The following story originally appeared on the website for W&M’s Batten School & VIMS. – Ed.

The Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS announced on Sept. 8 the launch of the Blue Horizons Visiting Fellows Program, an endowed initiative commencing in fall 2025 with former Secretary of State John F. Kerry as the inaugural Blue Horizons Fellow.

“Through Blue Horizons, we will bring recognized thinkers and leaders from across disciplines and vocations to spark ideas, foster dialogue and inspire the next generation of problem solvers,” said Batten School & VIMS Dean & Director Derek Aday. “I am delighted to welcome John Kerry as our first visiting Fellow. His significant expertise at the nexus of science and policy is of great interest to our community of doers, who are working to develop solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing coastal communities and marine systems.”

By many standards, scientific advances have made this the best time in human history to be alive. Disease burden is low, life expectancy is high, and we are more connected than ever before. Yet, pressures on coastal societies and marine habitats are rapidly increasing. Kerry will address this and more in his upcoming Fireside Chat on Oct. 15, which is also a signature event for William & Mary’s Year of the Environment programming. The Year of the Environment, led by Aday, celebrates William & Mary’s commitment to safeguarding the environment and the communities that depend on its health and resilience.

Tickets to the event will be distributed through a lottery, which closes on Oct. 1.

Kerry recalls enthusiastically accepting the invitation to serve as the inaugural Blue Horizons Fellow, explaining “I have been passionate about the oceans since I was a child – and long before I learned that the world’s oceans generate more than half the oxygen we breathe, and half the food we eat. Our oceans feed billions, support coastal communities and regulate global temperatures. These precious resources need non-partisan science and solutions more than ever and I’m excited to be part of the conversation with the experts at the Batten School & VIMS.”

About the Blue Horizons Visiting Fellows Program

Made possible through the generous support of philanthropist Jane Batten HON ’17, L.H.D. ’19, Blue Horizons Fellows will visit the Batten School & VIMS each year to participate in advancing the institute’s science for solutions. All fellows will deliver a public talk and participate in programming including discussions with scientists, students and practitioners.

About John F. Kerry

Kerry served as the United States’ 68th secretary of state from 2013 to 2017. As America’s top diplomat, he guided the department’s strategy on nuclear nonproliferation, combating radical extremism and the threat of climate change. His tenure was marked by the successful negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Agreement.

On Jan. 20, 2021, he was sworn in as the nation’s inaugural special presidential envoy for climate and the first-ever principal to sit on the National Security Council entirely dedicated to climate change. U.S. President Joe Biden announced Kerry would have a seat at every table around the world as he combats the climate crisis to meet the existential threat that we face.

From 1985 to 2013, he served as a U.S. senator representing Massachusetts and was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2009 to 2013.

Kerry served in the U.S. Navy, completing two combat tours of duty in Vietnam for which he received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V and three Purple Hearts. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his law degree from Boston College Law School.

Kerry is the best-selling author of “A Call to Service, This Moment on Earth,” with his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry, and his 2018 memoir, “Every Day Is Extra,” which The New York Times described as “a bittersweet reminder of what the country once demanded of its leaders.”

Kerry was the Democratic Party’s nominee for president of the United States in 2004. On May 3, 2024, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his lifeline commitment to public service.