Trade Center beams to form KU memorial

Pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center towers, two steel beams from the structures are now at KU and will form a Sept. 11 memorial at the university's Dole Institute of Politics at KU.

The two beams — 10 1/2 feet long and 4 feet in diameter — will be displayed near the reflecting pool in front of the institute's building now under construction.

"The Dole Institute is all about service," said Richard Norton Smith, presidential historian and director of the Dole Institute. "We're trying to make a visual connection between the sacrifices of the World War II generation and the sacrifices of the current generation."

Dole, the former U.S. senator and Republican presidential candidate from Russell, approached the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg a month ago. In making the request, Dole reminded City Hall of KU's generous response at the time of the terrorist attacks — the student body raised more than $30,000 in two days, and sales of a "United We Stand" T-shirt and pin featuring the 1941 Jayhawk mascot raised more than $50,000 to help provide scholarships for the children of Sept. 11 victims.

Dole Institute rendering provided courtesy of ASAI Architects

Weighing roughly 1,500 pounds each, the beams now at KU were cut to the Dole Institute's specifications. As such, they are about five times larger than sections given to other communities that have requested pieces for local memorials.

The institute's 28,000-square-foot home, located on KU's West Campus, will be dedicated on July 22, 2003, Dole's 80th birthday. The Sept. 11 memorial likely will be dedicated on the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks, later that year.

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