photo by: Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

Former Secretary of State James Baker speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Diplomacy Center at the State Department in Washington on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. Baker has been selected to receive this year's Dole Leadership Prize.

The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will honor former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker with the 2018 Dole Leadership Prize, the institute announced Wednesday.

“Jim Baker is an extraordinary leader,” Dole Institute Director Bill Lacy said in a news release. “I had the chance to see his skill up close when he was President Reagan’s chief of staff. He went on to serve as secretary of the treasury and as secretary of state under President Bush. It is a great honor to host him at the Dole Institute.”

Baker served in senior government positions under three U.S. presidents, including as the nation’s 61st secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush. His career in public service began in 1975 as undersecretary of commerce to President Gerald Ford.

Baker will accept the award at a public program at the institute, 2350 Petefish Drive, at 2 p.m. Nov. 7. The program is free to attend, and a livestream of the event will be available at doleinstitute.org.

The Dole Leadership Prize is awarded annually to an individual or group whose public service leadership inspires others. The prize includes a $25,000 cash award. Previous winners of the Dole Leadership Prize include John D. Kemp, Nelson Mandela, Wounded Warrior Project, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Women Air Service Pilots of WWII, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former U.S. Sens. Howard Baker, Tom Harkin, Nancy Kassebaum and George McGovern, former Polish President Lech Walesa, Congressman John Lewis and former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.