The Honorable George J. Mitchell, former Senate majority leader and a special adviser to President Bill Clinton in Ireland, will be the 1996 Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellow at Cornell University Oct. 23 and 24.

Mitchell will present the Bartels Fellowship Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 23, in the Alice Statler Auditorium, Statler Hall at 7:30 p.m. Titled "American Foreign Policy in the Next Century: From Bosnia and Burundi to Beirut and Belfast," the lecture is free and open to the public.

Most recently, Mitchell played the role of GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole in practice sessions with Clinton before the Oct. 6 and Oct. 16 presidential debates.

In 1996, at the request of the British and Irish governments, he became the chairman of the peace talks in Northern Ireland, a position he still holds. In late 1995 and early 1996, also at the request of the British and Irish governments, he served as chairman of the International Commission on Disarmament in Northern Ireland.

Mitchell's two-day visit to Cornell is hosted by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. He will meet with students and faculty from government classes, Peace Studies and the Cornell Political Forum.

Mitchell, of Portland, Maine, was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 1982 in a stunning come-from-behind victory. After trailing in public opinion polls by 36 points, he rallied to win the election, receiving 61 percent of the votes cast. His career in the Senate spanned 12 years, and he left that body as the Senate majority leader, a position he held for five years.

Mitchell was a leader in the area of health care reform and worked with his colleagues to reach consensus on fundamental reform legislation. His work led to the enactment of nursing home standards in 1987 and evaluation of medical care outcomes in 1989. In his work on the Finance Committee, he concentrated on the Medicare program, welfare reform and tax fairness legislation.

Mitchell served on the Environment and Public Works Committee and led the successful 1990 reauthorization of the Clean Air Act, including new controls on acid rain and air toxins. He also was a major force behind the passage in 1991 of a major transportation bill that provides an important boost to the economy by creating millions of jobs, rebuilding the deteriorating infrastructure and assisting with mass transit needs.

He played a leading role in the passage of the nation's first child care bill and has been a strong supporter of affordable housing programs. He is the principal author of the low-income housing tax credit program and was instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, landmark legislation extending civil rights protections to the disabled.

His efforts in the 102nd Congress, 1991-93, led to the passage of a higher education bill that expands opportunities for millions of Americans by extending Pell Grant eligibility to more students and increasing the availability of grants and loans to middle-income families.

Mitchell enjoyed bipartisan respect during his tenure, and for six consecutive years was voted "the most respected member" of the Senate.

He is the author of two books. With his colleague, Sen. Bill Cohen of Maine, he wrote Men of Zeal, describing the Iran-Contra investigation. In 1990, Mitchell wrote his second book, World on Fire, describing the threat of the greenhouse effect and recommending steps to curb it.

Upon leaving the Senate, Mitchell joined the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand. He serves as director of the Walt Disney Co., Federal Express Corp., Xerox Corp. and Unum Insurance Corp. In addition, Senator Mitchell serves as chairman of the International Crisis Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of crises in international affairs.

The Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellowship was established at Cornell by the Bartels in 1984 to foster a broadened world perspective among students by bringing distinguished international public figures to campus. Henry and Nancy Horton Bartels are both members of the Cornell class of 1948.