George W. Bush Presidential Library
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The George W. Bush Presidential Library is the future presidential library of George W. Bush, to be located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Construction of the library will begin in 2009, and is expected to cost $200 million to $500 million.[1]
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[edit] Early bidders
Before Bush was even elected President, officials at Baylor University in Waco, Texas started to work on a bid for the library. They believed that their proximity to the President's ranch in Crawford and their location within 100 miles of Austin, Dallas and the Bryan-College Station Metropolitan area gave them a good shot at winning such a project. Not long after Bush was elected, officials at Southern Methodist University began working on their bid for the library.
The White House refused to discuss the issue until after the President had won a second term. This did not deter Baylor in 2003 from gathering the support of more than 400 mayors from across Texas and issuing a press release showing their support for putting the library at the school. In the latter part of 2005, the White House asked a total of 6 colleges and one city to submit bids for the library. The 6 were Baylor, SMU, The University of Texas System, Texas Tech, The University of Dallas and Midland College. The city of Arlington, Texas also submitted a bid. A few weeks later, Midland College announced they were merging their bid with Texas Tech to form a "West Texas Coalition" to win the library and museum. Part of their proposal was to create a Laura Bush reading center at Midland College while the main Presidential library and museum would be housed in Lubbock on the campus of Texas Tech.
[edit] Details of potential sites
Each of the groups had different pros and cons to their bids. Arlington had land to offer near the stadiums for the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers. It was in the middle of an area that already draws a large number of tourists every year. The lack of school involvement was a large drawback to the bid, even though the University of Texas at Arlington assisted the city in making the bid.
Baylor, had substantial land to offer on the banks of the Brazos River in Waco. The downside was the fact that Baylor is not in a major metropolitan area and would probably not attract nearly as many visitors annually as the library would if it were built somewhere in the Dallas area. Some Baylor students and faculty were supportive of the bid.
The same could not be said of the UT System bid. Many on the campus were upset that the school would even bid for Bush's library, with the Daily Texan, the student newspaper of the UT system's flagship university, UT-Austin, printing an editorial against the project.[2] On the plus side, the University of Texas at Austin was already home to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum and had experience in managing such a project. The drawback was the proposal to split the library up over several UT campuses around the state. This decentralized approach was sold as a way to create a "virtual" library that would benefit far more people.
Texas Tech also had a substantial amount of land to offer and a supportive faculty and student body. The drawback to Tech's bid was the fact the school is located in Lubbock, again outside a major metro area.
The bid by the University of Dallas was a surprise to many. The private catholic school in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas is not that well known outside of the Dallas metropolitan area. The big advantage for the University of Dallas was the fact that the school owned hundreds of acres of undeveloped land next to its campus that lies between several major highways and a future light rail station. Their plans were apparently big enough to include a proposal to use some land from the City of Dallas, a fact that led Dallas Mayor Laura Miller to endorse this plan over SMU's bid.
SMU's bid has been mired in mystery and controversy from the start, including where exactly SMU would come up with the land to build the project. Over the course of planning for the library bid, SMU bought dozens of homes and businesses next to or near the school. It was assumed by many that the library would go on the spot of the former Mrs. Baird's bakery that was just to the south of SMU along Central Expressway, yet the size of that piece of land was only about seven acres. SMU also acquired the University Gardens condos, only to get sued by one of the condo owners over the way the school made the acquisition. SMU insisted the land for the condos may or may not be needed for the library, yet space was still an issue. Many in University Park, an upscale enclave next to the campus, were also displeased with the prospect of thousands of people and tour buses going through their neighborhood to visit the library. Despite that, the University Park town council agreed to put up for a vote a plan to sell parkland to SMU for the library.
[edit] Final stages of selection
In late 2005, the White House announced that SMU, Baylor, UD and Texas Tech had been selected as finalists to make their pitch to the library committee in Washington headed by the President's long time friend and former Commerce Secretary, Don Evans. A few weeks after the presentations had been made, the committee announced that Texas Tech had been dropped from consideration, leaving only SMU, Baylor and The University of Dallas in contention.
On December 20, 2006, a judge ruled in favor of SMU on the land dispute over the University Gardens condos. The next day, officials at Southern Methodist University and library selection committee members announced that the university had entered "the next phase of deliberations" towards final site selection for the library.[3]
On January 22, 2007, the University of Dallas withdrew its bid for the library due to the negotiations with SMU. UD revealed the ambitious plans it had for the library and museum that included a large park, jogging trails, waterfalls, and easy access to a light-rail station.
Baylor recently published sections of their proposal on their website.[4] However, no new information was revealed, and Baylor announced that they would not publish the complete proposal until after the final site selection has been announced.
On February 22, 2008, officials at Southern Methodist University reported that the final details of the agreement between the university and the Bush Foundation would be finalized, clearing the way for an official announcement that the George W. Bush Library would be built at SMU.[5] The SMU student publication The Daily Campus cited sources involved in the process that the agreement was almost final. [6] The university soon officially confirmed the signed agreement.[7]
[edit] Rejection by the United Methodist Church
In December 2006, the Texas Monthly reported "The likelihood that the George W. Bush Presidential Library will be located at SMU has not been welcome news for at least one segment of the university community."[8] The letter, from "Faculty, Administrators, & Staff" of the Perkins School of Theology in part, stated "We count ourselves among those who would regret to see SMU enshrine attitudes and actions widely deemed as ethically egregious."[8] The article fears that there are two different attitudes about the library: "a neutral space for unbiased academic research conducted by scholars, or a conservative think tank and policy institute that engages in legacy polishing and grooms young conservatives for public office."[8]
On January 9, 2007 a group of SMU faculty complained about the lack of consultation in the decision to house the library at SMU.[9] A group of Methodists, including ten active and retired bishops, launched a petition to opposing plans to build the library and museum at SMU.[10] The petition, called the Protect SMU Petition says that "[a]s United Methodists, we believe that the linking of his presidency with a university bearing the Methodist name is utterly inappropriate" and calls on "Board of Trustees of Southern Methodist University and the South Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church to reject this project".
When asked why he was leading the movement, the Rev. Doctor Andrew Weaver explained "Bush has not been willing to speak with Methodist bishops about the war, but he will meet with Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. Why now is he choosing a Methodist school for his library and think tank?"[11]
At the 2008 General Conference of the United Methodist Church, a petition for SMU to reject the Bush library was presented and agreed on by a land slide.
It was subesquently referred to the South Central Jurisdiction for action.
[edit] Design Contest
The architect Robert A.M. Stern, dean of the architecture school at Yale University, was picked to design the library. The building will reportedly cost between $200 million and $500 million.[12]
The Chronicle of Higher Education held its own contest to design the George W. Bush Presidential Library, asking readers to send in designs on the backs of envelopes. About 120 people responded to the contest, and 18 finalists were chosen. The finalists depicted the library in styles that represented a fun house, a bunker, an ancient temple, a cross, and other satirical designs.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ Brown, Angela K. (February 22, 2008). SMU in Dallas lands Bush library. Houston Chronicle.
- ^ VIEWPOINT: Don't waste funds on W's library - Opinion
- ^ "Statement by Donald L. Events on Bush Presidential Library", George W. Bush Presidential Library Site Selection Committee, December 21, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-21.
- ^ Baylor University || Bush Library Proposal
- ^ SMU Plans Vote on Bush Library Friday
- ^ Bush Library deal finalized
- ^ Press Release: SMU Chosen As Site Of Bush Presidential Library
- ^ a b c Burka, Paul. "Protest at SMU Targets Bush Library", Texas Monthly, December 14, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
- ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (January 10, 2007). S.M.U. Faculty Complains About Bush Library. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.
- ^ Brown, Angela K. (January 18, 2007). Methodists: No Bush Library at SMU. Washington Post.
- ^ Korosec, Thomas. Clergy protest Bush library. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-01-24. “"What this (petition) will show is there are a lot of Methodists out there who don't wish to give him the gift of our good name because he doesn't deserve it," said the Rev. Andrew Weaver of Brooklyn, N.Y. "Bush has not been willing to speak with Methodist bishops about the war, but he will meet with Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. Why now is he choosing a Methodist school for his library and think tank?" asked Weaver, who graduated from SMU's Perkins School of Theology.”
- ^ Norris, Mark (August 29, 2007). Architect selected for Bush library project. The Daily Campus.
- ^ Carlson, Scott (March 7, 2008). The Back-of-the-Envelope Design Contest. Chronicle of Higher Education.
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