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Permanent exhibit will showcase former Kansas Senator Bob
Dole's life, career
A $500,000 gift from one of the largest private foundations
in the United States will help fund construction of exhibits
for the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at KU.
The gift of securities from The Starr Foundation to the Kansas
University Endowment Association will fund exhibits detailing
the life of former Sen. Robert Dole through personal memorabilia,
papers and video. Currently under construction near the Lied
Center on KU's West Campus, the institute will be dedicated
on Dole's 80th birthday on July 22, 2003.
"The Dole Institute is one of the crown jewels of the
University, and the impact of its programs and archives will
be felt far beyond KU or the state of Kansas," KU Chancellor
Robert Hemenway said. "We are honored to receive The
Starr Foundation's generous contribution, which will help
us build a facility worthy of Senator Dole's lengthy commitment
to public service."
When completed, the $10 million, 28,000-square-foot Dole
Institute will feature public as well as academic programs.
The institute will also develop ongoing scholarship through
oral history and research using the senator's collected papers
and other materials he donated to KU in 1997. The Dole Collection
includes photographs, audio tapes, videos and memorabilia
documenting and highlighting Dole's life from his youth in
Russell, Kan., through his nearly 30 years in the U.S. Senate.
Plans call for a permanent exhibit that includes the senator's
World War II uniform and a 22-by-12-foot stained glass billowing
U.S. flag. The lobby will also feature a 20-by-12-foot Russell
Window,' which will evoke the landscape around Dole's hometown
of Russell and will be dedicated to the memory of his parents,
Doran and Bina Dole. In addition, a stone map of Kansas on
the floor will call attention to Dole's roots and remind visitors
that the Dole Institute reflects their Kansas values and interests,
said Richard Norton Smith, director of the institute.
"As a leading member of what has been called the Greatest
Generation, Senator Dole personifies the idea of service-the
same idea that defines the institute bearing his name,"
Smith said. "This exhibit will evoke such themes while
spotlighting the special character of Kansas."
Dole, who attended KU in 1941, served five terms in the U.S.
Senate and was elected Senate Majority Leader in 1984 and
1994. In 1996, he resigned from the Senate to pursue his bid
for the presidency.
The Starr Foundation was founded in 1955 by entrepreneur Cornelius
Vander Starr, who established what is now known as American
International Group Inc., a family of insurance and financial
services companies. When he died at age 76 in 1968, he left
his estate to the foundation, which now has assets of about
$5 billion. M. R. "Hank" Greenberg, chairman of
AIG, also chairs the foundation, which makes grants in several
areas including education, medicine, health care and public
policy.
The Starr Foundation's gift counts toward the $500 million
goal of KU First:Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising
campaign in KU history. KU Endowment is conducting KU First
on behalf of the University through 2004 to raise funds for
scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects
and program support. KU Endowment is an independent, non-profit
organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management
organization for KU.
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