Admiral Watkins Receives Presidential Citizens Medal
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Ocean Leader is Recognized for Lifetime of Exemplary Work
WASHINGTON – Today Admiral James D. Watkins (U.S. Navy retired) was honored by President George W. Bush with the Presidential Citizens Medal. The Presidential Citizens medal is awarded by the President of the United States in recognition of U.S. citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for our nation.
“The Consortium for Ocean Leadership congratulates Admiral Watkins on this prestigious award, not just his extensive work on ocean issues, but his distinguished career in public service,” said Robert B. Gagosian, president & CEO of Ocean Leadership. “Admiral Watkins is a visionary icon for the ocean community having successfully brought together a wide variety of stakeholders to develop a blueprint for not only protecting the ocean, but most importantly how it works.”
Admiral Watkins is the former Chief of Naval Operations during the Reagan Administration (1982-1986) and also served as U.S. Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush Administration and chaired the U.S. government commission on HIV/AIDS (1987-1988).
Along with his service and 37-year career in the U.S. Navy, Admiral Watkins is best known in the ocean community for his work leading the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy from 2001 to 2004. The Commission began its work in September 2001 with a series of nine regional meetings and 18 additional site visits in every coastal region of the U.S. and the Great Lakes. The Commission heard testimony from over 400 experts, including many of the nations top ocean scientists and researchers, environmental organizations, industry, citizens, and government officials. In September 2004, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy submitted its Final Report to the President and Congress, “An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century”.
The Medal was established on November 13, 1969, by Executive Order 11494.
“I could not think of a more deserving recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal,” said Shirley Pomponi, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors at Ocean Leadership. “The oceanographic community is fortunate to call Admiral Watkins one of our own as he has served our nation with honor and inspired us all to be better stewards of our planet.”
Watkins has also served on the boards of various companies and other nongovernmental organizations. Currently, Admiral Watkins serves as the co-chair of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.
The Consortium for Ocean Leadership is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that was formed in 2007 from the merger of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE) and the Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI). Admiral Watkins is a former president of both JOI and CORE. Ocean Leadership represents 94 of the leading public and private ocean research and education institutions, aquaria and industry with the mission to advance research, education and sound ocean policy. The organization also manages ocean research and education programs in areas of scientific ocean drilling, ocean observing, ocean exploration, and ocean partnerships.
