Contact: Maridith Geuder
Frank E. "Smith" Lilley Jr.
Joining 11 other students in the nation, Mississippi State University senior Frank E. "Smith" Lilley Jr. of Clinton will spend the next year as a George J. Mitchell Scholar in international studies.
Named for the former U.S. senator from Maine who played a leadership role in the Northern Ireland peace process, the highly competitive scholarships allow academically talented students to conduct post-graduate studies in Ireland. Following graduation in May, Lilley will enroll in the international studies program at the University of Limerick.
Other students selected this year are graduating from Princeton, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Indiana, Loyola, and Furman universities, as well as the universities of Virginia, Florida and Minnesota. They were among nearly 250 initial applicants.
Because the Mitchell scholarships are limited to only a dozen students, they sometimes are regarded as among the most rigorous of several national scholarship programs, said Jack H. White, MSU Honors Program director.
"Smith Lilley is an emblem of numerous outstanding student leaders at Mississippi State," White said. "As an excellent representative of our nation, the state, and Mississippi State University and its Honors Program, Smith will be certain to contribute to, as well as benefit from, his studies at the University of Limerick."
The son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lilley and a senior political science major, Lilley is a 2000 graduate of Clinton High School, where he was valedictorian.
He entered Mississippi State as a Schillig Scholar--one of the top leadership and academic awards the university makes for four years of undergraduate study. While in Starkville, he has been active in the University Honors Program, where he has served as chair of the Honors Council and was named the Outstanding Honors Student among more than 1,000 enrolled in the program. He also is a John C. Stennis Scholar in Political Science, an academic honor named for Mississippi's former longtime senator.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Lilley is wing commander of the Air Force ROTC cadet cadre, with responsibilities for training and supervising 90 students.
"I'm a candidate for pilot training and will be commissioned as an officer following graduation," Lilley said. Whether military service or international relations, he is planning for a career that "will involve a life of public service," he added.
Lilley said the Mitchell Scholarship will enable him to explore an interest in how his future career may affect issues of peace both at home and abroad. "As a Mississippian, I want to learn how to unite my own home; and as a military officer, I want to learn how to prevent ethnic violence across the globe," he explained.
George Mitchell, who served in the United States Senate for 14 years and was senate majority leader, was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1995 as a special adviser for economic initiatives in Ireland. The 1996 Mitchell Report called for a phasing-out of guerilla weapons in Northern Ireland in addition to elections prior to the opening of peace talks.
The Mitchell Scholarship is administered by the U.S.-Ireland Alliance, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C.