Dear Members of the CWRU Community,
Please join me in welcoming Adrianne M. Crawford Fletcher, PhD, to Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine as the Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence.
As a vital member of the senior leadership team at the School of Medicine, her guidance will be crucial in advancing the goals outlined in our school's strategic plan, which was revised in April to include a heightened emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusive excellence.
When I asked Dr. Fletcher why she was drawn to the School of Medicine, she shared, "I relish the notion of collaboratively working with scientists and healers to bring about intersectional identity and cultural healing over time. This healing will create a culture of belonging in which all faculty, staff, and students, including newly recruited faculty, staff and students, will desire to remain long-term and thrive."
Dr. Fletcher's leadership in integrating equity and belonging within organizations makes her an outstanding choice to lead our school in this pivotal role.
After taking a year-long leave of absence from her role as assistant professor and assistant dean for diversity and inclusion equity and diversity at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Dr. Fletcher most recently served as the inaugural director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Supreme Court of Ohio. During her time at the court, she was the driving force behind creating, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion issues. Within the court system, these initiatives focused on issues related to race, ethnicity, culture, region, religious or spiritual beliefs, disability, age, gender, transgender, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Dr. Fletcher is a CWRU alum, earning a Master of Science in Social Administration from the Mandel School and a PhD from Loyola University Chicago. She joined the Mandel School faculty in 2017 and was previously an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
With a professional career spanning two decades, she has extensive experience in various facets of social work, including child welfare, foster care, psychotherapy, Indian child welfare, court-appointed special advocates and veterans’ support. Her research is dedicated to addressing the issue of negative implicit attitudes prevalent among service professionals who frequently engage with marginalized individuals, those facing economic challenges, physical exhaustion and emotional struggles.
Recognized for her passion for education, she was honored with three teaching awards—two from the Mandel School and one from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. As an educator, her courses focus on social policy service and delivery, theory and practice in direct social work, mental health practice with children and adolescents, and discussions on oppression theories and social justice.
Her outstanding interdisciplinary leadership is recognized at CWRU as she was awarded the "Think Big Leadership Award" by the university for organizing university-wide events regarding diversity issues, implicit biases and the reduction of microaggressions on campus and in the community. The award honored her as "the change agent we all want to be."
Over the next several months, she will be reaching out to get to know many of you through department meetings and small group sessions, as she will be listening and learning to co-create a cultural and collective impact model tailored to our School of Medicine.
I look forward to partnering with Dr. Fletcher as we work together on our shared commitment to creating and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive School of Medicine environment.
Sincerely,
Stan Gerson, MD
Dean and Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs
School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University