Mitchell Institute
George J. Mitchell was born into a blue-collar family on August 20, 1933, in Waterville, Maine. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1954, he served as an officer in the United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps before earning his law degree from Georgetown University in 1960. Mitchell's legal career spanned both public and private practice, including service as a U.S. Attorney for Maine and a U.S. District Court Judge.
In 1980, Senator Mitchell was appointed to the United States Senate to complete the unexpired term of Maine Senator Edmund S. Muskie, who resigned to become Secretary of State. He was elected to a full term in the Senate in 1982 and reelected in 1988. He left the Senate in 1995 as the Senate Majority Leader, a position he had held since January 1989.
Senator Mitchell also served as Chairman of the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. Under his leadership, the political parties of Northern Ireland and the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom agreed to the historic Good Friday peace accord. At the request of President Clinton, Prime Minister Barak, and Chairman Arafat, Senator Mitchell served as Chairman of the International Fact-finding Committee on Violence in the Middle East. The committee's recommendations, widely known as the Mitchell Report, were endorsed by governments around the world.
Senator Mitchell now serves on the boards of several corporations and is the Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast. He has served as Chairman of the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of crises in international affairs, as Chairman of the special commission investigating allegations of impropriety in the bidding process for the Olympic Games, as Chairman of the National Health Care Commission, and has led the investigation into reported steroid use in Major League Baseball. He is also the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
When Senator Mitchell retired from public office in 1995, he created a scholarship program for Maine high school students attending Maine colleges. In 1999, this scholarship program became the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute, an organization that now awards scholarships of up to $5,000 to graduating seniors from every public high school in Maine, every year. Since its inception, the Mitchell Institute has awarded nearly $6 million in financial assistance to more than 1,350 Maine students, while also providing ongoing personal and career support to Mitchell Scholar alumni. In addition to its scholarship programs, the Institute publishes reports intended to increase public understanding and awareness of the obstacles Maine students encounter on the road to a collegiate education, including From High School to College: Removing Barriers for Maine Students, which was released in July 2007.
When the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a $10 million grant to Maine high schools in 2002, launching the Great Maine Schools Project, the Mitchell Institute was a natural choice to be the fiscal intermediary for the grant—a role it continued to play until the Great Schools Partnership was created in July 2007. As a nonprofit supporting organization of the Mitchell Institute, the Great Schools Partnership continues to work hand-in-hand with the Mitchell Institute to increase collegiate access and life opportunities for more Maine youth.
In 1980, Senator Mitchell was appointed to the United States Senate to complete the unexpired term of Maine Senator Edmund S. Muskie, who resigned to become Secretary of State. He was elected to a full term in the Senate in 1982 and reelected in 1988. He left the Senate in 1995 as the Senate Majority Leader, a position he had held since January 1989.
Senator Mitchell also served as Chairman of the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. Under his leadership, the political parties of Northern Ireland and the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom agreed to the historic Good Friday peace accord. At the request of President Clinton, Prime Minister Barak, and Chairman Arafat, Senator Mitchell served as Chairman of the International Fact-finding Committee on Violence in the Middle East. The committee's recommendations, widely known as the Mitchell Report, were endorsed by governments around the world.
Senator Mitchell now serves on the boards of several corporations and is the Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast. He has served as Chairman of the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of crises in international affairs, as Chairman of the special commission investigating allegations of impropriety in the bidding process for the Olympic Games, as Chairman of the National Health Care Commission, and has led the investigation into reported steroid use in Major League Baseball. He is also the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
When Senator Mitchell retired from public office in 1995, he created a scholarship program for Maine high school students attending Maine colleges. In 1999, this scholarship program became the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute, an organization that now awards scholarships of up to $5,000 to graduating seniors from every public high school in Maine, every year. Since its inception, the Mitchell Institute has awarded nearly $6 million in financial assistance to more than 1,350 Maine students, while also providing ongoing personal and career support to Mitchell Scholar alumni. In addition to its scholarship programs, the Institute publishes reports intended to increase public understanding and awareness of the obstacles Maine students encounter on the road to a collegiate education, including From High School to College: Removing Barriers for Maine Students, which was released in July 2007.
When the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a $10 million grant to Maine high schools in 2002, launching the Great Maine Schools Project, the Mitchell Institute was a natural choice to be the fiscal intermediary for the grant—a role it continued to play until the Great Schools Partnership was created in July 2007. As a nonprofit supporting organization of the Mitchell Institute, the Great Schools Partnership continues to work hand-in-hand with the Mitchell Institute to increase collegiate access and life opportunities for more Maine youth.