By Anna Linvill
On Thursday, September 5th, 2024, the Duke Rethinking Diplomacy Program (RDP) welcomed the Honorable Monica Medina, Arnhold Distinguished Fellow with Conservation International, to Duke University to deliver the 2024 Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. Lecture in International Studies. This year’s Biddle Lecture was focused on the present and future of diplomatic efforts towards global sustainability. As Duke celebrates its centennial, the Duke Climate Commitment and its robust support for research into scientific and policy solutions to global sustainability challenges are more important than ever.
Ms. Medina’s visit to Duke began with a tour of the Duke Lemur Center organized by Dr. Erin Ehmke, Director of Research at the Center, who explained the reason we study lemurs at Duke and why it is important to ensure the long-term survival of this endangered species. Lemurs are a unique species of primate that became isolated from mainland Africa on the island of Madagascar approximately 50 million years ago. Because they were isolated, their evolution into more than 125 recorded species provides “a unique opportunity to study the evolutionary, ecological, and anthropogenic processes that can shape biodiversity itself”. Human and lemur genetic code is very similar, and we share many of the same diseases, susceptibilities, and health concerns. Studying lemurs could potentially help us understand and find treatments for human disease and illness.
Following the visit to the Lemur Center, Medina attended a luncheon at the Sanford School of Public Policy with students from across the university and from the Duke Marine Lab where she answered student questions and shared insights gleaned from a long career in environmental law, policy, philanthropy, media, and advocacy. Dr. John Virdin noted in comments during the meeting that it is unusual for students and professors working on environmental issues and advocacy to “cross the street” to attend lectures on law, medicine, national security and public policy, but Ms. Medina has been involved in negotiating many important international agreements on climate, biodiversity, oceans, and pollution over the past three decades, many of which have huge implications for not only the environment and biodiversity, but for global health, the global economy and global security. Medina’s public service career is rather unique in that it has joined these seemingly disparate strands together.
After attending Georgetown University on an Army R.O.T.C. scholarship, and earning her J.D. at Columbia, Monica Medina began her legal career on active duty in the Honor’s Program of the Army General Counsel’s office. She served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (2012-2013); as the Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2009-2012) and as the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and the first U.S. Special Envoy for Biodiversity and Water Resources at the U.S. State Department (2021-2023). For her service in the Army, Ms. Medina was awarded an Army Commendation Medal in 1989, and a Meritorious Service Medal in 1990. In 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta awarded Ms. Medina the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, its highest civilian honor. Ms. Medina is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Observing her interactions with students throughout the day, it was obvious that teaching and mentoring future diplomats and policy makers is a priority for Medina. She has also been a stalwart advocate of female equality, and was a vocal supporter of changes to Department of Defense policy which now allows females to serve in combat roles. Prior to accepting the Arnhold Fellowship, she served as the first woman President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society (2023-2024) and as an adjunct professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University (2015-2021).
As someone interested in working on environmental cooperation and diplomacy, I was so excited to hear Monica Medina come to speak. Her wisdom as a lifelong civil servant and decision maker brought forth impressive lessons on cross-disciplinary leadership. I am really grateful Rethinking Diplomacy is prioritising conversations such as this year’s Biddle lecture because it helps bring classroom readings and discussions to life. Moving forward, I hope to leverage some of the themes raised by Assistant Secretary Medina in my own career and tie this back to my passion of advancing a just, equitable environment for marginalized communities in the Global South.
– B. Eni Owoeye, MPP Candidate | Duke Sanford School of Public Policy
Following the luncheon, Medina met with the Dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy, Prof. Manoj Mohanan.
At five o’clock that evening, to a standing-room only audience of students, faculty, and community members including retired ambassadors, Monica Medina delivered the 2024 Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. Lecture in International Studies, entitled, “A New Foreign Policy Paradigm for the Sustainable Future of People and the Planet.”
The Biddle Lecture was established by Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans and James H. Semans and their family to honor Mrs. Semans’ father, Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr., who had a distinguished career as a diplomat in the service of the United States and was an original signer of the Duke Endowment. The lecture symbolizes Duke University’s continuing commitment to promoting international understanding.
“We are delighted that this year’s lecture, the fifth I have organized, is very timely in terms of topics and Duke institutional initiatives. The subject is very much in line with Duke Climate Commitment and since Ambassador Anthony J. Drexel Biddle was an original signer of the Duke Endowment, with Duke Centennial celebrations” said Duke faculty and Director of the Rethinking Diplomacy program, Giovanni Zanalda.
Ambassador Biddle’s granddaughter and former Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Duke Endowment, Ms. Mary Duke Biddle Trent Jones, shared the history of the Biddle Lecture and fond memories of her grandfather’s life and career as a diplomat in the service of the United States.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Director General of the U.S. Foreign Service and currently Senior Fellow in the Duke Rethinking Diplomacy Program, Ambassador (ret.) W. Robert Pearson, acted a host and moderator of the discussion, praising Medina in his opening remarks as “someone whose whole life has been a pioneering venture for women’s roles in society, for science’s roles in policy, and for diplomacy’s roles in bringing us a safe and sustainable global society for future generations.”
During her talk, Medina advocated in favor of regionally and locally adaptable frameworks and agreements rather than treaties, which apply one-size-fits-all solutions that are often tuned to meet the lowest achievable goals. She explained that frameworks and agreements are more flexible than treaties, and can be adapted to each nation’s particular challenges and circumstances, creating a race to the top as nations set their own benchmarks and paths towards reaching the agreed upon goals. They also take effect immediately, whereas treaties can take decades to come into force.
“We need a new, more flexible paradigm for international cooperation on the quadruple planetary crises. One that can start now. One that is pragmatic and in which progress is made using tools and institutions that are fit for purpose.”
Medina did not avoid discussing the disappointments and challenges of reaching global sustainability goals, but she ended the lecture on a positive note, with a reminder that when there are setbacks, all is not lost.
“I know that under an agreement mechanism, countries can withdraw – like the U.S. did with the Paris Accords. Or simply stop participating. But they can also start again just as easily. And I believe on these environmentally existential challenges, public pressure and public demand – demand from the developing countries that are so greatly impacted – will keep national governments engaged – but also gives civil society, corporations, and provincial and city governments meaningful roles.“
During the Q&A session and discussion following Ms. Medina’s remarks, there was strong participation from both undergraduate and graduate students who asked tough, probing questions. A freshmen only a couple of weeks into his first semester impressed everyone with a policy question about the connection between ocean diplomacy and space diplomacy, which garnered audible gasps of impressed surprise from the audience.
Reflecting on her visit to Duke, Medina remarked that her conversations with students at Duke throughout her visit left her feeling extremely optimistic about the future of diplomacy and the next generation of diplomats, many of whom, she predicted, will be Duke alumni.
The lecture series is made possible by the Anthony J. Drexel Biddle Lectureship Endowment and by the Mary Trent Jones-Sarah Trent Harris-Rebecca Trent Kirkland Endowment. A list of previous speakers can be viewed at Biddle Lecture Archives.
You can read more about the 2024 Biddle Lecture on Duke Today or watch the video on our YouTube channel
A special thanks to Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy; the Program in American Grand Strategy; the Office of Global Affairs; the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, and the Ocean Diplomacy Working Group for promoting the 2024 Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. Lecture in International Studies; and to Anna Linvill for organizing Ms. Medina’s visit.
The Duke Rethinking Diplomacy Program is grateful for the longstanding support of the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation.
This event is in alignment with the Duke Climate Commitment
