Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics

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The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics is housed at the University of Kansas. It was founded by former U.S. Senator from Kansas Robert J. Dole. Opened on July 22, 2003, the institute's $11 million, 28,000 square-foot facility houses Dole's papers and hosts frequent political events. The institute is officially non-partisan and has sponsored on-campus programs featuring prominent politicians of both major parties. The institute sponsors the Dole Lecture, which is given in April and features a nationally prominent figure who will address some aspect of contemporary politics or policy. The institute awards the annual Dole Prize for Leadership each September, which includes a $25,000 cash award. The Presidential Lecture Series features the nation's leading presidential scholars, historians, journalists, as well as others including former Presidents, cabinet officers, and White House staff members who discuss the nation's highest office in ways that combine scholarly rigor with popular access.

The director of the institute is Bill Lacy, who worked as a strategist on Sen. Dole's 1988 and 1996 presidential campaigns and his 1992 senatorial campaign. Before Lacy's arrival in 2004, Steve McAllister, a former dean of the University of Kansas law school, served as interim director from October 2003 to September 2004. Richard Norton Smith, a presidential historian, was the first director and held the position for two years.

Lacy is currently on leave from the institute to work on the presidential campaign of former Sen. Fred Thompson. The interim director is Jonathan Earle, University of Kansas history professor, and is married to Leslie Tuttle.