An avid fisherman, throughout most of his professional life Baliles helped preserving the Chesapeake Bay. In 1995 he published "Preserving the Chesapeake Bay." In 2004 Baliles served as chair of a blue-ribbon panel to raise money for the Bay cleanup, and in 2005 the Chesapeake Bay Foundation named him conservationist of the year. He also founded the Patrick County Education Foundation and served as chairman of the Commission on the Academic Presidency and for the Task Force on the State of the Presidency in Higher Education, for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Baliles received eleven honorary degrees, including the Harry F. Byrd Public Service Award from the Virginia Military Institute in 2006.