Scott Fletcher, Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Counseling, Announces Retirement
Throughout Dean Fletcher’s nearly two-decades of leadership, his primary focus has been on supporting the graduate school’s fundamental mission of social justice and championing the work of its faculty, staff, and students in order to expand the school’s impact and service to the community.
After 17 years, Scott Fletcher, Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Counseling, is retiring. Throughout Fletcher’s nearly two-decades of leadership, his primary focus has been on supporting the graduate school’s fundamental mission of social justice and championing the work of its faculty, staff, and students in order to expand the school’s impact and service to the community.
When asked what drew him to the graduate school 17 years ago, Fletcher answers without hesitation: “The people and the mission.” He is decidedly clear that his role as dean was never to promote an agenda of his own accomplishments, but rather to support the extraordinary work that was already underway at the Graduate School, which could be expanded with new leadership.
“As early as my first on-campus interview, I met members of the graduate school community—faculty, students, and staff—who were so clearly dedicated to the graduate school’s mission and whose work was actively making a difference in our society,” reflects Fletcher. “I knew this would be a place where I could make an impact, and do it by committing to tirelessly supporting what was already thriving within this school.”
Describing his leadership style as focused on expanding the positive impact of the community’s collective work, there is no question that the graduate school’s current identity reflects that. One of the earliest, and most substantial, expansions during his tenure came in 2012 with the opening of the Community Counseling Center. This new facility, located off-campus on Barbur Boulevard, was easily accessible to the Portland community and established a location for counseling and therapy students to offer low-cost services to clients while receiving cutting edge supervision as they developed their skills.
As the need for accessible mental health care continued to grow, so did the Counseling Center, with the last of three renovations just completed in 2023. The Community Counseling Center now serves over 600 clients a year with over 50% of them identifying as BIPOC, includes over 16 treatment rooms, an art therapy studio where art therapy students have begun offering services for the first time, and state-of-the-art telehealth capabilities that have enabled services to be provided throughout the entire state of Oregon. In 2024, the Counseling Center also began offering trans-competent mental health services through its burgeoning trans and nonbinary counseling program, again addressing a critical need in the community.
“During his 17-year tenure Dean Fletcher has overseen a time of tremendous growth at the graduate school,” says Robin H. Holmes-Sullivan, President of Lewis & Clark. “His mission-centered leadership has not only resulted in the creation of vital new programs, but also deepened the school’s commitment to social justice, equity, and access.”
Growth has continued at a steady pace, visible both in the academic programs at the graduate school and within the graduate campus itself. Innovative new programs were developed, aimed at increasing access and responding to our society’s changing landscape. A masters program and a doctoral program in Higher Education Student Affairs opened doors for students interested in changing the narrative about who higher education is meant to serve; a part-time elementary teaching program and hybrid school psychology program empowered working professionals and those serving rural communities to pursue a degree that previously remained out of reach; and the acquisition of an art therapy program introduced an entirely new discipline to the already-thriving counseling department. The Teacher Pathways Program soon began connecting Lewis & Clark undergraduates interested in becoming K-12 teachers to the graduate school for mentorship and early field experience, blossoming into a program with over 100 members and its own Living and Learning Community. And the TransActive Gender Project came on board, bringing with it resources to support trans and nonbinary youth in our community.
“Dean Fletcher’s vision and support for faculty, staff, and students have been integral to the school’s many successes over the past decades,” says Holmes-Sullivan. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Graduate School’s physical growth has been unmistakable as well. A gorgeous outdoor space now links the primary buildings of the graduate campus to one another and anchors the pedestrian spine of Lewis & Clark at its southernmost end. Dubbed the Graduate Commons, this gathering space welcomes students, faculty, and staff from all three schools to bask in the sun, move class outside, and connect with friends and colleagues amongst picturesque beauty.
Corbett House, the graduate school’s most storied and long-vacant building, was renovated and reopened for classroom use in 2022, and York Graduate Center underwent a successful overhaul to add new classrooms, Food for Thought Cafe, and a commons area. Expanded parking—both for cars and bicycles—stretched the edges of the grad school’s footprint, and new HVAC and roofing now keeps our interior spaces climate controlled and comfortable.
Another significant point of pride is the dramatic increase in scholarships that are now available for graduate students. Thanks to two large grants from the Oregon Health Authority, $1.5 million in scholarship money was awarded to counseling and therapy students in 2023 and 2024 alone, with many of the students receiving awards that covered their tuition in full. Endowed scholarship funding for graduate students has also significantly increased, with new donors understanding the staggering need for qualified mental health and education professionals, and recognizing the leading edge programming that graduate school faculty have developed to address it.
“Being awarded these grants and endowment gifts is a testament to the excellence of our faculty and to the importance of the work that is taking place within their programs,” says Fletcher. “By decreasing financial barriers, we are able to recruit an increasingly diverse student body that is representative of the communities we strive to serve.”
“The quality of the graduate school’s educational programs is widely-recognized,” confirms Holmes-Sullivan. “I am deeply proud of its continued work to reach marginalized populations with critical services and to diversify the educational and mental health services workforces.”
“I feel deep appreciation for my colleagues across the institution—graduate school faculty and staff, the president and executive council, and friends all across campus—we’ve weathered some serious challenges and come out stronger. I will always treasure these relationships and they are an invaluable part of what I will take from my experience here.”
Fletcher will continue to serve as Graduate School Dean through August 2025. A national search will take place to identify his successor, beginning in late 2024.
