Marc J. Hershman, 1942-2008
A Short Biography
During Professor Hershman’s distinguished career he participated in numerous professional and academic associations at the international, national and regional levels, and he received numerous awards for his academic and public service achievements. After receiving his BA (1964) and JD (1967) from Temple University, and a brief stint at Louisiana State University, Professor Hershman taught coastal and ocean law, seaport management, and coastal management at the University of Washington’s School of Marine Affairs and the School of Law for over 30 years. He served as director of the School of Marine Affairs from 1993 to 2003. His courses and research emphasized the Public Trust Doctrine, public and private rights in shoreline, intertidal and submerged lands, design and implementation of coastal management laws and regulations, legal regimes for wetlands, and laws affecting management of offshore resources such as oil and gas, fisheries, marine mammals, endangered species, water quality and protected areas.
He is recognized as a leading expert and scholar on the US Coastal Zone Management Program and its implementation in 34 states and territories of the country. He participated in drafting of the Coastal Zone Management Act in 1972, in developing the initial regulations, and in studying how CZM programs affect special management areas, water quality, port development, waterfront revitalization, aquaculture, LNG and offshore energy facilities, pipelines, and SAV resources. He founded the oldest marine affairs journal in the world—Coastal Management—in 1972 and remained its Editor-in-Chief through 2007. He led a group of colleagues in a comprehensive evaluation of the successes and failures of the national CZM program
Professor Hershman’s interest in marine transportation and port management led him his edit a book on Urban Ports and Harbor Management in 1988. His special interest in maritime history lead him to co-author a book on the history of Seattle’s Elliott Bay waterfront. His interest in public education led to a 20-year effort to develop the “Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center” on Seattle’s central waterfront which houses 30,000 sq ft of exhibits, public programs, and artistic events featuring the use and conservation of the region’s coastal and marine resources. He has written extensively on the need for a renewed ocean policy for the United States and was appointed to the US Commission on Ocean Policy in 2001 by President Bush. Professor Hershman completed three years of service as a member on the Commission which recommended broad policies for managing U.S. coastal and ocean areas. He was also an active member of the Ocean Governance Study Group, an alliance of marine policy leaders at academic institutions across the United States. During 2005-2007, Hershman was involved in the Washington State Governor’s Project on Ocean Governance. Professor Hershman, as the UW representative, was active in the development of the GU8 Consortium of Universities, an international organization interested in marine affairs, global trade, marine transportation and logistics. His contributions to the field of marine and coastal policy have been invaluable to the country and to the ocean and coastal communities of the world.
Tributes to Marc J. Hershman
- Senator Patty Murray (pdf)
- Governor Christine Gregoir, State of Washington (pdf)
- Prof. Dan Huppert, Acting Director, School of Marine Affairs, UW (Word)
- Prof. Tom Leschine, Director, School of Marine Affiars, UW (Word)
- Prof. Edward Miles, Virginia and Prentice Bloedel Professor of Marine Affairs and Evans School for Public Affairs, UW (Word)
- Mr. Robert Goodwin, Coastal Resources Specialist (retired), Washington Sea Grant Program and former Affiliate Associate Professor, Marine Affairs, UW (Word)
- Ms. Katrina Hoffman, Alum, School of Marine Affairs, former graduate student & teaching assistant to Prof. Hershman (Word)
- Mr. John Hansen, Alum, School of Marine Affairs, former graduate student and research assistant to Prof. Hershman, now Environmental Planner, Aquatics Resources Division, Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources (Word)
- Mr. William D. Ruckelshaus, Strategic Director, Madrona Venture Partners (pdf)
- Dr. Robert Carothers, President, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island (pdf)
- Dr. Judy Kildow, Director, The National Ocean Economics Program, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Inst. (Word)
- Xiamen University, Coastal and Ocean Management Institute (COMI), China:
- Mr. Paul Ticco, Past President, The Coastal Society (TCS) (Word)
- Press Coverage
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