Clinton to visit May 21 to begin Dole Lecture series

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will deliver the inaugural Robert J. Dole Lecture.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will come to Mount Oread May 21 to deliver the inaugural Robert J. Dole Lecture.

Senator Dole, '45, who personally invited Clinton, said he was delighted his Democratic opponent in the 1996 presidential campaign had agreed to kick off the new lecture series.

"I cannot think of a more appropriate person to inaugurate the Dole Lecture than President Clinton," he said. "It sets entirely the right tone in terms of having the institute embody nonpartisan public service."

The Dole Lecture is one in a series of signature programs designed to bring the new Dole Institute of Politics at KU and the community together. Each spring, on or about the date of Dole's wounding in Italy during World War II, the institute will bring a prominent figure to campus to address some aspect of international politics or diplomacy.

Since leaving office in 2001, Clinton has worked closely with Dole on several projects, including the World War II Memorial, to be dedicated Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C. They also co-chaired the fund-raising campaign for the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund to provide educational assistance for the family members of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In 2003, Clinton and Dole also debated national issues in a series of segments for the CBS News magazine "60 Minutes." KU is pleased to welcome, as the first Dole Lecturer, someone who is closely tied to the senator by politics, friendship and a devotion to public service.

The Dole Institute, which houses the nation's largest Congressional archive, was dedicated last summer in a four-day gala celebration attended by hundreds of veterans plus special guests including former President Jimmy Carter, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.

With limestone walls, soaring stained-glass windows and a large reflecting pool reminiscent of Washington's Tidal Basin, the institute is a KU landmark. The $11 million, 28,000-square-foot facility houses state-of-the-art exhibits as well as meeting spaces. A 14-foot replica of the Kansas state seal is one of several distinctive architectural features. Others include two columns from the World Trade Center, a 19-foot stone map of Kansas and a 12-foot replica of the Capitol dome in Washington, D.C., accompanied by a multi-screen video "tour" of the legislative process, narrated by Dole.

The institute is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. For more information, call (785) 864-4900 or visit www.doleinstitute.org.