KU News Release

Former Sen. Howard Baker to receive Dole Leadership Prize

Howard Baker

LAWRENCE — The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will present its 2007 Dole Leadership Prize to former U.S. Sen. Howard Baker, who is known in Washington, D.C., as “The Great Conciliator.”

The program will begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22, at the Lied Center. It is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets are available at the Lied Center, the Student Union Activities box office in the Kansas Union or the University Theatre box office in Murphy Hall. The program will be shown via simulcast at KU’s Edwards Campus in Overland Park.

Baker served three terms in the U.S. Senate from 1967 to 1985, where he served two sessions as Majority Leader (1981-85) and two sessions as Minority Leader (1977-81). He was President Reagan’s chief of staff from 1987 to 1988 and was U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 2001 to 2005. He is currently senior counsel with the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz and is married to former Kansas Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker.

“Baker is regarded as one of the most successful U.S. senators in terms of creating cooperation and working relationships among members in both parties,” said Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute. “He was highly successful in brokering compromises, enacting legislation and maintaining civility.”

Baker gained national recognition in 1973 as vice chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee. Three years later, he was keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention and was a 1980 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

A delegate to the United Nations in 1976, Baker has extensive foreign policy experience. He served on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Board from 1985 to 1987 and from 1988 to 1990 and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs. He serves on the board of the Forum of International Policy and is an International Counselor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Among his many awards are the 1984 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, and the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Performed by an Elected or Appointed Official, which he received in 1982. An accomplished photographer, Baker received the American Society of Photographers’ International Award in 1993 and was elected into the Photo Marketing Association’s Hall of Fame in 1994. He has received honorary degrees from Yale University, Dartmouth College, Georgetown University, Bradley University, Pepperdine University and Centre College.

Baker is the author of four books: “No Margin for Error” (1980); “Howard Baker’s Washington” (1982); “Big South Fork Country” (1993) and “Scott’s Gulf” (2000).

For more information, visit the Dole Institute Web site or call (785) 864-4900. The Dole Institute also has a blog. For information about the simulcast, visit the Edwards Campus Web site or call (913) 897-8400.

The Dole Institute of Politics is dedicated to promoting public service, civic engagement and politics. It is located on KU’s west campus next to the Lied Center.

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