Ms. Colleen J. Quint, Executive Director of the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute, will speak on “The Mitchell Institute and Higher Education in Aroostook County” at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s next Business Breakfast, to be held at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30 in the UMPI Campus Center.
The Mitchell Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Senator George Mitchell to provide scholarship assistance to Maine students, and to research means of removing obstacles to higher education. Each year the Mitchell Institute awards a $5,000 scholarship to a graduating senior from every public high school in Maine.
Mitchell Scholars also have access to a variety of support programs, and participate in a longitudinal study that examines their college experiences and the outcomes of their education. As part of this study, the Mitchell Institute is conducting research to gauge the effectiveness of its scholarship and support programs. The Institute’s research program also includes broader studies on barriers to college, with a focus on developing practical tools for addressing those barriers. Ultimately, the Mitchell Institute hopes to develop national models for effective scholarship programs and for improving access to college.
Prior to her work with the Mitchell Institute, Ms. Quint spent 10 years as an education attorney, working with high schools and colleges across the country on a wide variety of policy issues. She has been a frequent speaker at state, regional and national meetings, and recently concluded a term as President of the National Scholarship Providers Association. Ms. Quint also spent two years in the Maine Attorney General’s office working on consumer protection and antitrust cases. Before going to law school, she served as editor for Western Europe and Great Britain at The Christian Science Monitor.
Ms. Quint grew up in Portland and now lives in Minot. She holds a B.A. from Bates College and a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law.
The cost of the breakfast is $8 per person and the deadline to register is Oct. 26. For more information or to register, call 768-9755.