photo by: Peter Hancock

A statue of former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole is unveiled at his law school alma mater, Washburn University in Topeka on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. His wife, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, in blue, helped unveil the statue while Dole, seated at right, looks on.

TOPEKA – Former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole returned to the campus of his law school alma mater, Washburn University, where a bronze statue of him was unveiled Friday.

Dole, 95, attended Washburn University after he returned home from World War II, finishing his undergraduate degree and earning a law degree in 1952.

Speaking to a small crowd of invited guests, Dole displayed the witty, self-deprecating humor for which he was known during his 36 years in Congress, quipping at one point that he didn’t think he deserved a statue, but since it was already finished, he would accept it.

“I hope that young people who pass this way will recognize that if you study hard and apply yourselves, you can probably get another statue on campus somewhere,” Dole told a crowd of about 100 people who were invited to the ceremony.

photo by: Peter Hancock

Former U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Dole, left, and Nancy Kassebaum share a laugh during a statue dedication ceremony in honor of Dole’s husband, former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, during a statue dedication ceremony on the Washburn University campus in Topeka on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018.

The audience at the ceremony included his wife, Elizabeth Dole, who served one term in the Senate from North Carolina from 2003 through 2009, as well as former U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, of Kansas, who served with Bob Dole for three terms in the Senate from 1978 through 1997.

Also in the audience was one of Dole’s law school classmates, retired Kansas U.S. District Judge Sam Crow.

Dole, a native of Russell, attended the University of Kansas briefly before enlisting in the Army in 1942. He was seriously wounded in combat in southern Italy in April 1945, just before the end of the war.

He was elected to the U.S. House in 1960 and served four terms, then was elected to the Senate in 1968. During his Senate career, he was the leader of the Republican caucus, serving as both majority and minority leader from 1987 until his resignation in 1996, the year he was nominated as the Republican candidate for president.

photo by: Peter Hancock

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, of Kansas, attends a statue dedication ceremony in his honor at the Washburn University campus in Topeka on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018.