Biliana Cicin-Sain, retired director of the University of Delaware Gerard J. Mangone Center for Marine Policy and a member of the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment faculty for 29 years, passed away on Sept. 1, 2020, as a result of lung cancer.

She also served as professor of marine policy in the School of Marine Science and Policy (SMSP) of UD’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment and held a senior policy fellow appointment with the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, serving on its graduate faculty. She retired from UD in 2019.

Dr. Cicin-Sain was a world leader in the field of integrated coastal and ocean governance, and she forged international collaboration among all sectors of the international oceans community to advance the global oceans arena.

Reflections and reminiscences

Several of Dr. Cicin-Sain’s colleagues shared reminiscences:

Estella Atekwana, dean of the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, said, “When I became dean of the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, Biliana was director of the Gerard J. Mangone Center for Marine Policy, and her approach to the role—engaging students in both research and direct engagement of policymakers—helped define my understanding of this essential branch of the college. One of the strengths of CEOE throughout its past 50 years is its interdisciplinary nature, combining natural sciences, social science research and policy. Biliana showed the impact this approach can have, using UD research to influence policy at national and international levels for nearly three decades.”

Mark Moline, director of the School of Marine Science and Policy, added, “As prominent as Biliana was in providing global leadership on coastal and ocean governance, especially in areas beyond national jurisdiction and small island developing states, her focus and priority was always on her students. Over her 29-year career at UD, Biliana supervised over 65 graduate students and 30 undergraduates.  Many of these students now have leadership positions in organizations such as the World Bank, the World Meteorological Organization and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and in academic positions such as the director of ocean and coastal policy at Duke University.”

Calling Dr. Cicin-Sain a “scholar of international ocean and coastal policy [who] traveled the world over many times,” George Parsons, E.I. du Pont Professor in SMSP, said she touched many, many UD students’ lives. “She hobnobbed with world leaders and often traveled with her students, giving them an eye-opening front-row seat to real-world policymaking. She was full of life. She loved a good time. She will be missed.”

For Willett Kempton, professor in SMSP, “Biliana was a valued collaborator and co-researcher, a leading scholar on ocean and coastal management, renowned organizer of the Global Ocean Forum, networker connecting researchers with policymakers and a tireless advocate for protection of our oceans and coasts.” He added, ”Personally, I owe a debt to her for bringing me into the Marine Policy Program at CEOE, a great home for my research, including offshore wind power R&D and education programs. But most, Biliana was a warm, vivacious human being who brought fun and a caring friendship to my personal and professional life.  She will be greatly missed.”

“Biliana was one of a kind, a force of nature; she was always moving, always in a forward direction, and always to advance the ocean agenda,” said Jeremy Firestone, professor in SMSP. “She was superb at building partnerships across the globe and did much to advance the interests and voices of Small Island Developing States or SIDS, particularly their concerns related to the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise.  She warmly welcomed me on my arrival to UD in 2001 and invited me to various collaborations.  Her enthusiasm, drive and spirit will be missed by all.”

Kimberly Oremus, assistant professor in SMSP, said, “Biliana warmly welcomed me to the University of Delaware and instantly became a mentor, enthusiastically connecting me with key people and literature. Her work on international ocean policy was part of the reason I chose to come here, and there was so much more I hoped to learn from her. She’ll be deeply missed.“ 

About Biliana Cicin-Sain

Dr. Cicin-Sain was the founder and president of the Global Ocean Forum, which was mobilized in 2001 and has brought together ocean leaders from governments, nongovernmental organizations, United Nations agencies, the private sector and scientific institutions from 110 countries to promote international ocean agreements, analyze emerging policy issues and advance international consensus on unresolved ocean issues.

She served as a policy adviser to numerous organizations, including UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the World Bank and several governments, among them Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Korea and the United States. She also played a prominent role in bringing oceans issues into global climate negotiations in the context of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and into biodiversity negotiations in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Dr. Cicin-Sain held advisory appointments with various boards of the U.S. National Research Council, the International Program Office of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Ocean Policy Research Foundation in Japan, among others.

With more than 100 publications in marine policy, she was the author of the 1998 book Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management: Concepts and Practices and the 2000 book The Future of U.S. Ocean Policy: Choices for the New Century, which has been called “the ultimate guide to the emerging debate on U.S. ocean governance.”

Should we add a few more recent awards? She received the Grand Prix des Sciences de la Mer” from Prince Albert of Monaco in 2019. There are a few others in this conference bio: http://conferences.wmu.se/bbnjseminar2019/biliana-cicin-sain/

In 2010, Dr. Cicin-Sain was named the 2010 Laureate for the Elizabeth Haub Award for Environmental Diplomacy in recognition of her “outstanding contributions to the international efforts to preserve the world’s oceans and the several international agreements relating to them.” Her other honors include an honorary doctorate in maritime law from Korea Maritime University, the Elisabeth-Mann-Borgese Meerepreis of the Ministry of Science, Economics and Transport of the Land Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the Coastal Zone Foundation Award for leadership in coastal management and the Grand Prix des Sciences de la Mer from Prince Albert of Monaco in 2019.

Earlier in her career, Dr. Cicin-Sain served in two U.S. federal agencies: NOAA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She was also on the political science faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she founded and directed the school’s Ocean and Coastal Policy Center. In addition, she was a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the East-West Center in Hawaii.

Dr. Cicin-Sain was married for 18 years to Robert Knecht, who also served on the UD faculty, and they wrote several articles and books together. Prof. Knecht died in 2001.

A special website, created by Dr. Cicin-Sain’s family, features many photos, video and details of her professional and personal legacies. Friends and colleagues are invited to contribute memories and condolences there.

An event will be planned in the future to celebrate Dr. Cicin-Sain’s life, work and global leadership.