Excerpt
The following is from the Dec. 22, 2006, edition of The Dallas Morning News.

Bush library in SMU's reach

By KENT FISCHER, HOLLY K. HACKER and KRISTEN HOLLAND
The Dallas Morning News

Southern Methodist University moved closer Thursday to landing the George W. Bush Presidential Library, giving the school a high-profile chance to polish its image and cement Dallas' close ties to President Bush.

The library's site selection committee announced Thursday that it is intensifying discussions with SMU, and a person close to the deliberations said the two other finalists – the University of Dallas and Baylor University – were told they are out of contention unless unforeseen problems crop up.

"We're not announcing that [the library is] coming to SMU," university President Gerald Turner said at a news conference, "but this is as good of an announcement as we could give you on this occasion."

Having outdistanced the competition, SMU administrators and trustees must now satisfy the demands of the selection committee, which has the final say on important decisions like location and fundraising, which some say could be well over $200 million.

Thursday's announcement is both a culminating event and the beginning of another years-long project. Almost immediately after Mr. Bush was inaugurated in 2001, Mr. Turner assigned a top deputy to "become an expert in presidential libraries." Now, SMU has to make its vision a reality.

With its close connections to Mr. Bush's family and friends, SMU was considered the front-runner before the competition even got under way. First lady Laura Bush is a graduate and member of the university's Board of Trustees. The couple has indicated they will return to Dallas at least part time after Mr. Bush leaves office.

In a statement, selection committee chairman Don Evans characterized the SMU talks as "another step" and "further discussions."

"The focus is exclusively on SMU, however, a final decision has not been made," said a person close to the deliberations.

That person added that Mr. Evans spoke with officials at Baylor and the University of Dallas on Thursday to let them know they have been eliminated from contention, unless the committee and SMU cannot come to terms.

The two other finalists at times threw jabs at SMU, the presumed front-runner, saying the school was too landlocked to win the bid. Rather than fire back, SMU played its hand close to the vest and ultimately won over the selection committee.

Presidential libraries, which are operated by the federal government but built with private funds, serve as tourist attractions and public museums, as well as centers of scholarly research. They are repositories for the millions of papers and historical records that document a presidency.

U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, whose district includes SMU, said the library would underscore Dallas' ties to the president and be a big plus for the university and the city.

"We're proud to have him here," Mr. Sessions said. "Once again it places Dallas, Texas, at a center point of importance."

But this library may come with some baggage. Mr. Bush's popularity has plummeted as the war in Iraq has faltered, and his administration's tactics in the fight against terrorism have been challenged by civil libertarians.

The president has also proposed creating a think tank, an idea that doesn't sit well with some SMU professors. This week they began circulating a letter calling for more open discussion about the library and its would-be role on campus.

What's "murky" at this point, said political science professor Cal Jillson, is what Mr. Bush has in mind for his think tank and how that would relate to the university.

"They need to understand what the institute is going to be," Dr. Jillson said. "I think SMU needs to understand and will seek to clarify what the president has in mind."

William McElvaney, an emeritus professor at the Perkins School of Theology, said the president's politics could be divisive on campus.

"Through the years, SMU has been known as a mainstream, nonpartisan Methodist institution," said Dr. McElvaney, who is an ordained Methodist clergyman. "In my view, the Bush library, assuming it comes to SMU, will forever change the nonpartisan landscape for which SMU has been known and appreciated."

And there are other issues, somewhat mundane but paramount to locals: How will an area of town already notorious for congestion handle perhaps 400,000 visitors a year? And where will they park?

When asked about those questions Thursday, SMU's president, Mr. Turner, replied only that they'd have to "wait and see."

State Rep. Dan Branch said parking, traffic and other issues will be part of the negotiations, and he expects things to work out.

"The opportunity to have a presidential library in the Park Cities area and in Dallas is more likely now," he said. "It's tremendously exciting and positive economic news."

The Bushes were in Washington on Thursday, and they plan to head to their ranch near Waco on Tuesday. The White House declined to comment on Thursday's announcement.

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