Arnold L. Mitchem
| Arnold Mitchem | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | African American |
Arnold L. Mitchem was the president and founder of the non-profit organization the Council for Opportunity in Education in Washington, DC. He currently serves as President Emeritus for the organization.
Dr. Mitchem has spent his entire career advocating for equal access to post-secondary education and success of students in the United States—which he views as an extension of the Civil Rights Movement.
He is responsible for creating minority leadership for college access issues.
He was also the founder of the concept of “first-generation” students. This better described the students he sought to assist and moved access issues beyond racial boundaries to show that access was a more widespread problem.
This concept was adopted in the re-authorization of the Higher Education Act of 1980.
Mitchem received a B.A. in History and Education from the University of Southern Colorado.
He has a Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Education from Marquette University.
Before coming to COE, he served as the director of the Educational Opportunity Program at Marquette University.
Mitchem has received honorary doctoral degrees from nine American Universities, including the University of Illinois, St. Joseph's University, DePaul University, Marquette University, CUNY-Lehman College, Saint Louis University, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Lewis University, and Marycrest College and one in Europe.
He is the only American to receive an honorary degree from the University of Liverpool.
He is the recipient of leadership and service awards for his contribution and commitment to educational opportunity for under-served students such as the Alumnus of the Year Award from Marquette University, the Academic Advancement Program Leadership Award from UCLA, and the Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education Award from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He has also had a fellowship named after him at DePaul University.
Mitchem has served on the Board and Executive Committees of many universities and organizations such as the Board of Trustees of Marquette University, the Advisory Panel of the Louisiana Board of Regents, Advisory Board of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Community College Transfer Initiative, and the Executive Committee of the European Access Network.
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