We are pleased to announce that Adrianne M. Fletcher now holds a joint appointment with the Jack, Joseph and Morton School of Applied Social Sciences and the CWRU School of Medicine, effective Nov. 1, 2023. In these roles, she will serve as Associate Dean for Equity and Belonging at the Mandel School and Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Excellence at the School of Medicine.
Fletcher joined the Mandel School in July 2017, where she later served as the inaugural Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). She has worked collaboratively with faculty, staff and students to provide strategic leadership and meet the DEI needs of the school and university.
During a leave of absence in 2022–23, Fletcher was appointed as the Ohio Supreme Court's inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 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. Upon her return to the school in July 2023, she received an elevated role as Associate Dean for Equity and Belonging and a leadership role on the Dean's Management Team. And as a vital new member of the senior leadership team at the School of Medicine, her guidance will be crucial in advancing the goals outlined in the school's strategic plan, which was revised in April 2023 to include a heightened emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusive excellence.
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 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, Fletcher 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 micro-aggressions on campus and in the community. The award honored her as "the change agent we all want to be."
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Fletcher on her joint appointment.