Kelly Sims Gallagher will serve as the 15th dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the university announced on Thursday, over a year after appointing her interim dean in July 2023. An expert in climate policy who has taught at Fletcher since 2009, Gallagher said she plans to grow the school’s financial position, increase extracurricular opportunities for students and explore new approaches to how Fletcher addresses global challenges. Her appointment as dean is effective Sept. 1.
“[Gallagher’s] leadership as Dean ad interim since July 2023 has … shown her ability to guide Fletcher into a position of strength and excellence, and we look forward to her new term as dean,” University President Sunil Kumar and Provost and Senior Vice President Caroline Genco wrote in a message to Tufts community on Aug. 28.
After graduating from Fletcher in 2003 with a doctorate in international environment and resource policy, Gallagher spent six years as the director of energy technology innovation policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. From 2014 to 2015, she worked for the Obama administration as a senior policy advisor in the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Gallagher joined Fletcher faculty in 2009 as a professor of energy and environmental policy and served as academic dean from 2020 to 2023. In 2016, she founded and became director of Tufts’ Climate Policy Lab, a research institute that advises governments across the globe on climate policy.
Gallagher replaces Rachel Kyte, Fletcher’s first female dean who stepped down in July 2023 after a nearly four-year tenure.
“I’m excited to take on this role and deeply grateful for the support I’ve received along the way,” Gallagher wrote in a statement to the Daily. “The Fletcher School is known for excellence in global affairs, and being part of the vibrant and collaborative Tufts community has helped us build that reputation.”
In an interview with TuftsNow, Gallagher said her top priority as dean will be maintaining the quality of Fletcher’s programming. Fletcher has consistently ranked as one of the top graduate schools for global affairs, with Foreign Policy recently ranking it among the top 10 international relations master’s programs worldwide.
“There is so much potential ahead of us. Priority number one is delivering all our programs to the highest level of excellence,” she told TuftsNow. “That’s been a long-standing tradition at the school, which I’m committed to upholding and enhancing even further.”
To support this effort, Gallagher said she will focus on expanding Fletcher’s sources of revenue. Her appointment as dean comes as universities nationwide continue to face declining levels of graduate enrollment, presenting fiscal challenges for schools including Tufts.
“We want to grow and diversify our revenue streams to ensure Fletcher remains on a strong fiscal foundation,” Gallagher told TuftsNow. “Deepening our research enterprise, attracting philanthropy and expanding our professional education offerings will be key components of this effort.”
As dean, Gallagher said that she will prioritize increasing the amount of extracurricular activities offered to Fletcher students, which she said declined during the pandemic. She also plans to explore a new initiative that would unite Fletcher around responding to a particular global issue each year.
“In the past, we’ve seen how Fletcher can mobilize in response to global crises, and we’ll continue to do that, but I’d also like to see what we could achieve by proactively addressing bite-sized global challenges with an all-of-Fletcher approach,” she told TuftsNow.
While Gallagher will primarily focus on her responsibilities as dean, she said that she will continue to teach and do research in a limited capacity, noting that she hopes to continue directly engaging with students.
“If you’re considering grad school, this is a place where you can be part of something truly impactful,” Gallagher wrote to the Daily. “Together, we’ll keep pushing boundaries, finding new solutions, and making a difference in the world.”
