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Political scientist, international relations expert and author Francis Fukuyama will speak at William & Mary’s 2026 Commencement ceremony as the university continues its celebration of the Year of Civic Leadership.
Fukuyama, best known for his book “The End of History and the Last Man,” currently serves as the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and as a faculty member for the institute’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. He has longstanding connections to the Alma Mater of the Nation, and visited William & Mary last fall as a guest lecturer.
Fukuyama will receive an honorary degree at the ceremony along with Frank Shatz HON ’15, a prolific journalist and Holocaust survivor who helped establish the university’s Reves Center for International Studies in 1989.
Frank Shatz HON ’15 (Courtesy photo)The Commencement ceremony begins at 6 p.m. on May 15 in Zable Stadium. Tickets are required, and the university’s clear bag policy will be in effect. The event will be streamed live online.
Launched at this year’s Charter Day ceremony, the Year of Civic Leadership affirms the university’s commitment to preparing civic leaders and celebrates its foundational role in establishing democracy in the United States. The year coincides with the semiquincentennial anniversary of America’s founding.
“We will celebrate the Class of 2026 with two thoughtful leaders who share William & Mary’s dedication to our pluralistic democracy. Dr. Fukuyama’s writings explore the foundations of political and communal life in the 21st century. Mr. Shatz’s keen eye for the impact of history in the present moment helped W&M found the Reves center, expanding our global reach,” said President Katherine A. Rowe. “Our nation’s alma mater looks forward to honoring them during this year dedicated to civic leadership.”
Francis Fukuyama
A celebrated author and intellectual, Fukuyama is known throughout the world for his work on international relations and politics. He is editor-in-chief of the online journal American Purpose, and his next book, “In the Realm of the Last Man: A Memoir,” will be published this fall. The book is a personal and intellectual memoir that intertwines his life with the last 50 years of political history, focusing on the crisis of democracy and liberalism. It bridges his early work with modern geopolitical challenges, exploring themes of identity, trust and human nature and how they apply to the 21st century landscape.
In addition to his work with the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Fukuyama is currently the director of Stanford’s Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy and a professor of political science. He is also currently a fellow of the National Academy for Public Administration and a member of the American Political Science Association and of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Fukuyama’s insights have been a valuable part of intellectual engagement at William & Mary especially through his relationship with former President Paul Verkuil and the Global Research Institute. Last fall, GRI hosted Fukuyama for a campus visit where he gave a public lecture and taught in the American Statecraft class inspired by Robert M. Gates ’65, L.H.D. ’98 and his career in public service. This class is part of a year-long cohort preparing students for careers of civic leadership.
Earlier in his career, Fukuyama was a member of the RAND Corporation’s Political Science Department and the policy planning staff of the U.S. Department of State. He also served in a number of faculty roles, including as the Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Professor of Public Policy at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University and Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies for Johns Hopkins University. He also served as a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics from 2001 to 2004.
Fukuyama has written a number of books about politics throughout his career, and his landmark 1982 work, “The End of History and the Last Man,” has appeared in more than 20 foreign editions. His other books include “The Origins of Political Order,” “Political Order and Political Decay,” “Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment” and “Liberalism and Its Discontents.”
Fukuyama received a Bachelor of Arts degree in classics from Cornell University and his doctorate in political science from Harvard. He holds honorary degrees from numerous institutions and serves on the boards for a number of organizations, including RAND Corporation, Freedom House and the Volcker Alliance.
Frank Shatz
A longtime columnist for the Virginia Gazette, Shatz has written more than 2,200 pieces for the paper on topics ranging from international politics to local affairs.
Born in a border town between Czechoslovakia and Hungary, most of his family ended up dying in concentration camps during the Holocaust. Although he was sent to a Nazi camp himself, he was able to escape and fled to Budapest. There, he joined the resistance. In 2012, he wrote a book about his experiences, titled “Reports from a Distant Place.”
Shatz and his wife, Jaroslava, immigrated to the United States in 1958 where he worked as an international journalist for the Hungarian Daily. After moving to Virginia, he began writing for the Virginia Gazette in the 1980s, and his “World Focus” column became a weekly feature in the paper until just this year, when his eyesight started to decline.
Throughout his life, he has sought to bring people together to discuss important international and other issues by hosting regular “salons” and meeting with groups from the university and community.
In 1989, Shatz and his wife persuaded philanthropist Wendy Reves to establish the Reves Center for International Studies, the hub for global engagement at the university. Thanks in large part to the work of the Reves Center, the university has expanded its impact and reputation around the world and is the top-ranked public university in the nation for study-abroad participation.
In gratitude for Shatz’s contributions, William & Mary made him an honorary alumnus in 2015.
Shatz recently celebrated his 100th birthday, and a number of people affiliated with the university wrote tributes to him and attended his birthday celebration. James City County declared his birthday to be “Frank Shatz Day” and York County made a proclamation in his honor. In her tribute, Rowe noted Shatz’s lasting impact on the university, including the Reves Center. “The Alma Mater of the Nation warmly salutes his brave and inspiring spirit at this happy centennial,” she said.
Erin Jay, Senior Associate Director of University News
