Remembering Thomas Keaney (1940–2026)

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It is with great sadness that the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute (FPI) notes the passing of Dr. Thomas Addis Keaney on April 1, 2026. Among many contributions to Johns Hopkins SAIS, Dr. Keaney served as Executive Director of the FPI from 1998 until 2007. Dr. Keaney was key to making FPI an integral part of the SAIS community, overseeing its programs, chairing its governing committee alongside successive SAIS Deans, working with the student editorial board of the SAIS Review, and moderating public forums on some of the most pressing issues of the day — from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the future of transatlantic relations. Reflecting on Dr. Keaney’s leadership of FPI when she was SAIS Dean, Jessica Einhorn wrote that it was his wisdom and commitment that made the whole exceed its excellent parts. A retired Air Force colonel, Vietnam veteran, and noted scholar of airpower, Dr. Keaney embodied FPI's mission of uniting scholarship and public affairs in the service of realistic answers to the world's hardest questions. He will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of working alongside him.

His obituary can be found here.

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