Tireless public servant, you served your native state of Maine as United States Senator from 1980 until your retirement in 1995. In the Senate you served with distinction on the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Iran-Contra Affair Committee, the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, the Committee on Government Affairs, the Committee on Finance and the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

You have been state chairman of the Maine Democratic Party and you held the post of Democratic national committeeman from Maine. You accepted the post of U.S. attorney for the state of Maine in 1977 and, two years later, President Jimmy Carter appointed you U.S. district court judge. You then were appointed to complete the unexpired term of Senator Edmund Muskie--beginning what would be a fourteen-year career in the Senate.

Champion of the human spirit, you have shown us how individually and collectively we can make a difference. Your mother, Mary--a factory worker--and your father, George-- a laborer--instilled in you the value of respecting the dignity of every human being. Deep regard for all persons is a hallmark of your work in the Senate, and the effects of that work reach every element of human interaction. With fellow Senator William Cohen, you achieved authorization of the settlement of the Maine Indian land claims and you championed other important legislation and reforms for the benefit of a wide range of disenfranchised peoples, including universal health care, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Long Term Care, the Affordable Housing Act, and the Child Care and Development Act.

Esteemed peacemaker, after your retirement from the Senate, you were appointed by President Clinton to serve as Special Advisor to Northern Ireland. In November 1995, British Prime Minister John Major and Irish leader John Bruton issued a joint communique calling for the formation of an International Body to examine the decommissioning of guerilla arms in Northern Ireland and establishing a time to open all-party peace negotiations. As Chairman of that international group, you compiled a comprehensive body of information regarding the violence and political unrest in Northern Ireland. Also referred to as the Mitchell Commission, this organization interviewed a number of British and Irish political and religious leaders in an attempt to discern whether various paramilitary groups would voluntarily surrender arms as a precursor to peace negotiations. The Mitchell Report, released in January 1996, called for a phasing-out of guerilla weapons in Northern Ireland in addition to elections prior to the opening of peace talks. The report was praised by both British and Irish governments. While conflict delayed the peace process, your mission was eventually completed in April 1998 with the signing of a multilateral peace agreement. That agreement went on to be approved by public referendum.

More recently, at the request of President Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Barak and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat, you chaired an international fact-finding committee on violence in the Middle East. Your committee’s recommendation, widely known as The Mitchell Report, was endorsed by the Bush administration, the European Union and by many other governments.

Respected environmentalist, you led the Senate with important legislation, including the first major acid rain bill, reauthorization of the Clean Air Act, the superfund toxic cleanup legislation and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Your books include World on Fire, which examines the greenhouse effect and a pathway to contain it.

Citizen of the world, you have received numerous awards and accolades for your contributions to international understanding. For your service in Northern Ireland, you received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor from the U.S. Government; the Philadelphia Liberty Medal; the Truman Institute Peace Prize; and the United Nations (UNESCO) Peace Prize. For your efforts toward the Irish Peace Accord, you were also nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1998, the George J. Mitchell Scholarships were created by the United States-Ireland Alliance in recognition of your pivotal contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process. The scholarships are intended to familiarize and engage the next generation of America's leaders with the island of Ireland. These national scholarships enable American citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 to study at universities on the island of Ireland.

George Mitchell, you have served the nation and the world with an inspiring sense of duty and honor. You have upheld the public trust and advanced the common good of our global community—people both known and unknown to you--with a legacy of commitment and service. It has been said that there is a loftier ambition than to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift humankind higher. This you have done, and for this, we salute you.

And now, under the authority of the Board of Trustees of the University of Delaware, I have the pleasure and honor of conferring upon you, George J. Mitchell, the degree of Doctor of Laws and do declare you entitled to all the rights, honors and privileges to that degree appertaining throughout the world. In testimony thereof, I am pleased to present you the diploma officially signed and bearing the seal of the corporation. And it is my honor to welcome you to the distinguished body of University of Delaware alumni.