When Adrianne Crawford Fletcher, vice dean, diversity, equity and inclusive excellence for the School of Medicine, reflects on her passion for this work, she starts with the importance of building strong relationships and being thoughtful and open without making assumptions.
“We can all help to foster an inclusive environment. It starts by becoming very self-aware and having a sense of yourself,” said Crawford Fletcher. “My formative years helped to shape who and how I am. Biases are not bad in of themselves, they are part of the human condition. We each have our own way of thinking and knowing.”
Crawford Fletcher likes to take a stance of not knowing when thinking about other people and their perspectives.
“We make assumptions about people in a nano moment. Being thoughtful and listening is so important. I believe in using preemptive forgiveness,” she said. “I tell people, let’s listen and practice forgiveness–sometimes we’re going to blow it, we’re going to make a mistake and that’s ok. That’s how I approach this work.”
Her research focus has been on the influence of implicit attitude on decision-making within the child welfare system and the phenomena of disproportionality. Crawford Fletcher brings her experience as a practicing social work professional for the past two decades in child welfare, foster care, psychotherapy, work in accordance with the Indian Child Welfare Act, Court Appointed Special Advocates and veterans to Case Western Reserve.
Crawford Fletcher also serves on the Diversity Executive Advisory Council through the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Engagement. The group works to problem solve and cultivate a safe environment for diversity work across campus.
“There are challenges and opportunities as the culture at CWRU and our broader community changes,” she said. “The culture is always evolving and we have a choice to be ahead of the curve. The key is engagement, and how we engage with each other.”