Director’s efforts lauded

According to Bob Dole, the institute that bears his name is mainly the work of one man.

And it’s not Bob Dole.

“Rick gets credit for about 99 percent” of what has been done at the Dole Institute of Politics, the former senator said this week. “But I got a few little things in.”

Rick is the name Dole uses to refer to Richard Norton Smith, the institute’s executive director. Dole has known “Rick” since 1978, before Smith was a nationally known historian and author.

As the institute was formally dedicated Tuesday, Dole went out of his way to thank many people who helped in its creation. But he had special praise for Smith.

“He knows how pleased and excited I was when he decided to come to the University of Kansas,” Dole said. “And as the Dole Institute flourishes, much of the credit will be to Richard Norton Smith.”

Dole presented Smith with a plaque he said was “made from the same material as our building.”

“Rick, you poured your heart into this project and have earned a piece of it,” Dole said.

North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole said Smith’s effort had created a “magnificent” building and a growing institute.

Sen. Bob Dole acknowledges the efforts of Richard Norton Smith, director of the Dole Institute of Politics, right, in helping to establish the institute.

“I’m so very impressed,” she said after her first tour of the building that bears her husband’s name. “It reflects Richard Norton Smith’s genius. You have put your heart and soul into this, Rick.”

“And gallbladder,” Smith interjected.

Just hours after Tuesday’s dedication, Smith checked in to Lawrence Memorial Hospital for removal of a gallbladder that has long troubled him but flared up to the point that he spent Friday night in the hospital. Throughout the long dedication weekend, Smith has been taking antibiotics and pain medication.

By 9 p.m. Tuesday Smith was out of surgery and in recovery, said Margey Frederick, with KU’s University Relations office.

“It took a little longer than expected but he’s doing fine,” she said.

After C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb visited the center — and conducted an episode of his daily national call-in show “Washington Journal” from its main hall — he said Kansas was lucky.

“He has given the university, the people of Lawrence and Kansas a first-class facility and a great send-off with the institute he has created,” Lamb said of Smith. “It is clear he has figured out a way to make history interesting and relevant to the average citizen.”

Smith, a regular guest on public affairs programs on C-SPAN, PBS and other networks, offered C-SPAN viewers a 90-minute walk through Dole history Monday morning as Lamb’s program originated from the institute.

Lamb, a Navy veteran and journalist, said the average person was not very interested in history. “But Smith has a way, not as an academic, but in his own way, to make history fun and interesting,” Lamb said. “He is easy to listen to, and he is accurate. At times he may not make his friends happy, but he will not sacrifice accuracy.”