News and notes from the Office of the President
February 22, 2008

President's Note

Today we learned that the George W. Bush Presidential Library has been officially awarded to SMU. Many, many individuals at Baylor have been involved in Baylor's bid for the library and worked tirelessly on the proposal to bring the library to Waco. It is a testimony to the quality and strength of their efforts that Baylor's bid for the library remained in consideration long after many other proposals had been rejected or withdrawn.

In particular, I wish to acknowledge the good work and dedication of the following people:

  • Our Board of Regents who with then President Robert Sloan had the initial vision back in the fall of 2000 to publicly declare Baylor's intent to pursue the presidential library.

  • Chairman Drayton McLane and the 100-plus members of the National Steering Committee who helped bolster Baylor's bid for the library.

  • Dr. Tom Charlton, professor of history and director of the Texas Collection and the first chair of the Baylor planning committee, and more than 80 additional faculty and staff members who served on the committees and sub-committees that generated the ideas and plans that went into the Baylor proposal.

  • Waco Mayor Virginia Dupuy, the Community Task Force, the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, the Cooper Foundation and many other local organizations and businesses that supported this bid.

Finally, I wish to personally extend my thanks to Tommye Lou Davis, who has chaired Baylor's Bush Library Planning Committee the last few years and has been our spokesperson and champion for the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Her passion for this project has been infectious and unwavering.

We are grateful to President and Mrs. Bush for having the confidence in Baylor University to invite us to submit our bid. The process of pursuing the presidential library has brought Baylor and the Waco community together in a unique partnership as we have pursued a common goal. We will continue to work with the leaders of our community to enhance Baylor and to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Waco and central Texas.

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