Bob Dole and Bill Clinton were once fierce political rivals.

Now, Clinton is headed to Lawrence to inaugurate a lecture series named for Dole.

The former president will speak at 2:15 p.m. May 21 at the Lied Center as the first Robert J. Dole Lecture, part of the Dole Institute of Politics at Kansas University.

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

Dole Institute leaders had been in talks with Clinton since December. They had been close to completing a deal to bring him to Lawrence for several weeks and finally got official confirmation of the speech Wednesday.

Jonathan Earle, associate director of the institute, said Clinton had scaled back appearances as he worked to complete his memoirs, “My Life,” which will be published in June. Earle said Clinton had canceled at least one appearance during the week he’d be in Kansas.

“I’m so glad we didn’t get cut,” Earle said.

Tammy Sun, a Clinton spokeswoman, did not return phone messages left Wednesday.

The lecture will be free, with tickets available beginning at 11 a.m. May 12 at the Lied Center box office, or by calling 864-ARTS. There will be a limit of two tickets per person.

Earle said Clinton also might participate in another event — perhaps a lunch — during his brief stay in Lawrence.

“Like Bill Clinton or don’t like Bill Clinton, he is a two-term president,” said Steve McAllister, the institute’s interim director. “He’s still in the news; he’s still in the forefront of the issues of the day.”

Since leaving office in 2001, Clinton has formed the William J. Clinton Foundation, which works on such issues as the reduction of AIDS, economic development in poor communities and citizen service.

Clinton and Dole, the former Republican senator who challenged him in the 1996 presidential election, have worked together on several projects. Those include the World War II Memorial to be dedicated next month and the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, which provided scholarships to family members of victims of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

They also squared off in a series of debates on the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes” last year.

McAllister said he expected tickets to go quickly for the event.

“Clinton ought to be able to pack the house,” he said.