Return to News & Events
For Immediate Release: January 14, 2005
Contact: Dell F. Pendergrast
Director, George J. Mitchell Scholarships
703-841-5843
dellp@us-irelandalliance.org
Swarthmore Senior Wins George J. Mitchell Scholarship
Elizabeth Anderson, a Swarthmore College senior from Saint Joseph, Mich., is among the 12 recipients nationwide for the 2005-2006 George J. Mitchell Scholarship. The first Swarthmore student ever to receive a Mitchell award, she will study for a Master's degree in ecumenics at Trinity College in Dublin.
A Christian history and theology major, Anderson already has been active on the frontiers of easing sectarian barriers and differences. She has worked with the interfaith program at Swarthmore College for four years and serves on the Diocesan Interfaith Committee for the Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania. While a student in Cairo, she helped develop a program to educate Christian expatriates about Islam and to foster dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
In the Philadelphia area, Anderson collaborated with a Muslim student to visit Episcopal churches and make presentations about Muslim-Christian understanding. She also researched interfaith relations in Denmark and the Philippines and has been a fellow with Humanity in Action, the Fund for Theological Education, and the Pew Younger Scholars Program.
Anderson is the daughter of Denise and Vernon Anderson. A graduate of Armand Hammer United World College in Montezuma, NM., she also attended Saint Joseph High School in Saint Joseph.
Launched in 1998, the Mitchell Scholarship recognizes outstanding young Americans who exhibit the highest standards of academic excellence, leadership and community service. The Scholarship, administered by the US-Ireland Alliance, a non-partisan, non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, is named in honor of the pivotal role the former U.S. Senator from Maine played in the Northern Ireland peace process. The Mitchell Scholarship program links future American leaders to the island of Ireland.
The Mitchell Scholarship program was inaugurated in 1998 with an endowment from the Government of Ireland. Other significant financial support is provided by the Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Automsoft, BD (Becton Dickinson & Company), Bombardier Aerospace (NI) Foundation, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, The Crucible Corporation, and the McDonnell Charitable Foundation. USIT, Ireland’s premier student travel organization, provides a travel stipend to each Scholar. Universities in Ireland and Northern Ireland contribute housing and tuition to the Mitchell Scholars.
