David Wellman (left), director of The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy, and Geoff Wiseman, professor and endowed chair in applied diplomacy. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)Established in 2019, DePaul’s
Grace School of Applied Diplomacy has quickly developed a global reputation as a leader in transprofessional diplomatic research and teaching. Now, The Grace School is joining an elite group of diplomatic educational leaders as a new member of
The International Forum on Diplomatic Training.
The IFDT brings together deans and directors of some 60 diplomatic academies and institutes around the world who provide diplomatic training and education. IFDT is open to both diplomatic academies, which are linked to a country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that train official diplomats, and university-based centers of international relations and diplomacy, such as The Grace School. The forum began in 1972 in response to the proliferation of new states that were formed during decolonization across Africa and Asia.
“Admission to the IFDT is a wonderful step in the evolution of The Grace School and a clear indication of how we are coming to be perceived globally,” says Director
David Wellman. “Our school is focused on creating a space for scholars and practitioners of diplomacy to exchange and learn from each other. Being part of IFDT is a fabulous way of amplifying that goal,” Wellman adds.
The Grace School becomes just the fourth U.S. member of IFDT after Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and the Department of State’s training academy, the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. Other North American member institutions are in Canada, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico and Nicaragua.
Now in its fourth year, The Grace School has nearly 100 enrolled students among its major, minor and master’s programs. The school’s first graduating class in 2022 earned degrees across diverse disciplines, including urban diplomacy, diplomacy and international relations, and NGOs and peacebuilding. Alumni have gone on to join PhD programs, enroll in law school, pursue careers at the United Nations, and work at Chicago organizations, such as the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Chinese American Service League’s Anti-Hate Action Center.
“Joining IFDT gives The Grace School a new network that’s transnational. Membership allows us to track key developments in diplomatic training and education in all regions of the world,” says
Geoff Wiseman, professor and endowed chair in applied diplomacy. “We are the first U.S. institution away from the East Coast to join. The concept of transprofessional diplomacy, which welcomes NGOs and other non-state actors to join the diplomatic conversation and efforts alongside state diplomats, will bring a unique perspective to the forum.”
Wiseman joined DePaul in 2021 and is a former Australian diplomat who served in Stockholm, Hanoi, Vietnam, and in Brussels, and as advisor to the Australian Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans. He has also worked in the Strategic Planning Unit of the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General and as peace and security program officer at the Ford Foundation.
Benefits of being an IFDT member
Annual meetings of IFDT members center around discussions of issues of modern diplomacy and trends in diplomatic education. Co-chairs of the organization are former Austrian Ambassador Emil Brix, the current director of the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, and former U.S. Ambassador Barbara Bodine, the current director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown.
Recent conferences have been held in New Delhi, India; Geneva, Switzerland; Washington, D.C.; Santiago, Chile; Canberra, Australia; and Warsaw, Poland. Future conferences are slated for Bangkok, Thailand; Podgorica, Montenegro; and Lima, Peru.
Wellman believes joining IFDT will provide benefits to Grace School students as well.
“Our students will come to know of worldwide conversations — taking place in the IFDT bridge that connects the Global North and the Global South — about how to make an inclusive, sustainable and resilient world,” Wellman says.
Wiseman agrees. “David and I will be able to attend conferences and communicate with other diplomatic academies and institutes around the world and bring that knowledge of what they are teaching and training back to our students.”
Russell Dorn is a manager of news and integrated content in University Communications.