Extraordinary Alum
TIMOTHY J.MITCHELL ( BA ’89)
Chicago Park District General
Superintendent and CEO
Memories of Loyola: “Living in Mertz Hall freshman year, part of my ‘job’ was making sure members of the third floor made it to 10 p.m. Mass. I went back to Madonna della Strada recently and ran into Father Jerry [Overbeck]. He remembered me because I always came out with about 15 people.”
A Head Start: His second semester, Mitchell’s daily routine at Mertz changed dramatically when he was offered a job with State’s Attorney (and now Chicago Mayor) Richard Daley.
Happy Birthday: On his birthday this year, Mitchell was invited to be the U.S. world commissioner for
the international federation of parks and recreation associations.
Willing to Learn: ”Looking at how other countries do things in their parks can give us great insight. What people in Denmark are doing about flooding could be relevant to parks California, or what Australians do about drought could help us in Atlanta.”
The Olympic Bid: Mitchell has been heavily involved in the planning of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid. If the Olympics come to Chicago, 85 percent of Olympic venues will be on Chicago Park District sites. Mitchell believes that by hosting the Olympics, the city would continue a tradition of welcoming the world into its parks that began with the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.
Friendly Competition: “The Olympics are about peace and sportsmanship.”
National Treasure: The Chicago Park District has the largest municipally owned marina system of the world. Mitchell likes to remind the mayor of Miami of this fact. Mitchell marvels at New York’s Central Park, but he says the commissioner of the New York Department of Parks & Recreation marvels at Chicago’s 250 field houses.
Goals: Mitchell wants Chicago’s parks to be open, active, green, and connected: accessible to everyone, supportive of fun physical activities, environmentally friendly, and available to people in all neighborhoods.
Parks for Everyone: “The American tradition is to create great common spaces for the common citizen. Our parks evolved from that idea, especially in Chicago.”
April Specht (BS ’01)