (But, just before graduation, our students will put on their formal evening attire and head off to the Diplomats’ Ball, a spring formal event for Fletcher students and their guests.)