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 have spent many happy years in an academic setting, so I was delighted to visit the campus of the Foreign Service Institute April 9 to join friends and colleagues in observing its 50th anniversary (see Cover Story). The FSI has come a long way from the townhouse on “C” Street where it was founded to the present 72-acre campus.
The FSI has grown and changed as America has grown and changed. As with other institutions established in the years immediately following World War II, FSI is developing new ways of fulfilling traditional missions and sharpening its focus in response to changing times.
It was said in the 19th century that Great Britain’s wars were won on the playing fields of Eton. I believe that American wars in the 21st century are being prevented in the classrooms of FSI. Here, the skills of modern diplomacy are taught. Here, the ability to turn the raw material of information into the finished product of American policy is developed. Here, the knowledge that will inform the peacemakers of tomorrow is conveyed. And here, America’s future Kennans, Bunches, Athertons, Newsoms and Pickerings are produced.
The challenges they will face-and that we already face-in the new era are multidimensional; the diplomatic players include not only nations, but a host of non-state actors (and actresses); and the rules of the game change with every scientific advance. There are few constants, but among them is the need for American leadership.
That is why our diplomats must be well trained, well equipped, well led, well supported and well versed in the perils and opportunities of the information age.
It is why we must all strive to create an environment within the Department, and at our overseas posts, in which excellence is rewarded, diversity is practiced and family needs are met.
It is why we must use every opportunity to tell our story to the American people, so that we have the understanding and resources we need to operate effectively on their behalf and in their name.
Madeleine K. Albright
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