Dean Kyte: “We will not be silent and we cannot stand by”
It’s been a heartbreaking week in the United States. I thought it worth sharing Dean Kyte’s recent statement in its entirety.
Read MoreAuthor: Daniel Birdsall
An annotated Fletcher tour: The Hall of Flags
Physical visits to Fletcher are obviously not in the cards at the moment, so in the coming weeks I’ll do my best to provide the next best thing in the form of a blog-based virtual tour. There’s an obvious starting point for this exercise: the Hall of Flags.
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From my home office
Since I twisted the arms of all my colleagues to provide some updates from their home offices, I figure it’s only fair for me to do the same.
Read MoreFletcher students honored for civic engagement
The past week has been focused on honoring and celebrating our students, and here’s another little tidbit worth highlighting. Fletcher is proud to count 17 of its students among the recipients of this year’s Honos civicus awards, administered by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life.
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Meredith’s dual degree journey
We recently heard from recent Fletcher graduate Meredith Shea, now officially wrapping up her grad school experience. Meredith’s path is a somewhat unusual one, as she’s been pursuing a dual degree from Fletcher and the University of Miami School of Law. As such, Meredith actually graduated from Fletcher this past February, and just concluded her law degree within the past few weeks.
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Commencement 2020
Another Commencement, come and gone. This one, clearly, was different than the usual affair, but may prove to be one of the more memorable in recent memory. I’ll take the opportunity here to vicariously toot the horns of all those involved in pulling this event off, as they’re too modest to ever do so themselves. I was immediately struck by the professionalism of the virtual ceremony, and the obvious huge amounts of work involved in bringing it to life. Seamless transitions, all involved ready to hit their marks, and real-time captioning made it the best possible version of itself.
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Commencement approaches
This Sunday brings one of the major events of the academic year. Like pretty much everything else in our viral times, this year’s Commencement will unfold entirely online. While it will certainly be unusual, it’s shaping up to be a no-less-special close to the academic year. While it’s true that this year’s ceremonies will feature no tent, no in-person champagne toast, and sadly no opportunity to shake hands with our favorite students as they end their time at Fletcher, there will also be no worries about the weather (Fletcher field gets pretty squishy in the rain in spite of the tent) and no parking difficulties.
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Chisaki dives into wind power at the School of Engineering
One of the great pleasures of maintaining this blog is learning of various goings-on at and around Fletcher about which I otherwise would never have known. Current MA student Chisaki recently provided me with a good example. As a one-year degree student, Chisaki’s time at Fletcher has gone quickly. As you’ll see, she’s taken advantage of it with a unique cross-registration opportunity with the School of Engineering. Cross-registration with partner institutions (which include all Tufts and Harvard grad schools) vastly expands curricular options for students, particularly in certain technical subject areas that may not be available in great depth in the Fletcher curriculum. For Chisaki, that’s meant digging into offshore wind energy.
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Leir Institute joins the OSCE Network
A quick note today about some neat breaking news that found its way to me recently: The Leir Institute, Fletcher’s research center specializing in human security, has been accepted as a member of the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions.
Read MoreCapstone haikus are here!
Another personal-favorite annual Fletcher tradition has gotten underway! Capstone haikus are particularly fun for being so organic. There’s no Fletcher Capstone Haiku Club (to my knowledge), no formal coordinating structure, no due date, and no real rules. Some debate on that last point, to be honest; one current student’s three-stanza initial call to verse (kicking off the below list) got submissions flowing on the Social List recently, and also started a discussion on the “proper” form and spirit of haiku. As you’ll see from the final entry listed here, some take issue with the branding of these entries as “haiku” in the traditional sense. In typical Social List fashion, others quickly responded with rebuttals, and lengthy disquisitions (including supporting links) on why a “traditional” haiku in fact encapsulates a much broader form and sensibility than a rigid 5-7-5 syllable format with an emphasis on nature.
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