Hopes high for lecture

Institute hopes to feature prominent speakers

In the past 38 years, the Landon Lecture Series has brought such leaders as Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, George Bush, Ronald Reagan and Sandra Day O’Connor to the campus of Kansas State University.

With former President Bill Clinton’s visit to campus Friday, some are hoping the Dole Lecture Series is on its way to becoming as prominent as its KSU counterpart.

“KU has done a poor job of getting key speakers, compared to nearby universities like UMKC (University of Missouri, Kansas City) and K-State,” said Bill Tuttle, an American studies professor. “I hope this is an indication of good things to come.”

In some ways, it will be tough to top the inaugural Dole Lecture.

Clinton is a two-term president whose approval rating at the end of his presidency in 2000 was at 65 percent, according to one poll. That’s higher than any president since World War II.

Demand was so high for tickets to Friday’s lecture that Dole Institute of Politics officials were forced to move the event from the 2,100-seat Lied Center to Allen Fieldhouse, which was configured to seat 12,000 people.

Steve McAllister, interim director of the institute, said the lecture should “be a big deal for the institute and the community every year.”

Future Dole lecturers should fit two criteria, McAllister said: They should be visible and important, and they should come with a message of public service and not partisanship.

“There are a variety of people” who could speak, he said. “Some have been suggested to us, some we’ve thought of internally. We want prominent figures that are interesting. Colin Powell (secretary of state) is the kind of name that’s been thrown out several times. Tony Blair, if we could get him to come over, maybe after he’s prime minister (of Great Britain). President (Vicente) Fox of Mexico.”

The Dole Lecture is to take place each spring on or about the anniversary of former Sen. Bob Dole’s wounding during World War II.

Patrick Smith, left, of Lee's Summit, Mo., brought a copy of Rolling Stone magazine for former President Clinton to sign at the Dole Institute of Politics. Clinton visited the Dole Institute after speaking Friday at Allen Fieldhouse.

The lecture’s success may depend, in part, on how much of an endowment is raised to support it. Clinton didn’t charge a fee to speak; he waived his usual $250,000 fee as a favor to his friend Bob Dole. But future speakers likely will cost plenty.

“In the future, of course, getting a person of that stature is going to cost a great deal of money,” Tuttle said.

It may also depend on the future leadership of the institute.

The director position has been open since Richard Norton Smith left Dec. 1 to lead the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.

Smith oversaw construction of the institute’s 28,000-square-foot building on west campus and its dedication, which brought national dignitaries, including former President Jimmy Carter, to Lawrence.

McAllister, dean of KU’s School of Law, has served as interim director since Smith’s departure.

Last month, the university enlisted the help of former Dole aide and former state Republican Party Chairman Kim Wells to identify potential candidates for the job. A small search committee also is being appointed to provide advice to Chancellor Robert Hemenway in hiring a new director.

Staff writer Jennifer Byrd and 6News reporter Brooke Wehner contributed to this report.