THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 59 Becoming a National Treasure ADST eventually found its home on the newly built campus, where it became a long-standing partner in supporting NFATC’s mission and initiatives. For Low, the association’s presence at NFATC offered an opportunity to “create an awareness of the history of American diplomacy” and foster “a climate of interest in [the] study of U.S. foreign policy” through the oral history collection. As ADST entered its second decade, it expanded its activities by developing new programs that documented and narrated the experiences of U.S. diplomats. In 1995 ADST inaugurated its book program as “a service to the Foreign Service,” as Low told newly hired Publishing Director Margery Boichel Thompson. Conceived to not only preserve diplomatic experiences but also encourage FSOs to write about diplomacy and help them publish their works, the program flourished under Thompson’s leadership. The ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Book Series, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, was the first to be launched. The Memoirs and Occasional Papers series soon followed, as did ADST’s own imprint, Arlington Hall Press. The ADST book program has grown into a respected source of books on diplomacy and the U.S. Foreign Service, with more than 120 titles to date, including many awardwinning publications. While the book program broadened public access to diplomatic experiences and insights, ADST continued to search for ways to reach new audiences beyond its traditional foreign affairs circles. As Low would often remark, “Diplomacy is well known for its lack of constituency.” To raise awareness of U.S. diplomatic history and illustrate how diplomacy has contributed to the nation’s development since 1776, ADST created an exhibit that narrated the story of diplomacy from its founding, highlighting the oft-overlooked role it has played in advancing U.S. interests and shaping the nation’s history. Display panels were put up at both NFATC and the National Defense University. Eventually, with the help of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation—a longtime supporter of the association— opportunities. What began largely as a volunteer effort aimed at preserving the experiences of U.S. diplomats found its first home at The George Washington University, later moving to Georgetown University. The paths between Kennedy’s vision and Parker and Low’s organization first crossed in an unlikely place—an article introducing ADST in the pages of State Magazine. As Kennedy later recalled, with his unique sense of humor and candor: “An organization started over at the Foreign Service Institute, which we hadn’t heard about before. We read about it in State Magazine, and we thought, ‘We’re two retired consular officers of no great distinction, and here was an outfit with a bunch of ambassadors running it, and they were going to do oral histories [among other programs].’ We looked at each other, thinking ‘We’re dead.’” As it turned out, Kennedy had little reason to worry. In 1988 Parker invited him to incorporate his oral history work into the association, and ADST’s Foreign Affairs Oral History Program as we know it today was born. Stu Kennedy received the 2014 Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award from the American Foreign Service Association. Read the interview with him in the September 2014 Foreign Service Journal (https://afsa.org/turning -tables-interview-stu-kennedy). The close relationship between ADST and FSI was embedded in the association’s identity from its earliest years. In 1987 the Department of State detailed its first Foreign Service officer to the organization to serve as executive director, establishing a practice that would continue uninterrupted for nearly four decades, until July 2025. ADST was also closely involved in preparations for the 1993 inauguration of NFATC. Reflecting on his first year as ADST president following his retirement as director of FSI, Low recalled: “The first year was largely taken up with preparing for the inauguration of the National Foreign Affairs Training Center. ... We [ADST] wanted to make a big splash, and I think we succeeded.” Charles “Stu” Kennedy, founder of ADST’s oral history program, interviewing the Ben Franklin statue at the NFATC campus in the early 2000s. ADST
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