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Bush library, museum to be built at SMU

Feb. 26, 2008

By Anita Pere
Staff writer

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum will call Southern Methodist University in Dallas its home after a year-long period of exclusive conversations between the project's National Steering Committee and SMU.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation announced Friday its selection of SMU for the library, museum and institute. The Board of Trustees at SMU met the same day, voting to support the choice of the foundation.

In an official correspondence from the White House to Gerald Turner, president of SMU, President Bush called SMU, "an excellent site for the Library and related facilities.

"SMU has an outstanding reputation and academic environment, and I am very pleased to approve proceeding consistent with the (SMU Board of Trustees') recommendation," Bush wrote.

Baylor President John M. Lilley sent an e-mail to faculty and staff Friday, notifying them of the decision. In his correspondence, he thanked the Baylor Board of Regents; Drayton McLane, chairman of the library's National Steering Committee; Dr. Tom Charlton, director of the Texas Collection and professor of history; Virginia Dupuy, mayor of Waco; Tommye Lou Davis, chairwoman of Baylor's Bush Library Planning Committee; and other local supporters of the Baylor's bid for the library.

Since the prospect of bringing a presidential library to Waco gathered steam in 2000, Davis has been involved in the Baylor's bid to claim the library.

She first served as chairwoman of the museum committee, while James Curry, professor of political science, served as chairman of the institutional committee. Leah Jackson, associate dean of the law school, served as chairwoman of the library committee. Each subset -- museum, institution and library -- represented an aspect of the proposed foundation.

Davis said the National Steering Committee hasn't spent a prolonged amount of time in deliberations "when you consider that you're going to tell the story of 9/11 and Katrina and eight years of presidential history."

Dr. Tom Charlton, director of the Texas Collection, headed up efforts during the beginning stages of Baylor's interest in the presidential library. Charlton said the university first realized the possibility of a presidential library at Baylor in 1998, while Bush, then governor, was expected to run as the Republican presidential candidate in the 2000 election.

Charlton said university officials then dived into researching presidential libraries, sending faculty members to the 11 presidential libraries.

"This was a long research process Baylor went through," Charlton said.

Baylor and SMU were the last schools vying for the library, after The University of Dallas and The West Texas Coalition were eliminated by the steering committee in 2006.

"It is a testimony to the quality and the efforts that Baylor's bid for the library remained in consideration long after many other proposals had been rejected or withdrawn," Lilley wrote in his e-mail Friday.

Davis was disappointed that SMU won the bid for the library, but "I've had a year to prepare

for the inevitable," she said. The

president has distinct ties to SMU. First lady Laura Bush is an alumna of SMU and she and Vice President Dick Cheney are former SMU trustees.

Davis acknowledged positive effects of the heightened national attention on Waco. She cited community improvement initiatives, such as the Waco Town Square project and the Community Vision Project, which aims at engaging citizens in the community.

Brandon Moseley, community liaison in the Mayor DuPuy's office, said joint efforts between the university and Waco on the presidential library bid paved the

way for increased communication between the two entities.

Moseley offered thanks on the Mayor's behalf.

"She is very appreciative of the work Baylor and (Davis) did," Moseley said.

This establishment will be the third presidential library in Texas, joining the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum at the University of Texas-Austin and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University in College Station. Given these nearby locations, Baylor's bid played up the prospect of creating a triangle of presidential libraries, Charlton said.

Also in his correspondence, President Bush shared his personal aspirations for the library.

"I look forward to the day when both the general public and scholars come and explore the important and challenging issues our nation has faced during my presidency--from economic and homeland security to fighting terrorism and promoting freedom and democracy."

McLane congratulated SMU.

"We really worked hard and we were excited about the possibility, but the committee that the president had appointed pretty much indicated what the decision was and that was for it to go to SMU. We were very disappointed that it didn't work out for Baylor, but we wish SMU great success," McLane said.

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