KU News Release

LAWRENCE — To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bob Dole’s election to Congress, the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas announces its 2010 Presidential Lecture Series —“Bob Dole: 50 Years of Leadership and Bipartisanship.”

This year’s series will feature five programs in February and March relating to Dole’s Congressional and post-Congressional career. All programs are at the Dole Institute.

“This year is a fitting time to look back at Sen. Dole’s leadership and accomplishments,” said Dole Institute Director Bill Lacy. “Sen. Dole has been extraordinarily active since leaving the Senate; just last June he visited Normandy with the president and last week published an op-ed on health care. He continues to take an active role as a senior statesman.”

First elected to Congress in 1960, Dole went to Washington to represent Kansas’ 6th Congressional District. Winning re-election even amidst redistricting, Dole continued to serve in the House of Representatives until he won a U.S. Senate seat in 1968. From 1985 until his retirement in 1996, Dole was Republican leader in the Senate; earning him the title of the longest-running Republican leader in the Senate since the practice began in 1920.

Dole had an overall record of a fiscal hawk and conservative, yet he built friendships with key Democratic progressives such as Ted Kennedy, George McGovern, Tom Harkin and Pat Moynihan, and worked on critical legislation with each. These collaborations addressed disability rights, civil rights, nutrition and social security, among others. Dole named the first woman secretary of the Senate and was the first majority leader to have a female chief of staff.

“Writing the Life of a Leader,” featuring Dole biographer Jake Thompson, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9. In an interview with Lacy, Thompson will discuss the public and private life of Dole. Thompson is the author of “Bob Dole: the Republicans’ Man For All Seasons,” who first came to know Dole as the Washington correspondent for the Kansas City Star. Thompson now is communications director for Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

“Legislation that Changed America,” a conversation with three former Dole staff members, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16. Sheila Burke, Rod DeArment and Walt Riker will discuss Dole’s leadership style and major accomplishments, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Social Security reform, Women and Infant Children nutrition program and food stamps. Burke was chief of staff to Dole from 1986 to 1996 and is an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. DeArment was a senior adviser to Dole from 1979 to 1986, which included time as chief of staff. DeArment is a partner at Covington & Burling law firm. Riker was press secretary for Dole from 1981 to 1993 and now is vice president of corporate communications for McDonald’s.

“The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body?” with former Senate historian Richard Baker will start at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 2. Baker will discuss the Senate from 1969 through today, including the hallmark qualities of legislative lions like Dole and the importance of the chamber to the success of the U.S. political system. Baker, who was Senate historian from 1975 to 2009, joins the Dole Institute as the inaugural Dole Archive Visiting Fellow on Monday, March 1, through Wednesday, March 3.

“Conversation with a Colleague: Senator Jack Danforth” is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 10. Danforth was a Republican senator from Missouri from 1976 to 1995. Dole’s close political ally, Danforth nominated Dole to his first term as majority leader in 1985. Danforth will discuss Dole’s interaction with senators and the style that led him to be selected leader by his colleagues more than any other Republican in history.

“Changing the Slow Institution: The U.S. Senate, 1960-2010” will be Thursday, March 25, and Friday, March 26. Start time will be announced at a later date. This academic conference has invited presenters from across the country to examine the traditions and changes of the Senate. It is co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science and organized by professor Burdett Loomis.

All programs are free and open to the public.

The annual Presidential Lecture Series is a signature event at the Dole Institute. Each February, the Dole Institute presents a series of lectures focusing exclusively on an aspect of the U.S. presidency, present and past, including presidential campaigns.