The former director of the Dole Institute of Politics will return to the Kansas University campus next month to give a speech about former President Gerald Ford.

Richard Norton Smith, a noted presidential historian who directed the Dole Institute when it opened in 2003, will speak about Ford’s legacy at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Dole Institute.

Smith once served as director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. He also gave the eulogy at a memorial service for Ford after the former president died Dec. 26.

The speech is the first of a four-part Presidential Lecture Series at the Dole Institute. The remaining events:

¢ Feb. 13: Five political bloggers will discuss the effect of blogs on the 2008 presidential election.

¢ Feb. 21: Lecture by Charlie Cook, publisher of The Cook Political Report, a newsletter.

¢ Feb. 28: “Winning the Nomination” with Des Moines Register reporter David Yepsen, Republican political strategist Tom Rath and Democratic strategist Jonathan Epstein.