The year that John spent on a Fulbright Scholarship to India was the most intensely educational of his life. It inspired him to promote international exchange and understanding in many positions. He is especially proud of coaching 114 Fulbright recipients at Johns Hopkins University, where he was the faculty representative, for leading a contingent of scholarship advisors to advocate for Fulbright on Capitol Hill, and for his previous service on the Association Board.

John served in several deanships for a decade at Johns Hopkins, including Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs. Prior to that, he taught history at public high schools, covered a presidential election at ABC News, directed the UCLA Center for American Politics in Washington, DC., and served as policy director on a U.S. Senate campaign. Since his tenure at Hopkins, he directed international recruitment for Marks Education, led the Colonial Academic Alliance (a coalition of US universities), and served as a chief officer at International Baccalaureate.

John earned his BA in History from Yale University, and his MA and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Recipient of a Brookings Institution fellowship and the inaugural “Global Changemaker” award from the Institute of International Education, he is the author of Taking the Initiative: Leadership Agendas in Congress and the “Contract with America” and Dean’s List: 10 Strategies for College Success.

His Fulbright biography would not be complete without his late parents, William and Gretta Bader. His father was in the inaugural class of Fulbright Scholars to Germany, where he married his Pomona College classmate, Gretta. William went on to work with Senator Fulbright on the Foreign Relations Committee and to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Gretta sculpted important portraits of Senator Fulbright on display at the National Portrait Gallery and the University of Arkansas. One portrait now serves as the physical Fulbright Prize.