Timothy Perry Shriver (born August 29, 1959) is an American disability rights activist, film producer, and former educator who has been Chairman of

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...

since 1996 and is the founder of UNITE. He is a member of the

Kennedy family The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy beca ...

as the third child of

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver (July 10, 1921 – August 11, 2009) was an American philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family. She was the founder of the Special Olympics, a sports organization for persons with physical and intellectual disa ...

(who founded the Special Olympics), and

Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family. Shriver was the driving force behind the creatio ...

, who helped found the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John ...

Early life and education

Timothy Shriver was born in

St. Elizabeth's Hospital St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast, Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health. It opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for the Insane, the first federally oper ...

in Boston, Massachusetts to

, a former

United States Ambassador to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations we ...

and the Democratic Party's vice-presidential candidate in 1972, and

, the founder of

. He was raised as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

along with his siblings,

Bobby Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver III (born April 28, 1954) is an American activist, attorney, and journalist. He was a member of the Santa Monica City Council from 2004 to 2012, serving as mayor pro tem in 2006 and as mayor during part of 2010. A member ...

Maria Shriver Maria Owings Shriver (born November 6, 1955) is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to ...

, Mark Shriver, and

Anthony Shriver Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver (born July 20, 1965) is an American activist for people with intellectual disabilities. In 1989, he founded Best Buddies International, an international organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities ...

. He is a member of the

Kennedy Family The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy beca ...

through his mother,

, a younger sister of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. Shriver graduated from St. Albans School. He received his B.A. from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

in 1981, his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in religion and

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...

from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

in 1988, and his Ph.D. in education from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

in 1996.

Career

Shriver spent 15 years in public education—some in special education—as a teacher. He served as a high school teacher in the

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

public school system, and as a counselor and teacher in the

branch of the

Upward Bound Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program within the United States. The program is one of a cluster of programs now referred to as TRiO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (the War on ...

program for disadvantaged youth. He became a Fellow at the School Development Program at the Yale Child Study Center. He was instrumental in establishing the Social Development Project at the public schools in

and also established the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning at the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...

. He was the executive producer on '' The Ringer'', a co-producer on '' Amistad'' and the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

movie ''The Loretta Claiborne Story'', and has served as a producer or co-producer on shows for the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Calif ...

, the National Broadcasting Corporation, and the

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

cable channel. He is currently a board member of

Malaria No More Malaria No More is a nonprofit organization that seeks to eradicate malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, a ...

, a New York-based nonprofit that was launched at the 2006

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

Summit with the goal of ending all deaths caused by malaria. He is currently the Chairman of Special Olympics. Timothy and his brother

have recently aligned the

and

Best Buddies Best Buddies International is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It consists of volunteers that create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program's main purpose is to allow volunteers t ...

(founded by

), to create the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge event, aimed to encourage greater acceptance and inclusion for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities,"Timothy & Anthony Shriver — Eunice’s Legacy"
''ABILITY'' Magazine. Daryl "Chill" Mitchell Issue. Aug/Sept 2010. a condition that affected their late aunt

Rosemary Kennedy Rose Marie "Rosemary" Kennedy (September 13, 1918 – January 7, 2005) was the eldest daughter born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. She was a sister of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. and Ted Kennedy. ...

. Shriver has served on the Board of Directors of The Future Project, a national initiative to empower young people to discover their passion and change the world, since its founding. And he has written a memoir ''Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most'', published by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

(2014). In recent years, Shriver stepped down as CEO from the Special Olympics to launch UNITE, a national initiative for bringing Americans across divides together in common purpose to address universal challenges that can only be solved together.

Activism

As chairman of

, Timothy Shriver has campaigned against

mocking Mockery or mocking is the act of insulting or making light of a person or other thing, sometimes merely by taunting, but often by making a caricature, purporting to engage in imitation in a way that highlights unflattering characteristics. Mocke ...

of and discrimination against participants in Special Olympics. He has specifically argued against use of what he calls "the R word," meaning '' retarded'', stating that the word, "retard", is very offensive and people with intellectual disabilities should be respected and treated like all other people. In 2008, Shriver and supporters called for a

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict so ...

of the movie ''

Tropic Thunder ''Tropic Thunder'' is a 2008 satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a ...

'', claiming that it mocks people with mental disabilities. The movie is written, produced by, and stars Ben Stiller. In a commentary for CNN, Shriver wrote in part,

''Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most''

In November 2014, Shriver released a book called ''Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most''.

Personal life

Shriver married Linda Potter (born January 13, 1956) on May 31, 1986 at Dahlgren Chapel on the

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

campus. They reside in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in t ...

and have five children: Sophia Rose Shriver (born 1987); Timothy Perry Shriver, Jr. (born 1988); Samuel Kennedy Shriver (born 1992); Kathleen Francis Shriver (born 1994); Caroline Elizabeth Shriver (born 1997).

Awards and honors

*2022 Honorary degree from

*2019 Honorary degree from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a private Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its original campus is located, Fordham is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit un ...

*2012 Honorary degree from

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...

*2011 Honorary degree from

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History L ...

* Honorary degree from

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. App ...

* Honorary degree from

Albertus Magnus College Albertus Magnus College is a private Catholic university in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded by the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs (now Dominican Sisters of Peace), it is located in the Prospect Hill neighborhood of New Haven, ...

* The Medal of the City of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, Greece * 1995

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

Citizen of the Year. * Honorary degree from Loyola University * Honorary degree from

New England College New England College (NEC) is a private liberal arts college in Henniker, New Hampshire. As of Fall 2020 New England College's enrollment was 4,327 students (1,776 undergraduate and 2,551 graduate). The college is regionally accredited by the ...

* The Order de Manuel Amador Guerrera of the Republic of

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

* Presidential Medallion from

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

* Honorary degree from Springfield College *Walter Camp 2015 "Distinguished American" *Honorary degree from

Saint Peter's University Saint Peter's University is a private Jesuit university in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded as Saint Peter's College in 1872 by the Society of Jesus. The university offers over 60 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 2,600 un ...

Board membership

*American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities *Board of the Education Commission of the States' Compact for Learning and Citizenship *Chairman
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
*

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...

*The Edison Schools Incorporated *The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

*Board of Advisors for HealthCorps *Chairman UNESCO at IT Tralee (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)

References

External links

Religion from the Heart: Re-thinking, Re-feeling and Reviving Faith By: Timothy Shriver
*
Full Biography from the Special Olympics WebsiteThe Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional LearningMalaria No More

. ''ABILITY'' Magazine. Aug/Sept 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shriver, Timothy Perry 1959 births American film producers Schoolteachers from Connecticut Connecticut Democrats Disability rights activists from the United States Kennedy family Living people American nonprofit executives People from Boston People from New Haven, Connecticut People from Potomac, Maryland Shriver family Special Olympics St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni Catholic University of America alumni University of Connecticut alumni Washington, D.C., Democrats Yale University alumni Catholics from Massachusetts Catholics from Connecticut Catholics from Maryland