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5:00 a.m., March 18, 2003--One of America’s most respected leaders and a key player in international peace efforts, George J. Mitchell will deliver the address at the University of Delaware’s 154th Commencement, where he will receive an honorary degree.
The free public ceremony, which will be held outdoors rain or shine, will begin at 9 a.m., Saturday, May 31, in Delaware Stadium.
“Sen. George Mitchell will bring our graduates and their families the distinctive perspective of an individual whose leadership has had an impact on both our nation and our world,” Sharon H. Dorr, director of the Office of Alumni and University Relations, said in making the announcement. “As a man known for his intelligence, commitment and principles, he promises to give the Class of 2003 a thought-provoking and interesting talk.”
Appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1980 to complete the term of Sen. Edmund S. Muskie when he became secretary of state, Mitchell was elected to a full term in 1982 and had an illustrious career in the Senate until he left in 1995. Highly regarded by senators of both parties, he was voted “the most respected member” of the Senate by a bipartisan group of senior congressional aides for six consecutive years.
In the Senate, Mitchell served on the Finance, Veterans Affairs and Environment and Public Works committees. He led the successful 1990 reauthorization of the Clean Air Act and was the author of the first national oil spill prevention and clean-up law. He led the Senate to passage of the nation's first child-care bill and was principal author of the low-income housing tax credit program. He also was instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and his efforts led to the passage of a higher education bill that expanded opportunities for millions of Americans. Mitchell was a leader in opening markets to trade and led the Senate to ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement and creation of the World Trade Organization.
After leaving the Senate, Mitchell was asked by the British and Irish governments to chair peace negotiations in Northern Ireland, and, under his leadership, an historic accord, ending decades of conflict, was agreed to by the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom and the political parties of Northern Ireland. In May 1998, the agreement was overwhelmingly endorsed by the voters of Ireland–North and South–in a referendum.
For his service there, he received numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor the U.S. government awards; the Philadelphia Liberty Medal; the Truman Institute Peace Prize; the German (Hesse) Peace Prize; and the United Nations (UNESCO) Peace Prize.
The U.S.-Ireland Alliance created the Mitchell Scholarship Program in his honor for young people who have shown academic distinction, commitment to service and potential for leadership. In 2001, UD alumnus Matthew Huenerfauth, then a senior, received one of the prestigious scholarships for graduate study at the University College of Dublin in Ireland.
At the request of President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Chairman Yasser Arafat, Mitchell chaired an international fact-finding committee on violence in the Middle East. The committee’s recommendation, widely known as The Mitchell Report, was endorsed by the Bush administration, the European Union and by many other governments.
Mitchell is author or coauthor of four books. With his colleague, Sen. Bill Cohen of Maine, he wrote Men of Zeal, describing the Iran-Contra investigation. In 1990, he authored World on Fire, about the threat of the greenhouse effect and how to curb it. In 1997, he published Not For America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and The Fall of Communism, and in 1999, he wrote Making Peace, an account of his experience in Northern Ireland.
Mitchell serves as chancellor of the Queen’s University of Belfast and as president of the Economic Club of Washington. He has chaired the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of crises in international affairs; the Special Commission investigating allegations of impropriety in the bidding process for the Olympic games; and the National Health Care Commission.
In 1995, Mitchell joined the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand, now part of Piper Rudnick. He also serves as a director of the Walt Disney Co., Federal Express, Staples Inc. and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
A graduate of Bowdoin College with a degree in history, he earned his law degree at the Georgetown University Law Center. He served in Berlin, Germany, as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps from 1954-56. Before joining the Senate, he was a trial lawyer in the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., executive assistant to Sen. Muskie, U.S. attorney for Maine and U.S. district judge for Maine.
Information on the University’s Spring Commencement and Convocation activities will be mailed to degree candidates and their families in late March. For additional information, visit the web site at [www.udel.edu/commencement] or contact the Office of Alumni and University Relations at (302) 831-8741 or via [AlumNet@udel.edu].
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