Dignitaries scheduled to attend the dedication

Here are brief backgrounds on some of the people you might see walking around KU’s west campus during the dedication events:

Gerald R. Ford

Born in Omaha, Neb., and raised in Grand Rapids, Mich., Ford became the 38th President in 1974 after the resignation of Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Ford, formerly House minority leader, had replaced Spiro T. Agnew as vice president after Agnew resigned.

Challenges facing Ford during his term included inflation and other economic troubles, the energy shortage and a troubled world front. He also granted Nixon a full pardon.

Ford, who chose Bob Dole as his running mate, won the 1976 Republican nomination. The ticket lost to Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. Ford celebrated his 90th birthday July 14.

Jimmy Carter

Carter served as the 39th U.S. President, from 1977 to 1981. A native of Plains, Ga., he attended the U.S. Naval Academy and served seven years as a Naval officer.

He was elected governor of Georgia in 1970. He defeated Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. While in office, major issues included combating inflation and unemployment, dealing with the energy shortage and championing human rights.

But setbacks, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the kidnapping of U.S. citizens in Iran, plagued the administration. He was defeated by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election.

After leaving office, Carter, 78, has been known for his humanitarian efforts, including his work with Habitat for Humanity.

Rudolph Giuliani

Giuliani is best known for leading New York City during the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks.

He was elected mayor of New York City in 1993 and was re-elected in 1997. He left office in 2002. He was especially known for fighting crime and for education reform.

Giuliani, 59, previously served as a high-ranking official in Ronald Reagan’s Department of Justice and as U.S. Attorney in New York.

Giuliani will receive the first-ever Dole Leadership Prize during the $500-a-plate Legacy of Leadership dinner Monday at the Lawrence Holidome.

Tom Brokaw

Brokaw, anchor for “NBC Nightly News,” became a champion for World War II veterans in 1998 when he wrote “The Greatest Generation,” about Americans who grew up in the Great Depression and fought in the war.

Brokaw, 63, followed his initial book with two others: “The Greatest Generation Speaks,” with letters by World War II-era families, and “An Album of Memories,” a collection of stories and photographs from the era.

George McGovern

McGovern, 81, served 22 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate as a Democrat from South Dakota. He ran for president in 1972 but lost in a landslide to Richard M. Nixon.

McGovern was a bomber pilot during World War II. He’ll talk about his war memories during a Memory Tent presentation at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Jack Kemp

Kemp was Bob Dole’s running mate in the 1996 presidential election.

He is co-director of Empower America, a public policy and advocacy organization. He also served four years as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George Bush and represented New York in Congress from 1971 to 1989. He also played quarterback for the Buffalo Bills and the San Diego Chargers for 13 years.

Condoleezza Rice

Rice, 49, is the official White House representative to the Dole dedication. She is assistant to President Bush for national security affairs, or more commonly known as national security adviser.

Rice has been at the heart of Bush administration discussions on the fight against terrorism and the war in Iraq.

Rice served as director of Soviet and East European Affairs for the National Security Council during the presidential term of Bush’s father. She also was special assistant to the elder Bush for national security affairs from 1989 to 1991.

Before being appointed by George W. Bush, Rice served six years as provost at Stanford University, where she had been on the political science faculty.