(February 22, 2008)—The president has chosen SMU as the site for the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Southern Methodist University announced Friday.
Click Here For The Full Text Of SMU’s Announcement
The announcement did not come as a surprise; SMU was named the lone finalist for the library, museum and think tank more than a year ago.
Baylor University and the University of Dallas were the other finalists for the complex.
On Baylor’s bid was still active.
In a letter to SMU President R. Gerald Turner, Mr. Bush, whose wife is an SMU graduate, said, “I look forward to the day when both the general public and scholars come and explore the important and challenging issues our nation has faced during my presidency—from economic and homeland security to fighting terrorism and promoting freedom and democracy.”
SMU’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved an agreement Friday with the George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation, sealing the deal.
“It’s a great honor for SMU to be chosen as the site of this tremendous resource for historical research, dialogue and public programs,” Turner said.
“At SMU, these resources will benefit from proximity to our strong academic programs, a tradition of open dialogue, experience hosting world leaders and a central location in a global American city. We thank President Bush for entrusting this important long-term resource to our community, and for the opportunity for SMU to serve the nation in this special way.”
The library will be built on the east side of the SMU campus next to North Central Expressway and SMU Boulevard.
It will consist of the presidential library, a museum and an independent public policy institute.
“At SMU, the George W. Bush Presidential Center will be associated with a university that is on the rise. With this added benefit to an SMU education, we will attract additional outstanding students and faculty,” said Dallas business leader Carl Sewell, chair of the SMU Board of Trustees.
Not everyone will celebrate the announcement.
Some faculty members have tried to stop the project, citing their opposition to a library that will further the Bush administration's views and be under the foundation's control, not SMU's.
And a group of Methodist ministers launched an online petition drive opposing the library project at SMU.
Click Here For SMU Web Site
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