2021 Benedictine Service Award

Dr. Patricia (Pat) Schmitt Mische ’61 accomplished something that heads of state couldn’t do: She successfully negotiated with Soviet stakeholders before the end of the Cold War. And Pat did it while – perhaps because – she viewed the “other party” not as others, but rather as human beings with whom she had common goals and overlapping values.

These negotiations, which centered on creating principles of cooperation on environmental concerns, are part of an astonishing list of accomplishments in Pat’s long career. She is an internationally heralded educator on peace and the environment, and is one of the true pioneers in the movement creating a global, science-based link between those two areas. Pat holds a doctorate from Columbia University, is a prolific writer and has received numerous awards for her work around the globe. She also co-founded and ran Global Education Associates (GEA) with her beloved late husband Jerry. GEA had presence in 90 countries with focus on collaborative research and education programs for the advancement of peace, social justice, human rights, democratic participation and ecological balance.

What drives Pat? The answer is strikingly simple: values. And she honed that commitment to values at Saint Ben’s. “I felt there was a heart and soul to the learning at Saint Ben’s, and that stayed with me.”