Former Sen. Robert Dole
2/2/07
A Washington, D.C., event that attracted a who’s who of American politics raised more than $2 million for the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas.
The event, titled “Salute to the Leader,” honored Dole, the Republican nominee for president in 1996 and former Senate majority leader. The dollars raised in honor of Dole will be added to the Dole Institute’s endowment, bringing total support to $8 million. Interest earned on the endowment supports programs such as the annual Dole Lecture, the Dole Leadership Prize and the Presidential Lecture Series.
Salute to the Leader was an opportunity for Dole staff members and supporters from his long career to celebrate the senator’s accomplishments. Both the former senator and his wife, North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, attended the Jan. 24 celebration.
Among those also attending were Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; columnist George Will; Dole’s vice presidential running mate Jack Kemp; former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts and Kansas Reps. Dennis Moore, Nancy Boyda and Todd Tiahrt attended, as did former Kansas Sen. Nancy Kassebaum-Baker and KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway.
Co-chairs for the event were John Moran and Michael Glassner. President George H.W. Bush served as honorary chair of the event.
The gifts raised in honor of Dole will be managed by KU Endowment, the independent, non-profit organization that serves as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.
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