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, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

since 1996 and is the founder of UNITE. He is a member of the prominent Shriver and Kennedy families, as the third child of Eunice Kennedy Shriver (who founded the Special Olympics), and Sargent Shriver, who helped found the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

Early life and education

Timothy Shriver was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to Sargent Shriver, a former United States Ambassador to France and the Democratic Party's vice-presidential candidate in 1972, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of

. He was raised as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

along with his siblings, Bobby Shriver,

Maria Shriver Maria Owings Shriver ( ; born November 6, 1955) is an American journalist, author, a member of the prominent Shriver and Kennedy families, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's M ...

, Mark Shriver, and Anthony Shriver. He is a member of the Kennedy Family through his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a younger sister of President John F. Kennedy. He is also a part of the prominent Shriver family since his ancestor David Shriver was a delegate of Frederick County, Maryland, who signed the Maryland Constitution and Bill of Rights at Maryland's Constitutional Convention of 1776. Shriver graduated from St. Albans School. He received his B.A. from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1981, his M.A. 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 Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

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 system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

in 1996. He participated in the 1997 class of the Global Leaders for Tomorrow program hosted by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

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 of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

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 Federal TRIO Programs, TRiO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Economic Opportunity Act ...

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, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

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

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

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 broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

, the National Broadcasting Corporation, and the TNT cable channel. He is currently a board member of

Malaria No More Malaria No More is a nonprofit organization that seeks to eradicate malaria. The organization has offices in the United States, as well as affiliates in India, Japan and the United Kingdom, and is known for its participation in the Idol Gives B ...

, 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. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

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

and Best Buddies (founded by Anthony Shriver), 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. 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 P ...

(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 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 resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

of the movie ''

Tropic Thunder ''Tropic Thunder'' is a 2008 Satire (film and television), satirical Action comedy, 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., ...

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

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, 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 university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

campus. They reside in Chevy Chase, Maryland 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). Linda Potter is the great-granddaughter of Archibald D. Russell, a great-great-granddaughter of Percy Rivington Pyne I, and a great-great-great-granddaughter of Dr. James Russell, a former president of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

and Moses Taylor, who was one of the greatest railroad, iron, and coal company financiers and was president of National City Bank for 27 years. She is also a direct descendant of the merchant Russell Sturgis (1750-1826), Elizabeth (née Perkins) Sturgis (a sister of merchant Thomas Handasyd Perkins), Walter Rutherfurd (1723–1804) and Catherine Alexander (1727–1801), daughter of James Alexander and Mary Spratt Provoost. Her sister Isabel Tweedy Potter is married to Richard S. Aldrich Jr, a grandson of Richard S. Aldrich, who served in Congress from 1923 to 1933, a great-grandson of Nelson W. Aldrich, who served as a Senator from

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

and a great-nephew of Abby Aldrich, who became the wife of financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr.

Awards and honors

*2024 Honorary degree from Grand Valley State University *2022 Honorary degree from

*2019 Honorary degree from

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

*2012 Honorary degree from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

*2011 Honorary degree from La Salle University * Honorary degree from

* Honorary degree from

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

* Honorary degree from Albertus Magnus College * The Medal of the City of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece * 1995

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Citizen of the Year. * Honorary degree from Loyola University * Honorary degree from New England College * The Order de Manuel Amador Guerrera of the Republic of

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

* Presidential Medallion from

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

* 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, United States. 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 ...

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 focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

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

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

*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 American disability rights activists 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