The Senator George J. Mitchell Center has a diverse interdisciplinary mission focusing on sustainability science research, graduate education and outreach. In all these activities, the Mitchell Center is working to provide Maine’s citizens and policy-makers with unbiased and credible information that can enhance efforts to achieve healthy ecosystems, strong communities, and robust economies. We are committed to forming productive partnerships with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to increase the relevance and utility of our programs.
The Mitchell Center is the home of Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative as well as Maine’s congressionally-authorized Water Resources Research Institute. We continue to build on our reputation by promoting interdisciplinary research with faculty here at UMaine and at other institutions of higher learning statewide, with federal and state agencies, and with other research collaborators both regionally and nationally. The solution to many challenging sustainability problems requires an understanding of human-environment interactions as well as ecological systems. Thus, in addition to our collaboration with environmental scientists and engineers, we also work in research partnerships with experts in economics, sociology, education, business, public policy, law, and other disciplines.