April 16, 2002

Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment Association, (785) 832-7336.

Starr Foundation's $500,000 to support Dole Institute of Politics at KU

LAWRENCE -- A $500,000 gift from one of the largest private foundations in the United States will help fund construction of exhibits for the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas, Chancellor Robert Hemenway announced today.

The gift of securities from The Starr Foundation to the Kansas University Endowment Association will fund exhibits detailing the life of former U.S. Sen. Robert Dole through personal memorabilia, papers and video. Currently under construction near the Lied Center on KU's west campus, the institute will be dedicated Tuesday, July 22, 2003, Dole's 80th birthday.

"The Dole Institute is one of the crown jewels of the university, and the impact of its programs and archives will be felt far beyond KU or the state of Kansas," Hemenway said. "We are honored to receive The Starr Foundation's generous contribution, which will help us build a facility worthy of Senator Dole's lengthy commitment to public service."

When completed, the $8 million, 28,000-square-foot Dole Institute will feature public as well as academic programs. The institute also will develop ongoing scholarship through oral history and research using the former senator's collected papers and other materials he donated to KU in 1997. The Dole Collection includes photographs, audiotapes, videos and memorabilia documenting and highlighting Dole's life from his youth in Russell through his nearly 30 years in the U.S. Senate.

Plans call for a permanent exhibit that includes Dole's World War II uniform and a 22-by-12-foot stained-glass U.S. flag. In the lobby, a stone map of Kansas on the floor will call attention to Dole's roots and remind visitors that the Dole Institute reflects Kansas values and interests, said Richard Norton Smith, director of the institute.

"As a leading member of what has been called 'the greatest generation,' Senator Dole personifies the idea of service -- the same idea that defines the institute bearing his name," Smith said. "This exhibit will evoke such themes while spotlighting the special character of Kansas."

Dole, who attended KU in 1941, served five terms in the U.S. Senate and was elected Senate majority leader in 1984 and 1994. In 1996, he resigned from the Senate to pursue his bid for the presidency.

The Starr Foundation was founded in 1955 by entrepreneur Cornelius Vander Starr, who established what is now known as American International Group Inc., a family of insurance and financial services companies. When he died at age 76 in 1968, he left his estate to the foundation, which now has assets of about $5 billion. M.R. "Hank" Greenberg, chairman of AIG, also chairs the foundation, which makes grants in several areas including education, medicine, health care and public policy.

The Starr Foundation's gift counts toward the $500 million goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in KU history. KU Endowment is conducting KU First on behalf of the university through 2004 to raise funds for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects and program support.

The Kansas University Endowment Association is an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university and one of the largest.