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Presidential Library 1991 [2]
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Records of the White House Office of the Chief of Staff to the President (George H. W. Bush Administration)
John Sununu Issues Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
1998-0004-F[2]
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection: George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin: Chief of Staff, White House Office of
Series:
Sununu, John, Files
Subseries:
Issues Files
OA/ID Number:
29169
Folder ID Number:
29169-007
Folder Title:
Presidential Library 1991 [2]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
15
25
3
7
jo
bl
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
12/21/90
Date:
THE CHIEF OF STAFF
TO:
FROM: JAMES W. CICCONI
Assistant to the President and
Deputy to the Chief of Staff
XXX
Information
Action
Let's Discuss
For conversation. your files per our
(Patty has original; Regards gim
d have a com.) j
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
(George Bush Library)
Document No.
Subject/Title of Document
Date
Restriction
Class.
and Type
01. Letter
From Don Wilson to James Cicconi
7/17/90
P/5
Re: Bush Presidential Library Location (3 pp.)
Collection:
Record Group:
Bush Presidential Records
Open on Expiration of PRA
Office:
Chief of Staff, White House Office of
(Document Follows)
Series:
(NLGB)
10/28/05
Sununu, John, Files
By
&
on
Subseries:
Issues Files
WHORM Cat.:
File Location:
Presidential Library 1991 [2]
Date Closed:
1/5/2005
OA/ID Number:
29169-007
FOIA/SYS Case #:
1998-0004-F[2]
Appeal Case #:
Re-review Case #:
2005-0426-S
Appeal Disposition:
P-2/P-5 Review Case #:
Disposition Date:
AR Case #:
MR Case #:
AR Disposition:
MR Disposition:
AR Disposition Date:
MR Disposition Date:
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P-1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
(b)(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P-2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
(b)(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an
P-3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA]
agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P-4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
(b)(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA]
(b)(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P-5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
(b)(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P-6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA]
(b)(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of
(b)(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
(b)(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
PRM. Removed as a personal record misfile.
National
ARCHIVES
OF
THE
Archives
NATIONAL
UNITED
Archivist of the United States
THE 1934 STATES
Washington, DC 20408
JUL I 7 1990
Honorable James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. Cicconi:
As I noted in my memo of transmittal, the University of
Houston, Rice University, and Texas A&M University have each
produced provocative proposals for the George Bush Library.
While only one university can be the library site, all three
presentations contain initiatives worth consideration.
Several of these projects are summarized for your review.
While all the projects under review contain the substance
for success, their vitality and prestige will be
significantly enhanced if the President and Mrs. Bush are
personally active. Their participation will assure
continuing program support, raise visibility, and attract an
outstanding staff. If the President wishes, these projects
could get underway at any time, without reference to the
close of the presidential administration.
The University of Houston
In recognition of Mrs. Bush's dedication to the literacy
movement, the University of Houston proposes to establish
the Barbara Bush Literacy Center as a component of the Bush
Library. I think this an excellent intention and a valid
one, no matter where the Bush Library is located. Mrs.
Bush's continuing efforts on behalf of national literacy, it
seems to me, is sufficient incentive for the University to
go forward, library or no library. Multicultural,
multilingual Houston would offer a marvelous laboratory for
literacy research. With Mrs. Bush's approval, the
University could get the Literacy Center underway at any
time.
As part of their program for the Bush Library complex, the
University of Houston speaks of establishing a Strategic
Studies Institute. If President Bush finds merit with this
proposal, Houston would likely go ahead whatever the Library
decision.
National Archives and Records Administration
2
In the beginning years, the Strategic Studies Institute
would have limited opportunity to exploit Library holdings,
since presidential papers on classified military and
diplomatic affairs would not be available for several
decades, at least. Yet a Strategic Studies Institute,
organized with or separate from the Library could be
immediately viable by aggressively organizing an oral
history project, symposia and a speaker's series.
Participation by President Bush, his associates, and
international experts would insure a superior program; the
Institute could be an appropriate means by which the
President maintains an active interest in arms control and
national defense strategy.
There is an additional proposition from the University of
Houston. The University presently has in place a Center for
Public Policy which it proposes to enlarge and rename the
George Bush Center for Public Policy and International
Relations. The character of the President's participation
could be similar to that mentioned for the Strategic Studies
Institute. The George Bush Center's focus would be
international and its range of concerns would cover the
environment, energy, economics and demography.
Rice
In the post presidential years Rice suggests that President
and Mrs. Bush might enjoy the university environment from
time to time. It does not have to be formal "teaching,"
simply a flexible opportunity to get together with
undergraduates (and graduates) for informal seminars or
discussions.
Rice University's primary proposal to accompany the Bush
Library is the George W. Bush Institute for Research and
Education. As described, I believe it both feasible and
valuable for Rice to create the Bush Institute, no matter
where the Bush Library goes. The Bush Institute would build
on two existing structures, the Center for the Study of
Institutions and Values and the Rice Institute for Policy
Analysis. Rice offers to make the Bush Institute a
cooperative venture in concert with its academic neighbors,
the University of Houston, Texas Southern, and Baylor
College of Medicine.
With expert medical participation (Baylor), the Bush
Institute could broaden its perspective and audience
by addressing such matters as the health care system and the
social pathologies of drugs and crime, as well as the more
traditional forum subjects of economics, trade, and monetary
policy. If he wished to do so, the President could be
involved in all phases--program planning, development,
evaluation and revision. While the work of the Bush
3
Institute will be scholarly, Rice wants to share the results
of that work with an interested public through non technical
lectures and publications.
TAMU
TAMU states that, in concert with the Bush Library, it
wishes to establish the George Bush School of Government and
Public Service. The Bush School, as envisioned, will carry
out its instruction and research missions through two
centers, a Center for Presidential Studies and a Center for
Public Leadership.
If the Bush Library goes to Houston, it would not be logical
for TAMU to raise a Center for Presidential Studies but it
would seem a fitting idea to pursue the public
service/leadership aspect. In proposing a public service
curriculum, TAMU is responding to a pressing but little
appreciated problem in this country, the generally low
esteem for public service and the absence of commitment to
the commonwealth. By attracting the "best and brightest"
the George Bush School of Government and Public Service will
surely assist the remedy. In the words of the TAMU
prospectus, such an institution would have, "a unique
opportunity to lead in the restoration of the public service
to a valued place in American life."
Lastly, a most effective gesture of support to any of the
universities would be President Bush's offer to participate
in a formal lecture series that carried his name. The
President's international friendships would invest the
program with a rare opportunity to bring world leaders to
the campus. Equally, Mrs. Bush's agreement to support and
advise a lecture series on topics of interest to her would
be an attractive proposition for the universities.
Sincerely,
Dalla
DON W. WILSON
Archivist of the United States
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
(George Bush Library)
Document No.
Subject/Title of Document
Date
Restriction
Class.
and Type
02. Letter
From Don Wilson to POTUS
7/17/90
5
Re: Bush Presidential Library Location (5 pp.)
Collection:
Record Group:
Bush Presidential Records
Office:
Chief of Staff, White House Office of
Open on Expiration of PRA
Series:
Sununu, John, Files
(Document Follows)
Subseries:
Issues Files
By
of
(NLGB)
on
10/28/05
WHORM Cat.:
File Location:
Presidential Library 1991 [2]
Date Closed:
1/5/2005
OA/ID Number:
29169-007
FOIA/SYS Case #:
1998-0004-F[2]
Appeal Case #:
Re-review Case #:
2005-0426-S
Appeal Disposition:
P-2/P-5 Review Case #:
Disposition Date:
AR Case #:
MR Case #:
AR Disposition:
MR Disposition:
AR Disposition Date:
MR Disposition Date:
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P-1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
(b)(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P-2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
(b)(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an
P-3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA]
agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P-4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
(b)(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA]
(b)(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P-5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
(b)(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P-6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA]
(b)(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of
(b)(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
(b)(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
PRM. Removed as a personal record misfile
National
MATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED
Archives
Archivist of the United States
THE 1934 STATES
Washington, DC 20408
JUL 17 1990
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
It is a pleasure for me to report that all candidates,
University of Houston, Rice University, and Texas A&M
University, are fully qualified sites to sponsor the George
Bush Library. As Archivist of the United States, it will be
my institutions. privilege to work with any one of these distinguished
Over the past eight months, I have met a great many people
and asked a great many questions. Each candidate university
went the course with spirit and the certitude that the Bush
Library belonged with them. Always lively, the contest was
never bitter. As a result of this process, I can assure you
that wherever the George Bush Library goes, the National
Archives will enjoy a partner of vigor and vision and one
committed to the educational and public service goals of
yourself and Mrs. Bush.
I visited the three institutions in November 1989 and again
in March 1990. During the intervening months, a number of
of university officials and supporters met with me for
discussions in Washington. As I assembled facts and
impressions, my staff and I concluded it would be useful if
each institution provide formal written responses. Two sets
of questions were sent to each university. The first series
of 16 questions was asked of all participants. The second
set of nine to ten queries was individualized, permitting
each institution to more fully represent their strengths and
intentions, specific to a Bush Library.
Everyone readily agreed to this process. Without exception,
the responses were timely and detailed. More significant, I
believe, the questions helped each university define its
plans and its future with a George Bush Library on campus.
Some answers are summarized in this memorandum, other
replies, on more routine administrative and standard
research operations for example, are available but not
included. Lastly, I believe there are certain answers that
do not bear abridgment and these appear as an appendix. At
the risk of overload, the appendix does allow the
National Archives and Records Administration
2
universities to fully state their case on a number of
important issues. First are several core questions which we
have provided with some analysis:
A. FUNDING
Presuming President Bush finds favor with the proposal is
Rice (TAMU, Houston) willing to be active in endowment fund
raising for Bush Library public programs and outreach?
The University of Houston responds that the Board of Regents
formally voted to underwrite the private financing of $30
million for the Bush Library and $5 million for an endowment
for public programs and outreach. These are minimum
figures, Houston states, and are only intended to confirm
unqualified financial commitment.
The Rice Board of Governors has voted to fund both the
building and the ongoing programs of the Bush Presidential
Center. If the Bush Library is located on the Rice campus,
the Board guarantees $30 million for the facility itself,
and an additional $25 million for an endowment to support
the "ongoing programs at the Center." (By use of the word
"Center," I am assuming that the yield from the endowment
will be shared among several related programs, of which the
Library will be one.)
In its response of April 20, 1990, TAMU said that it
guarantees the funds for construction of a building along
with a program endowment. Public programs of the Library
and Museum will be supported by an endowment completely
separate from that provided for construction and
maintenance. TAMU officials have stated that they will do
"whatever it takes" to assure adequate funding of programs
and activities. Once again, the amounts $30 to $40 million
were discussed for a total package including the required
endowment and I was assured by TAMU of unqualified
commitment.
B. SITES
Rice proposes two sites: a 16.2 acre area within the Hermann
Park complex and a 17.6 acre parcel on campus, at the corner
of Main and University. I would like to set aside the
Hermann Park possibility and focus on the Rice site. As a
municipal facility and provider of a variety of services to
many constituencies, use of Hermann Park raises worrisome
concerns of possible discord over Library development,
public programs, control and growth.
The campus setting is both attractive and culture central,
although it could prove an effort to locate by out-of-
towners. Rice states that there will be adequate parking
although on days of heavy visitation this may mean employing
3
a shuttle bus service from the stadium to the Library and
dependence on "multistory parking structures directly across
Main Street in the Texas Medical Center."
Visitor parking has become a significant concern at tourist
attractions everywhere; it is not simply a matter of
automobiles but of school buses, oversize tour buses, and,
in increasing number, recreational vehicles. A tight, non
expandable, location and/or one difficult to reach may prove
a vexing and enduring problem.
Compelling and memorable, the Rice campus is a distinctive
landmark of the South Main district, a celebrated clustering
of museums, universities, and parkland. While most
residents would know Rice's location, it might pose a
difficulty for those unfamiliar with Houston. Today's
tourist peels off the highway expecting a direct shot at his
destination. The driver may have a carload of kids or a RV
to maneuver, in any case, there seems to be low tolerance by
some for places not immediately found or for driving in
traffic, "on my day off." This is not so with most people
but we believe the somewhat circuitous route to Atlanta's
Jimmy Carter Library is responsible, in part, for the
unexpected low attendance.
In all its aspects, the 35 acre parcel proposed by the
University of Houston is fully satisfactory. It is
expandable, with ample parking, and quick, easy access from
two major roadways. It is at the campus edge, but planning
can effectively integrate it with the rest of the
university. Skillful landscaping will produce an inviting
environment, if not a serene one, given the nearness of
Interstate 45 and Highway 35.
In sum, either site, Houston or Rice, would enjoy the
advantages of an outstanding metropolitan center as well as
benefit from the patronage of a dedicated, "can do"
community leadership. Civic spirit and support has made
Houston a leader in cultural achievement.
Based on my inspection, the land offered by TAMU appears
fully satisfactory also--environment, ground conditions,
size and access. One mile from major university buildings,
the parcel is moderately isolated, a circumstance that
should change with time. According to TAMU's master plan,
the future George Bush Library and ancillary buildings will
anchor an extended pedestrian mall.
In its natural state, the TAMU site is the most pleasing
and, in my opinion, best fitted to develop a family oriented
facility if that is a Library goal. I concur with TAMU's
assessment that its tranquil, wooded landscape, "will
encourage families to visit, linger and return." It
provides a dramatic contrast to the urban settings of the
4
other potential sites. Additionally, the site offers
sufficient land for future growth of support buildings and
programs.
C. MUSEUM VISITATION
The perception that an urban site offers an inherent
guarantee of higher visitor attendance than does a non urban
one is not borne out by the experience of presidential
libraries. For example, the Herbert Hoover Library, in a
rural setting, currently receives more visitors than does
the Gerald Ford Library, which is situated in a city of
300,000 population. Year after year, the Lyndon Johnson
Library outdraws the John Kennedy Library, at a rate of two
to one. Greater Austin's population base is 25 percent of
Metropolitan Boston.
The Franklin Roosevelt Library, in the village of Hyde Park,
75 miles and two hours drive from New York City,
consistently receives more museum goers than does the
Hoover, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Ford and Jimmy
Carter Libraries. of all the presidential libraries, the
Carter Library in Atlanta, the "crossroads" of the South,
has the most disappointing attendance, second lowest.
If location does not determine attendance, what does?
Without slighting the complexities of the matter, I believe
the following qualities to be solid indicators of a
library's vitality: innovative leadership, imaginative
public programs, aggressive "marketing" and, especially, an
active foundation. The presence of these attributes at any
of the three proposed campuses will produce a successful and
highly visible George Bush museum program.
TAMU, is particular, has been aggressive in addressing the
issue of museum attendance, as indicated in their written
response. TAMU made this commitment in conversations with
me as well, saying a tour of the Bush Museum would be a
featured attraction of campus visits.
D. CONSTRUCTION
Each uni versity was asked to describe the design and
construction process at their respective institutions. This
is a pertinent inquiry as "in house" construction assistance
would be most helpful to the National Archives, while
providing a dollar savings for those raising the funds.
When the Ford Library was built in Ann Arbor, the University
of Michigan collaborated with the Archives at every step-
site selection, design, construction and facility
maintenance. By adding the Ford Library to its annual $150-
200 million construction portfolio, the University of
Michigan provided an expertise that saved time and money and
5
insured the completion of a quality building. It proved a
great advantage to the National Archives to have that
assistance.
Rice University boasts a beautiful campus and noble
buildings, but being a small school it has no need for a
facilities construction unit. Rice does have a construction
manager on staff who coordinates the occasional project.
The University of Houston, in recent years, has been
averaging one large construction project annually.
Houston's Office of Facilities, Planning, and Construction
(staff size not specified) provides general oversight and
negotiates architectural and engineering services. TAMU,
with an average $120-150 million in new construction each
year, maintains three separate divisions (planning,
construction, administrative services) that includes
architects, engineers, inspectors, interior designers, etc.,
approximately 61 professional and technical staff in all.
All three institutions declared their ability and
willingness to provide building security, maintenance, and
custodial services to the Bush Library on a contract basis.
The cost of these services make up 40 percent of a library
annual outlay. Thus their availability on campus is a
definite plus since the main motivation will be satisfying
the customer not turning a profit.
The following appendix comprises those responses that I
believe best illustrate the differences in choice. Certain
questions, covering a range of topics, were common to all
universities--for example, computer capabilities, inter-
university cooperation, and the role you and Mrs. Bush might
assume in Library/university activites. Other queries, the
"supplemental questions," are intended to complete the
profile of each university by addressing specific matters,
such as TAMU's perceived "remoteness," Rice's community
outreach initiatives, and Houston's plans for the Bush
Center.
Respectfully,
DON W. WILSON
Archivist of the United States
TAMU
PROPOSAL
TO ESTABLISH
A SCHOOL OF
GOVERNMENT AND
INTRODUCTION
PUBLIC SERVICE AT
TEXAS A&M
UNIVERSITY
This proposal seeks to establish a School of Government
and Public Service at Texas A&M University. With the Presi-
dent's permission, the School will be renamed the George Bush
School of Government and Public Service. The proposed School
will educate future public leaders at all levels of government. It
also will conduct research on government and public policy
through two centers, a Center for Presidential Studies and a
Center for Public Leadership Studies.
This is an especially propitious time to institute such a
program. There exists at present a crisis in the public service. The
report of the Volcker Commission (the National Commission on
Public Service) has documented such crisis in detail and has
called for remedial action to attract qualified individuals into the
public service. As Astrid Merget, dean of Ohio State's School of
Public Policy and Management and former president of the
National Association of Schools of Public Affairs, noted recently
in Governing, part of the problem lies within the educational
system. Dr. Merget deplores the focus in schools of public affairs
on managerial tools at the expense of leadership skills.
The proposed George Bush School of Government and
Public Service will build on Texas A&M's tradition of service to
the country by developing a curriculum and research program
that will stress leadership and public service through broad
education in the arts and sciences of government. The School will
be the first in modern times to re-establish a tradition, once firmly
11.9
entrenched in public administration, of a commitment to the
collective good.
30
MISSION
The mission of the school will be:
To educate at the graduate level future leaders in the public
service, both elective and appointive, at the federal, state, and
local level.
To conduct basic research at the highest levels of quality on the
conduct of public business in the United States and abroad.
To provide leadership for the national effort to attract talented
young people to careers in public service.
To provide timely analyses on public issues.
To offer continuing education for elected and appointive officials.
To instill a sense of public service and obligation to the collec-
tive good in students and others served by the School.
PHILOSOPHY
High caliber public servants are required for efficient
operation of government, yet the prestige of governmental careers
has fallen in recent years. This has led to problems in attracting
the best young talent into government at all levels, as has been
noted by the National Commission on Public Service, headed by
Paul Volcker.
The modern world requires public sector leaders of the
highest caliber, leaders who are able to understand the influence
of government on the lives of citizens and the consequences of
public policy for the conduct of the economy and the quality of
life citizens enjoy. The graduate education of future public
officials ought therefore to emphasize the difficult lessons of
politics, economics, history, and government in addition to the
specifics of technique.
31
Schools of public affairs too often fail to instill an
appropriate sense of the tradition of public service in democratic
institutions, stressing instead the technical skills of administration
and policy analysis. Although the specific skills taught in most
schools of public affairs are important for entry-level positions,
they do not equip individuals with the broader knowledge
necessary for assuming public leadership positions. The proposed
School of Government and Public Service is designed to address
this need.
Therefore, the proposed School will merge broad-based
education in the liberal arts tradition with more specific analyses
of the operation of government, politics, and public bureaucracies.
Its educational function will be directed at the acquisition of
analytical skills and an understanding of the ways in which social
and economic forces shape and are shaped by government, rather
than on the acquisition of techniques for specific public job
duties. Its research function will be directed at the furtherance of
basic understandings of the operation of government and politics
and the application of this knowledge to current policy problems.
Its continuing educational functions will be aimed at broadening
the analytical skills of current leaders.
PROGRAMS
The major degree program offered by the School will be the
master of public administration.
Offering the MPA is in keeping with the philosophy of the
School. It is the oldest of the degrees designed for educating future
public officials, and it is the only degree associated with a
tradition of public service. Other degrees, often offered by schools
of public policy or public affairs, are the master of public policy
and the master of public affairs. The master of public policy is
associated with the acquisition of specific techniques for public
policy analysis and is more appropriate for those students interested
in staff positions in the public sector than those seeking leadership
positions. The master of public affairs, on the other hand, is
usually designed for a student to achieve mastery of the arts and
sciences of government through the study of current events
rather than the study of basic social, economic, and political
forces and organizations.
32
Major research efforts will be organized by two research
centers, the Center for Presidential Studies and the Center for
Public Leadership Studies.
GOALS
Goals of the School would be:
To join a select group of institutions of higher education
internationally recognized for their roles in educating future
leaders for the public sector.
To establish a leadership position within that group by:
Emphasizing broad analytical skills and conceptual
understandings rather than specific techniques; and
Integrating programs with the traditional academic
disciplines, particularly the social sciences, in both
educational and research missions.
To be at the forefront internationally in research in:
The study of the institution of the United States
presidency and executive branch leadership in general;
The study of public leadership, in the United States and
abroad, at all levels of government.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Texas A&M University proposes that the George Bush
School of Government and Public Service be organized within the
College of Liberal Arts. The director of the School will report to
the dean of Liberal Arts.
All faculty members within the School will hold joint
appointments within tenure-granting departments in the Uni-
versity. Research center directors will report to the director of the
School, as will the director of the MPA Program.
To help students understand the practical aspects of gov-
ernmental decision-making, the school's faculty will include two
positions held on a rotating basis by accomplished public ser-
33
vants. Occupants will hold these positions for a period not to
exceed one year. We hope that these positions will serve as a
transition from public to private life for accomplished political
decision-makers. Each will bring a fresh perspective to students
.ind Texas A&M faculty and staff, enriching the educational
mission.
CURRICULUM
Currently, Texas A&M offers the master of public
administration degree through the auspices of the Department of
Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts. The program was
established in 1979 and has graduated 90 students since that time.
About equal numbers of graduates have taken positions with the
federal government, with state governments, and with local
governments; several are employed in the private sector. The
program currently enrolls around 50 students, with about 60
percent of these being full-time enrollees. Assistantships are
provided by the Department of Political Science to qualified MPA
students. Students are recruited nationally, and their quality has
greatly increased in recent years.
The current MPA degree is already heavily academic in its
orientation, rather than being based merely upon acquisition of
"technical skills." But it is principally concerned with preparing
students for entry- and mid-level careers in government and does
not focus specifically upon significant leadership positions.
Commensurate with both its current orientation and resource
base, the existing MPA program can attract good students, but
generally not the excellent students who matriculate at the
nation's most prestigious schools of public affairs and
administration.
Texas A&M proposes that the School of Government and
Public Service assume supervision of the current MPA degree and
transform it to meet the new mission and goals we have set forth.
This proposal describes a general curriculum for the MPA
program in the School of Government and Public Service. The
curriculum is intended to meet this University's mission and
goals and the requirements of the National Association of Schools
of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the national
accrediting body for such programs. The details of this proposed
34
curriculum, however, have not been fully articulated. For this
reason, and because it is in many ways a significant departure
from the current MPA program, considerable work remains to
define the curricular details and plan the transition from one
program to the other.
RESEARCH
Two research centers will be located in the School for
Public Service, the Center for Presidential Studies and the Center
for Public Leadership Studies. Both will be interdisciplinary,
drawing on such fields as political science, history, psychology,
communications, and economics. Faculty from Texas A&M and
visiting scholars from other universities could be associated with
the centers. Those using the Library, should it be established, also
might arrange temporary association. The centers also will support
doctoral students earning Ph.D.'s in social science fields (or in
other associated fields), postdoctoral students, and other fellowship
holders.
The establishment of these two research centers offers a
unique opportunity for Texas A&M University. First, no
presidential library is associated with a university-based center
for the study of the presidency. Second, none of the current public
policy schools focus on the study of the essentially political
nature of public leadership in their research endeavors. Indeed,
the research component of many of these schools is weak in
comparison to their educational and public service efforts. Finally,
the two centers complement one another. Acting together, and
especially in concert with the research function of the Library,
they could bring considerable visibility and prestige to Texas
A&M in a field where it has not traditionally made a mark.
One center, the Center for Presidential Studies, will be
highly focused on the study of a uniquely American institution.
It will be recognized immediately as a world-class center. Should
the Bush Library be located at Texas A&M, the Center will begin
efforts to work with Bush Administration officials to plan future
joint programs with the Library.
35
The second center, the Center for Public Leadership Stud-
ies, will be more encompassing, both in regard to objects of study
and in regard to academic approaches. It will need to draw on
political science, history, psychology, statistics, and communi-
cations, as well as other disciplines. After a period of develop-
ment, the Center will bring visibility and prestige to Texas A&M
University through its programs on public leadership. Even more
than the Center for Presidential Studies, the more encompassing
subject matter of the Center for Political Leadership Studies will
broaden the base of the research component of the School for
Government and Public Service.
Both centers have significant potential for acquiring en-
dowments and grant funding. Endowments could fund the base
Center operations themselves, and the Center could be named for
the donor. For both centers, basic research grants and applied
grants and contracts will augment base funding from the Univer-
sity and endowments.
CONCLUSION
The establishment of the George Bush School of Govern-
ment and Public Affairs at Texas A&M University will be the
first "post-Volcker Commission" program in the country. The
country's attitude toward its public servants is currently in a state
of flux. Public officials continue to be viewed with suspicion, but
many Americans are realizing that a competent and vital public
service is a national treasure. Texas A&M has a unique opportu-
nity to lead in the restoration of the public service to a valued
place in American life.
36
Additional Ten Questions from Don Wilson
Received, March 19, 1990
Regarding the Bush Presidential Library
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
1. One complaint frequently ventilated by those who favor the Bush Library in
Houston is TAMU's "remote" location. By way of rebuttal. you may wish to note
scheduled transportation improvements for the area. Are there existing plans for
improving road access into College Station/Bryan? What about train service and the
expectation of growth of scheduled air service into the area?
Texas A&M University is located in the population center of Texas
Access is not just a matter of time, it is distance, time and convenience; the
central location of Texas A&M and its freedom from urban congestion make
it easily accessible from the major population centers of the world
The Texas A&M site is convenient to public and private modes of
transportation: air, train, bus and automobiles
Major improvements in regional, trunk, and federal highways serving Texas
A&M University have been approved and are under construction
Uncongested travel to Texas A&M University is scenic, relaxed and
pleasurable
Texas A&M University has a centralized location in Texas between major urban
areas. More than 77 percent of Texas residents live within a 200 mile radius of College
Station. It is in the population "heart" of Texas, and well within the Texas driving range
for bus tours and family day trips.
The Texas A&M site offers the unique advantage of a central location that makes
it a nearby destination from the major population centers in Texas. The Library and
Museum would be within easy driving distance from Houston (1-2 hours), Austin (2
hours), Dallas-Fort Worth (3 hours), Waco (2 hours), San Antonio (3 hours), Corpus
Christi (4 hours), Tyler (3 hours), and Longview (3 hours).
College Station is readily accessible for those traveling by public as well as
private transportation. Easterwood Airport, a full-service airport with the new William
A. McKenzie terminal, is within five minutes of the proposed site. It is served by
American, Continental, and Delta Airlines and has adequate ground transportation, as
further discussed in the response to question three. A railroad station with daily Amtrak
service is within five minutes of the site. In addition to a nearby national bus line station,
the University and the community each operate intercity bus lines.
Texas A&M University is an excellent site for the predominant group of visitors
to presidential libraries: school children! Approximately two-thirds of the visitors to the
Johnson Presidential Library arrive in school buses. The central location of College
Station makes it possible for the great majority of Texas school children to visit the
Library and then return to their communities in easy day trips. The Texas A&M site
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 1
would serve a larger potential user group for the George Bush Library and Museum than
any other single city within Texas.
A common pattern is that local school districts in the communities where other
presidential libraries are located do not participate in visitation programs. Based on
visitation experiences at these libraries, it is reasonable to conclude that more school
children from major urban areas in Texas would visit the Bush Presidential Library in
College Station than if it were located in one of the major urban areas.
Improvements to the major highways leading to College Station are presently
under construction or scheduled for construction by the Texas Highway Department
(please see accompanying map). The so-called "Aggie Expressway" will reduce both
travel distance and time between College Station and Houston. Improvements under way
on Texas Highway 6 will make travel to cities such as Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco,
more convenient. Ongoing improvements in Texas Highway 21 to the University
campus will strengthen linkages to cities to the west such as Austin, San Antonio, and
those in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Texas A&M site is an easy trip for the large majority of Texas residents. The
lack of urban congestion, excellent and reasonably-priced hotel accommodations, a
variety of restaurants and other amenities for travelers are convenient both by distance
and by time.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 2
Fort War
Bryan College Statio
ATTORIO
Approved and Proposed
Highway Improvements
2. Some who favor metropolitan Houston as a site for the Bush Library say
TAMU's "remoteness" is more than simply a matter of distance from a major airport. As
a major urban center. Houston offers greater advantages for tourism. for attracting and
keeping a quality staff. and for having ready access to national media. Perhaps you wish
to address these contentions.
Texas A&M ranks among the top 10 universities in the nation in number of
students, endowment, and volume of research and, as such, is an
internationally recognized center for educational and cultural programs
More than two million participants visit Texas A&M yearly for various
events
Texas A&M offers an intellectual and cultural climate appropriate to the
Bush Presidential Library
The College Station/Bryan area offers important advantages for attracting
and keeping a quality staff, as evidenced by the success of Texas A&M in
recruiting and retaining world renowned faculty
The Texas A&M location offers ready access to national media
Texas A&M lies in the population center of Texas with more than 77 percent of
the state's population within 200 miles. In addition, the fortunate placement of Houston
Intercontinental Airport allows about equal driving time between Intercontinental and
College Station as is required between the airport and the southern and western parts of
Houston. The short trip to College Station is a relaxing drive through a scenic, wooded
area.
This, coupled with satellite communications technology, allows Texas A&M to
make full use of all of the facilities associated with urban activities while still enjoying
the considerable amenities offered in a smaller city. Using satellites, Texas A&M
broadcasts from the campus and also participates in various interactive programs initiated
at other locations. Bush Library programs would take full advantage of these state-of-
the-art facilities.
Presidential Libraries located in major urban centers do not attract the greatest
numbers of visitors. An analysis of the number of visitors to existing presidential
libraries documents that public interest in the former Presidents and the quality of their
library's public programs are more important factors in determining visitation rates. Data
supplied by the Office of Presidential Libraries suggest, for example, that in 1989 the
Roosevelt Library in a rural section of New York State, approximately 85 miles from
New York City, outdrew the Ford Museum and Carter Museum/Library, both located in
major urban cities (184,984 vs. 81,385 and 86,440 visitors, respectively). Visits to the
Johnson Library in Austin, Texas (approximately 100 miles from College Station),
exceeded 400,000 in 1989 twice the attendance of any other presidential library.
Texas A&M University currently draws in excess of two million visitors
annually, and this, coupled with the thousands of public school students who currently
visit Texas A&M throughout the year for educational and extracurricular activities,
reinforces the fact that the George Bush Library and Museum located on the Texas A&M
campus will attract a large audience.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 3
Visitors to Texas A&M are from those groups most likely to visit the Presidential
Library and Museum: school children, families, scholars, and senior citizens seeking
educational and cultural activities. More than 3,000 conference events attract visitors to
Texas A&M annually. The Texas A&M University campus is already a major center of
educational programs that attract a large number of statewide, national, and international
students and visitors. It is estimated that in 1989 nearly 1,600,000 attended conferences,
educational, and cultural programs at Texas A&M University. In addition,
approximately 550,000 individuals attended sporting events at Texas A&M.
Apart from education programs and services targeted to permanent students, the
University and University System provide programs and services to the entire state
through the Texas Engineering Extension Service, the Texas Agricultural Extension
Service, the Texas Forest Service, the Texas Transportation Institute, and other agencies.
The Memorial Student Center schedules some 1,400 activities annually, and "University
Plus" provides additional educational/recreational opportunities. Each year former
students return to campus to pursue educational programs through Aggie Hostel.
Presently, more than 100,000 school children visit Texas A&M to attend educational
programs, art exhibits, career days, and special programs such as International Week, as
well as various academically related contests and workshops, cultural and sports events.
Texas A&M University offers an appropriate intellectual and cultural climate for
the Bush Presidential Library. The qualities exhibited by President Bush throughout his
career and identified with his presidency include patriotism; volunteerism; commitment
to family, friends and community; leadership; discipline; respect for tradition; self-
improvement through education; help for the less fortunate; openness; honesty and
sincerity; and egalitarianism. Texas A&M University, its student body and former
students, historically personify these same values.
A presidential library should be an inherently unique institution that reflects the
personality, character, and values of the individual. President Bush and Texas A&M are
kindred spirits. The compatibility of Texas A&M University and the George Bush
Library is underscored by the institution's history and traditions. Texas A&M gives high
priority to its mission of service and to the importance of public education. It is a leading
institution of higher education drawing more than 40,000 students from around the world,
i.e., more than 100 countries are represented in the student body. Accordingly, Texas
A&M University offers a fitting backdrop to portray the President: the man, his
presidency, and his legacy.
As evidenced by the success Texas A&M has enjoyed, the College Station/Bryan
area offers important advantages for attracting and keeping a quality staff for the
Presidential Library. The quality of life is high: education is the primary "industry";
local schools are excellent; cost of housing and the cost of living is materially lower than
major metropolitan areas; the crime rate is low. Because of the University, the area
offers the amenities of metropolitan life without the problems that accompany urban
congestion. The economic climate is strong. The local unemployment rate is
consistently the lowest in the state. The College Station/Bryan area is listed frequently
among locations attractive for business expansion and likely to experience additional
economic development in the near future.
Texas A&M University has had excellent success in attracting and keeping
quality faculty and staff. This success is, in large measure, related to the values of the
local community. College Station/Bryan is an attractive area for family life. The staff of
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 4
the Bush Presidential Library will be made to feel at home in the academic community of
Texas A&M University and in the family community of College Station/Bryan.
The Texas A&M University site offers excellent access to national news and
communications media. National media representatives covering President Bush's major
foreign policy address at Texas A&M University's commencement in May 1989 were
pleased with local facilities. The national and international coverage of that event
underscores the point that the communications technology is readily available to bring
the attention of the world to a Presidential Library at Texas A&M.
The University and local broadcast and print media offer the requisite feeds,
uplinks, and communication networks. It should not be overlooked that the decision
about which news is worthy of dissemination is typically made initially at the local level.
Local news media personnel must first offer information to the national network. A Bush
Presidential Library at Texas A&M University would be a cultural and news focal point
for the area. At Texas A&M, the Bush Presidential Library would enjoy excellent,
ongoing access to local news and communication media, and through them, to national
and international media.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 5
3. Presumably the Center for Presidential Studies and the Center for Public
Leadership plan to solicit policymakers and commentators for symposia and conferences.
How do you respond to the assertion that many busy people will decline participation in
TAMU programs because there is no direct air service from Washington and New York
and they can't spare the extra hours required?
The symposia, conferences, and academic programs offered by the Center
for Presidential Studies will be of the quality and urgency to attract
prominent speakers and participants from around the world
Past experience is proof that there is no reluctance of busy and influential
people to attend and participate in programs at Texas A&M University
Influential leaders in government and the private sector visit Texas A&M
regularly
Texas A&M University's Easterwood Airport has numerous daily flights on
major airlines and is only one stop away from any major city in the United
States and many foreign capitals
The Texas A&M location offers excellent travel times from origin to final
destination
Influential people, including leaders in government, academia and the private
sector, visit Texas A&M University regularly. They find it a convenient destination for
their busy schedules. The symposia, conferences, and academic programs offered at the
Center for Presidential Studies will be of the quality and urgency to attract prominent
speakers and participants from around the world. Distinguished visitors who have
accepted invitations to participate in programs at Texas A&M University include Ronald
Reagan, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, former
British Prime Ministers Edward Heath and James Callaghan, former Chancellor Helmut
Schmidt of Germany, Henry Kissinger, Edmund Muskie, Robert McNamara, John
Kenneth Galbraith, Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson, among others. President
George Bush visited Texas A&M to give a commencement address in May 1989. The
President also visited Texas A&M while he was a congressman and Vice President.
Easterwood Airport is a full-service facility located within five minutes of the
proposed Library site. It is served by three major airlines: American, Continental, and
Delta. These airlines offer frequent, convenient, one-stop service to Washington, Boston,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Tokyo, London, Paris,
Frankfurt, and Mexico City are also one stop away through the 14 daily flights to Dallas
and 6 to Houston. The airport, and its new, modern terminal are owned and operated by
Texas A&M University and can accommodate major commercial and private aircraft.
Busy and influential people frequently participate in programs at Texas A&M
University. Such people assess convenience in terms of travel time from airport to
airport and also in terms of time to final destination. The Texas A&M site is within five
minutes of Easterwood Airport; travel time to local hotels from the airport or the Library
site during periods of greatest traffic congestion is no more than five minutes. Compared
to sites in major urban areas, the Texas A&M site offers excellent travel times from
origin to final destination without the delays from traffic congestion common to urban
areas.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 6
10. Obviously the Bush Library can be in one place only. If TAMU is selected
for the Bush Library. what ideas do you have for participatory activities with Rice, the
University of Houston. and other higher education institutions in the state? Similarly, if
another site were selected. what type of participation would TAMU want in library
programs?
The Texas A&M University System has led in initiating many important
programs of cooperation with other higher education institutions in the state
If Texas A&M University is selected as the Bush Library site, we will build
on existing programs and create new programs so all institutions of higher
education can participate
If Texas A&M University is selected as the Bush Library site, we would build on
existing programs of cooperation with Rice University, the University of Houston, and
other higher education institutions in the state to give them greatest access to the
resources of the Presidential Library and Museum and to affiliated academic programs of
Texas A&M University. The Texas A&M University System has eight university
campuses and numerous other facilities -- including sites in Houston, Dallas, San
Antonio, and Austin -- that promote cooperation with other higher education institutions.
Other Texas A&M University System components, such as the Texas Agricultural
Extension Service, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, the Texas Engineering
Extension Service, the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, the Texas Transportation
Institute, and the Texas Forest Service reach every county in the state and involve the
academic and professional communities and the general public in their programs.
Texas A&M University and its System historically have initiated area and
statewide programs, and have invited other universities, both private and public, to
participate for the betterment of Texas and its people. In this instance, we would initiate
and invite the above named institutions and others to participate in ongoing educational
and cultural opportunities afforded by the Bush library and the George Bush School of
Government and Public Service.
The Texas A&M University data and video networks will offer the opportunity
for any institution of higher education in the state to participate in the Bush Library
activities in College Station. In particular, the data network will allow other universities
to access the electronic information services of the Bush Library. Because of the
extensive nature of the Texas A&M University network connections, this access will be
available to the entire campus network at the other institutions. If demand from a
particular location is high, a special network link can be installed. For example, we may
want to connect the Bush and Johnson Libraries with a dedicated high speed link.
The video network capability will allow two-way interactive video among higher
education institutions and the Bush Library at Texas A&M University. Using such
capability, remote locations would participate in seminars, classroom presentations, and
presentations by special visitors. Two-way interactive video will convey the programs of
the Bush Library to other institutions. In those settings where two-way interactive
capability is not essential, we will use our uplink capability to broadcast video to a wide
variety of locations.
The Bush School of Government and Public Service and its research centers offer
several opportunities for cooperation with other institutions of higher education. Faculty
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 15
of other universities can be given appointments as adjunct faculty, visiting faculty, and
fellows. Postdoctoral fellowships, lecture series, workshops, symposia, conferences, data
archives and other Texas A&M University academic programs will be available to
students and faculty throughout Texas. Faculty at other Texas universities will be asked
to serve on the editorial board of the journal established in affiliation with the Center for
Public Leadership Studies and the Center for Presidential Studies. The Bush School and
Research Centers will offer facilities for visiting scholars who will use resources in the
Library.
The Bush Library and Museum will be a national and international resource.
Students, former students, faculty, administrators, and friends from all universities in
Texas will have the opportunity to work for the Library project through the foundation or
foundations to be established to create endowments for facilities and programs.
Texas A&M University seeks to offer what it can to the Presidential Library
project. We want the Bush Presidential Library to portray the man, his presidency, and
his legacy. The Library should be a living, enduring, and vital enterprise; it should set a
new standard for presidential libraries in the twenty-first century. We are eager to be a
part of the team the President assembles to bring the George Bush Presidential Library to
reality. Our aim is to work with the President, his staff, National Archives
administrators, and other individuals designated by the President. If another site were
selected, we would support the Bush Presidential Library as desired by the President.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 16
5.
Describe the university's computer system and how it might support the
Library.
Texas A&M University has recently installed and placed on-line a CRAY Y-
MP2/116 supercomputer.
Texas A&M University makes a wide variety of computing information services
available to its students, faculty, and staff. Mainframe (Amdahl, IBM, DEC) computing
facilities may be accessed, either from any of several thousand public terminals located
throughout the campus or from private terminals or personal computers via telephone
lines. Approximately 3,000 personal computers are available to University personnel in
classroom and public laboratories through the campus. Electronic Data Systems (EDS)
has agreed to work closely with the Texas A&M University Bush Library Steering
Committee in designing the best state-of-the-art computer network for the Bush Library.
The Sterling Evans Library houses one of the nation's most extensive collections
of computer-based information storage and retrieval aids. Bibliographic and reference
materials include data on dedicated microcomputer and CD-ROM systems. A variety of
national on-line databases can be accessed easily.
Texas A&M University has installed almost 200,000 feet of 12- and 24-strand
fiber optic cable to create a campus-wide network. Every major building and dormitory
complex on the campus is connected to this extensive network. The network carries data
and video services; voice is handled by a separate network. The fiber optic network
employs the latest design and electronics and spans the entire Texas A&M University
campus and Research Park. This network has the capacity to handle projected data, text,
and graphics needs.
Texas A&M University's network is part of the regional THEnet, which connects
the major universities in Texas (about 100 nodes), the NSF regional network
SESQUINET, and, through it, the NSFnet. In addition, Texas A&M provides access to
BITNET and Internet along with a number of specialized networks.
The catalog of holdings of the Texas A&M University library is available in
electronic format. The library supports NOTIS, a user-friendly system for using the
catalog. Catalogs of holdings of other universities in the region are available at Texas
A&M through Internet. Catalogs and other services of major libraries more distant,
including the Library of Congress, soon will be available at Texas A&M.
A wide range of on-line bibliographic services is available through telephone or
computer networks directly as well as through the Sterling Evans Library. They include
BRS, Data Times, Dialog, Orbit, Westlaw, Wilson, Federal Assistance Program Retrieval
Service, NASA RECON, Dow Jones News Retrieval Service, and Capitol Information
Service. Each provides an extensive volume of information. For example, the Wilson
system alone provides access to 17 bibliographic databases and 3 directory/authority
files.
Connection to Texas A&M University's Ethernet provides users with access to
mainframe computer facilities and a variety of communications networks. Users at the
Bush Presidential Library would be able to communicate throughout the nation and world
by means of networks such as Bitnet, Internet, and NSFnet.
Texas A&M University
Sixteen Questions - Page 6
Texas A&M University and The Texas A&M University System are in the
process of constructing a statewide telecommunications network which will have as one
of its main features the delivery of two-way interactive video. This network will link
together all parts of The Texas A&M University System and will link to several external
networks and services. In particular, using the technology described in the following
paragraphs, the network will link with satellite uplink capability allowing the broadcast
of video signal from anywhere on the Texas A&M University campus and from within
The Texas A&M University System.
The technology which will be used to achieve the two-way interactive video
capability is that of compressed video. This technology uses computer technology to
compress video signal so that it can be transmitted over medium speed digital telephone
circuits. The services provides two-way interactive video and audio capability.
On the Texas A&M University campus, the extensive fiber optic network will
carry the video signal. Off campus, the signal will be carried by leased T-1 telephone
circuits. The planned future installation of a satellite uplink on the College Station
campus will provide broadcast capability. In the meantime, Texas A&M has established
transmission capability to the satellite uplinks in Houston.
With the availability of compressed video equipment at remote sites, say
Washington, D.C. or other presidential libraries, there could be interactive conferences
among the sites. These might deal with administrative matters or matters of scholarly
interest. In addition to the transmission of the conference, the network has the capability
of handling graphics, facsimile, and data transmissions.
It will be possible to broadcast programs from the Bush Presidential Library to
any site with downlink capability in the world. This could include research seminars on
the presidential materials.
Using the interactive capability, it would be possible for other educational
institutions and government agencies to participate actively in the programs of the Bush
Presidential Library and Museum and the School of Government and Public Service at
Texas A&M University. Similarly, the compressed video capability will be used to bring
speakers of interest into the classrooms at Texas A&M University from their home
locations.
Summarizing, all of the above will be linked to and used to support the Library.
Texas A&M will continue to maintain state-of-the-art computer and telecommunications
systems as technology evolves. Such systems will give the Bush Presidential Library the
unique opportunity to access continuously the cutting edge technologies of Texas A&M
University.
Texas A&M University
Sixteen Questions - Page 7
9. Does the university sponsor conferences. lectures and symposia that would
benefit from cooperation with a Presidential Library?
The Texas A&M University System has an extensive program of conferences,
lectures, workshops and symposia located on the Texas A&M University campus. These
events are organized through the University, the Memorial Student Center, the Texas
Engineering Extension Service, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the Texas
Transportation Institute, and other units. The experience of other presidential libraries is
that conferences, receptions, lectures, workshops and symposia frequently seek to make
use of library facilities for their events. In some cases, the topic of the event is strongly
related to the mission of the presidential library. In all cases, the events benefit from the
prestige of the presidential library, and the presidential library foundation benefits from
fees paid for the use of facilities.
The following events, because of their subject matter, would particularly benefit
from cooperation with a Presidential Library:
--Conferences sponsored by the Texas A&M University Adult Literacy Center
with outreach to all 254 counties of Texas which are served by the Texas
Agricultural Extension Service.
--Conferences sponsored by the Mosher Defense Studies Institute.
--The annual Memorial Student Center Student Conference on National Affairs.
--Programs of the Memorial Student Center Jordan Institute for International
Awareness.
--Programs of the Center for Research and Education in Free Enterprise.
--Programs of the Memorial Student Center Black Awareness Committee.
--Programs of the Memorial Student Center Committee for the Awareness of
Mexican American Culture.
--Memorial Student Center Great Issues.
--Memorial Student Center Political Forum.
--Memorial Student Center Wiley Lecture Series.
--Memorial Student Center E. L. Miller Lecture Series.
--Programs of the Public Policy Resources Center.
--Programs of the Center for International Business Studies.
--Programs of the Institute for Pacific Asia.
--Programs of the Center for Strategic Technology.
For example, the Wiley Lecture Series of the Memorial Student Center has a
student administered annual forum featuring world renowned speakers and leaders. It is
entirely orchestrated, funded, and implemented by students, giving our students the
opportunity to develop leadership and responsibility. The student-designed events have
featured panelists such as former President Gerald Ford, former British Prime Ministers
Edward Heath and James Callaghan, and former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of
Germany. Likewise, notable economists such as Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson,
author and orator William F. Buckley, and notable public personalities such as Henry
Kissinger, Edmund Muskie, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Robert McNamara, among
many others, have spoken in recent years.
Similar student programs are presented by the Student Conference on National
Affairs (SCONA), as well as other groups listed above.
Texas A&M University
Sixteen Questions - Page 16
HOUSTON
GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Supplemental Question 3:
Do you perceive an opportunity for the Bush Library and the University of Houston's
Center for Public Policy to act in concert in promoting symposia and conferences?
As described in University's response to initial question 9 Houston's Center for
Public Policy is a major research, educational, and outreach program with an existing
budget of approximately one-half million dollars a year. An important part of the
University of Houston's proposal is the plan to move the Center for Public Policy
to the academic facility adjoining the Bush Library and rename it the "George Bush
Center for Public Policy and International Relations". The new Bush Center will
continue the extensive economic, political, and business programs currently in place,
and add domestic and international programs that focus on and extend President
Bush's accomplishments and interests while responding to international events. The
new Bush Center will be able to act "in concert" in promoting symposia and
conferences with the Bush Library. A brief description of the new Bush Center
prepared by James L. Smith, the current director of the Center for Public Policy is
attached. It is the University's intention to fund and endow this new Bush Center
separately and in addition to the intended endowment for programs described in
supplemental question 8.
This new Bush Center for Public Policy and International Affairs is an exciting
concept and one of the key elements to the University of Houston's proposal.
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Bush Center for Public Policy and
International Affairs
The Bush Presidential Library can be much more than an archive or museum. By
our deliberate choice it can be fashioned into a working investment -- a catalyst for learning
and study devoted to the new social challenges and opportunities that are coming of age
during the Bush Administration. To this end we propose the Bush Center for Public Policy
and International Affairs as an integral component of the Presidential Library.
Public policy concerns are as broad as human endeavor. It is clear already, however,
that the Bush Administration will be strongly identified with important developments:
-
in the areas of global environmental and energy policy,
-
in the acceleration of international economic integration,
-
in the breathtaking evolution of East-West relations,
-
in recognizing the value of cooperative approaches to the economic and social
problems of our neighbor states north and south of our borders.
These areas will be focal points for domestic and international policy-making during the
Bush Administration. The Bush Library will be rich in collections of utmost value to
scholars and students of public policy and international affairs. The Bush Center will by
design stimulate and support studies that tap the potential of these collections. Why is this
important? Full and proper understanding of the impact of policies affecting relations
among countries and the peoples of those countries will be a vital link in the realignment
of nations in Europe and Latin America, as well as an integral part of our own welfare.
The seeds for the Bush Center already exist at the University of Houston within its
Center for Public Policy. The mission of the Center, which has existed for a decade, is to
encourage and focus faculty and student research in the public policy arena. The Center
has been most active in topic areas that overlap and complement those enumerated above.
Under the Center's auspices, the University faculty are focusing on energy and
environmental policy, Soviet economic reform, economic and demographic analysis and
forecasting, and international trade, communications, and economic relations.
As a component of the George Bush Presidential Library, the Center for Public
Policy would expand its areas of primary strength, house resident scholars, invite domestic
and international students for advanced dissertation study and research, and host scholarly
meetings and colloquia to explore and expand the information base and resources available
at the Bush Library.
George Bush Center for Public Policy
and International Affairs
The Houston setting is right for this project. The agenda and priorities of the
present Center for Public Policy, and the broader resources of the University of Houston,
are only one part of the story. Sophisticated in technological fields (medical, chemical,
space, and energy) - but highly individualistic in the development of its government and
institutions -- Houston fosters experimentation. The frontier quality of the city is best
captured in its physical character: flat, open, ready to be fashioned by men and women.
It is a city cosmopolitan and international, an environment that attracts ideas and debate,
and certainly a city that has attracted men and women of leadership and perspective. All
qualities to be captured and leveraged by the proposed George Bush Center for Public
Policy and International Affairs.
GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Supplemental Question 5:
Has the University of Houston developed a further definition of activities (and buildings)
that will share the presidential library site?
Activities -
[1]
The Bush Center for Public Policy and International Studies.
The Bush Center for Public Policy and International Studies is described in
response to supplementary question 3. This activity is a key part of the
proposal and directly related to the activities of the Bush Library.
[2]
The Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy.
The Center has as its major objectives: to conduct, publish, and disseminate
basic and applied research on literacy; to serve as a clearing house of
information; to serve as a site for conferences and colloquia on the subject
of literacy; and to serve as a resource for policy studies and policy
development. The University is committed to fund this Center including the
establishment of a Barbara Bush Distinguished Professor of Literacy. A more
detailed description of the Barbara Bush Center is attached. The Barbara
Bush Center is a second key part of the University's proposal, and the
University is committed to its existence.
[3]
Strategic Studies Institute.
This exciting and innovative new institute will provide another distinctive
quality to the Bush Library. The concept of the institute is to build on the
wealth of information relating to the military and international relations. The
Defense and State Departments are two of the largest employers of historians.
By expanding the University of Houston's already strong Public History
Program into the areas of international studies the University will be able to
solidify its position as one of the premier graduate programs in public history
in the country. A more complete description of the strategic studies institute
is attached.
Supplemental Question 5: (continued)
[4]
Collaborative Activities. The University of Houston is committed to work
with Rice University, Texas Southern University, and the various academic
institutions located in the Texas Medical Center on collaborative programs
relating to the Bush Library. The presidents of the various higher education
institutions in the city of Houston have agreed to work together to provide
opportunities for faculty and graduate students from all local institutions to
work together on projects, and also to have the opportunity to develop
programs of their own.
Related Buildings .
The University of Houston has current plans for a related academic building of
approximately 50,000 sq. ft. to be designed and planned in collaboration with the
Bush Library. Some of the space in this related structure would be directly
complementary to the activities of the Bush Library. For example, this space might
include an auditorium, visitors lounges, computer labs, and offices for the President
and Mrs. Bush depending upon the design configuration of the Bush Library itself.
It is also the current intention that this space would house the renamed and
expanded Bush Center for Public Policy and International Studies. The Barbara
Bush Center for the Study of Literacy, and the Strategic Studies Institute may also
be in this space.
It is also intended that some of this related space will be available for joint projects
with Rice University and Texas Southern University as well as others who would like
to join in collaborative programs.
The proposed 35-acTe site has sufficient space for two or three academic buildings
in addition to the Bush Library. One project under current consideration is a new
communications building complex which would house the University's public
television station, public radio station, as well as the department of communications.
This could be a very positive development, and relate well to the activities of the
Bush Library and Bush Center.
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
The Barbara Bush Center for the
Study of Literacy
President George Bush has achieved a growing record as a supporter of education
and of educational reform. First Lady Barbara Bush has an equally long record of
dedicated support to the advancement of literacy. We propose that the Bush Presidential
Library have as a major component The Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy.
Its purpose will be to provide a center for literacy research where scholars from across the
country and around the world may gather to generate and share knowledge about this major
national and international problem.
Purpose and Objectives
The purpose of the Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy is to promote
literacy in local, national and international settings. Its major objectives are:
to conduct, publish, and disseminate basic and applied research on childhood,
adolescent, and adult literacy and by so doing promote dialogue among
literacy researchers.
to serve as a library and clearing house of information on the various
components of literacy research and on the current status of on-going literacy
projects around the world.
to serve as a site for conferences and colloquia on the subject of literacy,
bringing together leading scholars from such educational disciplines as
psycholinguistics, psychology, the teaching and learning of reading,
composition and rhetoric, sociology, and anthropology.
to serve as a resource for policy studies and policy development on ways in
which social, economic, and political resources can be brought to bear on the
problem of literacy.
Illiteracy as a National Problem
Though literacy is most often associated in the public mind with underdeveloped,
third-world nations, one of the lessons of the 1980s has been the extent to which illiteracy
is a wide-spread and growing problem in America itself, the richest and most highly
developed nation in the world.
The inability to read and write at the functional level required for active and
effective participation in American social, economic, and political life has serious
implications for virtually every sector of our society. For the schools, illiteracy means
The Barbara Bush Center for
the Study of Literacy
Page Two
increased incidences of failure and dropout. For prospective employers, illiteracy means
applicants whose skill levels bar them from employment or limit them to marginal or entry-
level positions with little or no hope for career advancements. For the nation at large,
illiteracy means individuals who are unable to engage as full-informed citizens in the
institutions of democratic life. The fact that the level of literacy demanded by our
information and knowledge-based society has risen and continues to rise further compounds
the problem. To the extent that literacy is identified disproportionately with certain racial,
ethnic, and socio-economic groups, its very existence tends to exacerbate tensions and
divisions within the fabric of society itself.
The clear implications of continuing illiteracy has given rise in recent years to
numerous efforts at the local, state, national, and international levels to bring about its
eradication. Yet, as Daniel A. Wagner of the University of Pennsylvania has recently
written, "A central paradox in efforts to reduce illiteracy in today's world is that so much
effort has been invested, and so little knowledge gained, about how best to achieve success."
Such, in brief, is the case for the Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy.
Houston as a Laboratory for the Study of Literacy
Houston is an international city in every sense of the word. Houston and Houston-
area school districts report that some one hundred different languages are spoken in the
homes of their students. Houston companies do business quite literally around the world.
Fifty-three foreign consulates have been established in Houston, and the Port of Houston
ranks first in the nation in foreign tonnage. And appropriately enough, given its
commitment as a city whose face is turned toward the world, the 1990 International
Economic Summit will be held in Houston, Texas.
As a multicultural, multilingual living laboratory, Houston offers opportunities to
promote and study early intervention with children to bring childhood literacy, as well as
to learn more about the most effective means of correcting and improving literacy skills
among adults. We do not yet fully understand the complexity of interactions between issues
of basic literacy, multilingualism and cultural differences. Greater knowledge of those
interactions is essential for the growth, prosperity and peace of our nations and of our
world.
We believe that the proposed Center will contribute significantly to our
understanding of the dynamics of becoming literate in a bilingual or multilingual
environment. We need to understand the nature of the interdependence between first and
second languages in the acquisition and development of literacy skills. Implications of such
research are enormous given the high school dropout rates and low levels of academic
achievement among language-minority students. This research will contribute significantly
to our understanding of both the learning and teaching process. There is much also to
learn about the socio-cultural context in which learning takes place and the various factors
and influences that impact upon and shape that learning environment.
The Barbara Bush Center for
the Study of Literacy
Page Three
The Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy will, in short, support research
into fundamental literacy issues and will seek to assume a leadership role in investigating
literacy in dual languages contexts as it so often occurs in urban environments like Houston.
It will also seek to become the focal point of a broad international network of organized
literacy resources, such as the READ Commission, the National Aeronautic and Space
Administration's Johnson Space Center, the United Nations, UNESCO, the National
Advisory Council on Adult Education, university literacy research centers; and specialists
in reading, writing, artificial intelligence, anthropology, linguistics, psychology, economics,
and history in Houston-area universities such as Rice, the Texas Medical Center, and the
University of Houston. Such a broadly based and broadly conceived center for literacy
study will benefit not only the regional and national community, but will also benefit those
many countries around the world whose leaders struggle with the problem of how best to
integrate national languages and indigenous mother tongues within a single social and
political order.
The Museum/Library Setting
Because the various programs of the Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy
will be located in a modern and technologically sophisticated museum/library setting, they
will be able to draw upon various exhibits, artifacts, and collections designed to illustrate
such topics as the development of written language, how schooling promotes childhood
literacy around the world, and the efforts made by different countries to develop and
maintain a literate workforce. Houston's many consulates will be asked to participate in
the development of these exhibits.
The Center will make major use of new and emerging communication technologies
as an integral part of its research and information dissemination programs. University of
Houston faculty, in consultation with scientists from nearby Johnson Space Center, are
already in the process of developing a computerized tutorial to teach reading and problem-
solving strategies to adult illiterates. Headway is also being made with voice recognition
hardware and software that offers the promise of expert feedback on developing reading
abilities. In addition to making use of computer technology as a part of its own research
program, the Center will display and make available to others state-of-the-art literacy
promoting software developed by other educational institutions and corporate sources
throughout the nation and world. It will utilize computer technology as well toward
building sharable data bases of information on the subject of literacy which will, in turn, be
accessible by users everywhere.
The Barbara Bush Center for
the Study of Literacy
Page Four
Staffing and Support
Critical to the Center and its success are adequate staffing and support. To provide
on-going leadership for the Center the University of Houston will establish and endow the
"Barbara Bush Distinguished Professorship in Literacy" together with a series of visiting
professorships for "Resident Fellows" of the Center. The Center will house a small support
staff which will include clerical personnel, technologists, research assistants, and university
faculty specialists attached to the Center on a part-time basis. Support for the Center will
be augmented by external research projects and grants.
The Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy will provide an enduring legacy
to the leadership of President and Mrs. Bush, a legacy which will, in turn, benefit all
humanity.
GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Supplemental Question 7:
Does the University of Houston see a structured role, albeit a flexible one, for President
and Mrs. Bush in the post-presidential years? Do you have any thoughts on the form of
their participation?
The University of Houston is eager to have the participation of the President and
Mrs. Bush in the activities of the Bush Library, and in various related activities.
Specifically, the University anticipates the following:
[1]
That President Bush and Mrs. Bush will each have faculty appointments at
the University, and will be invited to teach and participate in regular courses,
and in special courses and seminars designed for them.
[2]
President Bush and Mrs. Bush will each have their administrative offices
located in the Bush Library, or in the related academic building. An
important objective is to provide each of them with a forum for continued
involvement in areas they define as important. The various programs
sponsored by the Bush Library and the related activities will give the
President and Mrs. Bush an opportunity to communicate to the general public
as well as to the University community.
[3]
The President will be encouraged to assist serious scholars explore the role
of this Presidency in History. This can be done through the Strategic Studies
Institute, as well as structured involvement in particular research projects, the
existence of the Public History Program will help make this activity specific
and practical.
[4]
President Bush will be asked to serve on the Board of the Bush Center for
Public Policy and International Studies, and the Strategic Studies Institute, and
invited to participate in the planning and participation of programs.
[5]
Mrs. Bush will be asked to serve on the Board of the Barbara Bush Center
for the Study of Literacy, and invited to participate in the planning and
participation of programs of that Center.
[6]
The President and Mrs. Bush will be asked to name other individuals to serve
on the Advisory Boards of the various activities related to the Bush Library.
GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Supplemental Question 9:
Obviously, the Bush Library can be in one place only. If the University of Houston is
selected for the Bush Library, what ideas do you have for participatory activities with Rice,
TAMU, and other higher educational institutions in the state? Similarly, if another site
were selected, what type of participation would the University of Houston want in library
programs?
The President of the University of Houston has already agreed with the President
of Rice University, the President of Texas Southern University, and the Presidents
of the various institutions of higher education connected with the Texas Medical
Center to collaborate on academic programs relating to the Bush Library.
Specifically, if the University of Houston is selected for the Bush Library the
University is prepared to do the following:
[1]
Invite each of the institutions to assign faculty and graduate students to work
with the various Centers and research project connected with the Bush
Library.
[2]
The University of Houston will help organize the supervision of collaborative
activity and the supervision of graduate students for advanced degrees
involved in research related to the Bush Library from the various institutions.
[3]
The University of Houston will provide the opportunity for the various
institutions to build or lease facilities for the development of their own
individual programs related to the Bush Library.
[4]
The University of Houston will invite representatives from each of the
institutions to participate in the advisory boards involved with the various
programs related to the Bush Library.
[5]
The University of Houston will work with these other institutions in their
development of computer access to materials stored in the Bush Library, and
in other ways to enhance the use of the Bush Library by their faculty and
students.
The University of Houston has participated with Rice University in inviting Texas
A & M University to be involved in this collaborative effort, and will renew this
invitation in the future if it is selected.
If another site is selected for the Bush Library the University of Houston would want
the opportunity to participate in the various ways described above that we are willing
to provide to others.
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Question 5: Describe the university's computer system and how it might support the
Library?
A.
University's Computer System
The University of Houston supports numerous academic and administrative
computing environments. Specifically, the academic system is an assemblage of DEC
minicomputers (combined in a configuration called a JETSON cluster), an IBM
compatible mainframe (AS 9000), a pair of AT&T minicomputers, to support the
UNIX operating environment, and numerous stand-alone workstations and
microcomputers (Approximately 1,500 of these systems may be found in the
academic environment). Many of the University's microcomputers are located in
public clusters to give student access to such resources. Presently there are 17
clusters located around the campus to facilitate ease of use by students. The
administrative computing environment is primarily composed of a DEC cluster (5
large VAX minicomputers) but also includes numerous powerful desktop machines.
Currently the university is in the process of networking the entire campus. This
procedure will include the installation of a state of the art digital voice/data system
(ROLM) and the placement of a fiber optic cabling backbone throughout the
campus. Upon completion of this project any office within the University will be
able to communicate directly with our campus supported computer systems and many
offices will be able to use the desk top resources that reside in non contiguous offices
(e.g. the ability to print a document from my computer on your printer). All of the
University's residential facilities will be connected to the campus network. This
includes the new commercial/university joint venture apartment project currently
being constructed.
The University has also recently installed a microwave system that enables it to
communicate with all of the other components of the University of Houston System.
The microwave will enable the components to transmit voice, data, and video
between each facility. Presently we are investigating the benefits of formalizing a
relationship with the UT and A & M Systems to jointly share all microwave
installations. If this arrangement is formalized the University will have the
capabilities of both sending and receiving video, statewide, as well as having the
ability to share all resources (computing, library, etc.) with the UT and A & M
System.
The University also is a member of two statewide computing networks; THENET
and SESQINET. These networks also allow the University to easily communicate
with all the other major Universities in the state including: Rice, UT, A & M, Texas
Tech, etc.
Question 5: (continued)
If the Bush Library is located at the University of Houston it can easily become a
part of the total computing environment that has been configured here. It would be
networked as part of the campus therefore giving it the ability to communicate with
the library, computer center, residential housing, or any other unit on campus. It
could conduct video conferences in the facility or send and receive live seminars
from or to most anywhere around the world.
The environment that has been and is being created at the University would assist
the Bush Library in carrying out its objectives of disseminating information
throughout the state, United States, and around the world.
B.
M. D. Anderson Library's Computer System
M. D. Anderson Library has established a leadership role among research libraries
in the use of information technology to expand both services and access to
information, while increasing productivity in both processing and service programs.
An important step in this process was taken in 1983 with the implementation of the
Geac Integrated Library System (ILS). The database of the ILS includes the
holdings of all the libraries on each of the four University of Houston campuses.
The ILS allows access to the library resources of all units of the University of
Houston System. Access is available via the campus Ethernet, or dial-up access is
possible with any PC with a modem. Access will also be available through the new
campus telephone system. With a database of over 950,000 catalog records
representing over 2 million volumes, the University of Houston has one of the largest
academic public online catalogs in the nation.
Beyond the University of Houston, the M.D. Anderson Library has a number of
cooperative agreements with other libraries both within and outside the State of
Texas. One. of the most useful is the Houston Area Research Library Consortium
(HARLiC): The members of HARLiC have established reciprocal borrowing
privileges for faculty and graduate students. A courier service transmits books and
journals borrowed through interlibrary loan among the member libraries. Free
photocopying for all interlibrary loan requests is provided.
A computerized catalog of the holdings of the HARLiC libraries is being developed
with the support of a Federal grant. This computerized catalog will contain records
of the holdings of HARLiC member libraries, using optical disc storage devices
(Compact Disc Read-Only Memory, or CD-ROM). This computerized catalog will
provide access to over 8 million volumes, representing the collections of the major
university and health science libraries in the greater Houston metropolitan area and
East Texas. The HARLiC member libraries are Houston Academy of Medicine -
Texas Medical Center, Rice University, University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston, Houston Public Library, Texas Southern University, Texas A & M
University, Prairie View A & M University, and the University of Houston.
)
Question 5: (continued)
At the regional level, the libraries on all four campuses are members of the
AMIGOS Bibliographic Council. AMIGOS is a multi-state, computer-based
bibliographic network with member libraries in six states across the Southwest.
AMIGOS is in turn a member of the international library computing agency, the On-
Line Computer Library Center (OCLC). On-line computer access through OCLC
provides access to records of more than 18 million records for books and journals
in 5,500 libraries across North America. OCLC services include computerized on-
line interlibrary loan.
All of these facilities and services will be available to the staff of the Bush Library.
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Question 9: Does the university sponsor conferences, lectures and symposia, that would
benefit from cooperation with a Presidential Library?
Various departments and colleges at the University of Houston sponsor numerous
conferences, lectures, and symposiums during any given year many of which would benefit
from cooperation with the Presidential Library. Particularly relevant are various
conferences sponsored by the Center for Public Policy, the College of Business, and the Law
Center.
A.
The Center for Public Policy
The University of Houston Center for Public Policy is one of the strongest programs
of its type in the country. The following is a list of conferences and symposiums held
in 1989 - all of which would benefit from cooperation with the Presidential Library.
[1]
April 19 - Houston, Texas: The Next Chapter Unfolds - a conference.
Dr. Barton Smith presented his economic analysis of the regional economy,
focusing on research on oil dependent economies.
[2]
July 13 - 14 - Natural Gas: Meeting California's Energy Needs and Air
Quality Goals
The Center contributed to the continuance of public discussion of natural gas
regulation, business practice issues, and the environment.
[3]
November 16 - Frank Carlucci: Changes in the Pentagon?
Former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci gave his audience some straight
talk about the Soviet's military establishment and the unknown outcomes of
the current political turmoil.
[4]
December 1 and 2 - Electing the Senate: National Election Studies
Benchmark Survey on Senate Elections
Sixty congressional scholars assembled for a, two-day symposium to discuss
research based on the first national survey of voting behavior in senatorial
elections.
[5]
December 7 - 1987 Economic Census Data Users Conference
A discussion of the federal economic census, a basic source of data on the
economics of the nation.
Question 9: (continued)
[6]
December 10 - 12 - Prospects for a Soviet Economic Reform
A small group of Soviet economic policy researchers and American Soviet
scholars gathered for 3 days of discussion about the process of Soviet
transition toward a market economy.
B.
Following is a list of other national programs presented by various academic units
in the University which also would benefit from cooperation with the Presidential
Library.
[1]
Business, Society, and Environmental Crises: Who and What Will the Public
Believe? Sponsored by the College of Business Administration - March 28,
1990.
[2]
Mental Health in the 1990s - a national conference on law and mental health
policy sponsored by the University of Houston Health Law Institute - March
15, 1990.
[3]
Managing Liability from Hazardous Wastes - sponsored by the Environmental
Liability Law Program in 1989.
[4]
A Commitment to Caring - a lecture series in 1989 by the School of Social
Work.
[5]
We have enclosed folders and attachments involving a variety of other
activities and conferences.
The University of Houston was the principal founder of the Forum Club in the city
of Houston. This has grown into one of the major public affairs speaking lecture
organizations in the country. President Bush was a speaker at the Forum Club last
spring. There would be a mutual advantage to the activities of the Forum Club
and the Bush Library by its presence in the city.
C.
Tenneco Lecture Series - an endowed lecture series which brings distinguished public
figures to the University. This program is part of the Humanities and Professions
Program and is administered within the Public History Program.
RICE
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 1
A. From the University's perspective, does Rice see a structured role, albeit a flexible one, for Mr.
and Mrs. Bush in the post-presidential years? Do you have any thoughts on the form of their
participation?
We are honored to have this opportunity to comment on the role President and Mrs. Bush
might assume within Rice University and the Bush Presidential Center located on or near
our campus.
First, we plan to encourage President and Mrs. Bush to participate in the programs both of
the Bush Presidential Center and of Rice University to the greatest extent their schedules
will allow after they leave the White House. We, as well as our surrounding community,
hope very much that President and Mrs. Bush will use the Bush Presidential Center as
their principal base of operations for all aspects of their public lives.
Second, we are proposing a menu of specific possibilities in order to allow maximum
flexibility to President and Mrs. Bush. We do not presume to know nor do we presume to
speculate on how President and Mrs. Bush will choose to involve themselves in the
activities and operations of the Bush Presidential Center. The range of possibilities is
nearly limitless. The President and First Lady will want to decide, among other matters:
The amount of time they wish to devote to the Bush Presidential Center
The ways in which they wish to distribute that time among various Center activities (that
is, through broad involvement in many simultaneous programs or through focused
involvement in a smaller number of programs)
The particular programs in which they want to participate
The nature of their involvement in those programs, ranging from daily, hands-on
participation to a less frequent, more advisory role
The sorts of other programs they would like the Center to initiate but in which they may
not wish to participate directly
In light of this range, we offer a menu of options for President and Mrs. Bush to consider.
This menu is intended only to suggest, not to exhaust, the possibilities. We encourage the
Bushes to select as many of these options as they wish. As we noted in our first premise,
we welcome the full involvement of President and Mrs. Bush. At the same time, we
recognize there will be pressures on their time from many other quarters. From our
perspective, however, an ideal model would be one in which President and Mrs. Bush use
the Bush Presidential Center as a base for all their activities, including those not linked
directly with the Center itself.
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 2
A menu of possibilities:
Teaching appointments at Rice, which will allow for direct contact with Rice students,
who are recognized as among the best in the nation. These appointments could be
made in the Social Sciences (such as the Department of Political Science), in the
Jones Graduate School of Administration, in the Department of Education, or in the
Office of Continuing Studies.
Associate appointments at one or more of our residential colleges, which will allow for
informal, social interaction with Rice undergraduates and full participation in college
activities.
Various administrative or faculty roles in the Bush Presidential Center, including
participating in the research, educational and outreach programs of the proposed
Bush Institute for Research and Education (as described in Appendix K) and as well
as joining the Bush Institutes Governing Board.
Full participation in functions sponsored by Rice University academic departments
(including Political Science, Education, and the Jones Graduate School of
Administration) and by Rice centers, including the Center for the Study of
Institutions and Values and the Rice Institute for Policy Analysis.
Supervisory, participatory, or advisory roles on various outreach activities, including, for
example: the Rice Student Volunteer Program and its active Adult Literacy Program,
which began in 1987; the Center for Education and its model laboratory school being
created in cooperation with the Houston Independent School District, which will be a
national model for innovative educational programs; and the Jones Graduate School
of Administration's Office of Executive Development, which offers courses of
instruction to members of the Houston business community. Please see our response
to Question 13 for more information on these important efforts.
Full participation in the many other educational, social, cultural and athletic events that
take place regularly on the Rice campus.
A note on Rice University. President and Mrs. Bush already know a lot about Rice. We
wish to add a few words about how their experience at Rice might differ from that at other
universities under consideration for the Bush Library. Rice's unique qualities - our small
size, our high quality, our firm commitment to an unequaled curriculum at an affordable
cost, our magnificent setting, and our relaxed atmosphere - offer the ideal setting in which
the Bushes could pursue their interests. Our active outreach and continuing education
programs provide abundant opportunities for working with the Houstonians who frequent
our campus. The central location of the campus will afford the President and Mrs. Bush
easy access to all parts of the city. Our buildings and grounds are both dignified and
tranquil, and so will provide an unsurpassed setting in which the Bushes could entertain
visitors ranging from family friends to heads of state. Our world famous undergraduate
programs will allow both President and Mrs. Bush to teach and interact with the best
college students in the nation in settings ranging anywhere from small, informal seminars
and research projects to lectures to the larger Rice community. We will encourage
President and Mrs. Bush to work with us to shape roles for themselves and for us with
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 3
which we will all feel comfortable. We see the potential here for the most successful
blending of the lives of a Presidential family and of a university that has ever been
achieved.
Endowed chairs. As a further step to strengthen the links between the Bushes and Rice
University, we propose, subject to the agreement of President and Mrs. Bush, to create two
new endowed chairs for Rice professors, with one chair named for George Bush and one
for Barbara Bush.
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 5
C. Rice University, in its prospectus, states that it "will take on" the demanding outreach component
that will come with a presidential library. At this juncture, does Rice have any preliminary ideas or a
general outline for community oriented programs?
D. Traditionally, presidential libraries try to cultivate presence through outreach programs. In the
matter of such commitments, is Rice University interested in cooperating with the Bush Library in
activities that might fall under the rubric of civic or citizen education; that is, activities targeted for
the general population?
Rice University is very enthusiastic about collaborating with the Bush Library to create
excellent community-oriented programs. The university already has the broadest-based
continuing education and community service programming of any university in the region.
For any university to develop these outreach programs, two factors are crucial: a large and
diverse surrounding community not only to provide resources but also to support an
outreach program, and a commitment by the university's administration to ensure the
institutional support necessary for these activities to flourish. Clearly, Rice University has
both. These programs currently serve populations as diverse as the business and
professional leaders of Houston, area public school teachers and their students, young
people from 38 other countries, minority school children, and adults learning to read. The
Bush Center will become a focal point for extending these outreach efforts to local,
national, and international communities.
A more detailed description of the university's community programs appears in the answer
to Question 13, but briefly, the activities already in place that could strengthen and in turn
be strengthened by the Bush Library are as follows:
The largest and most respected university continuing education program in the area.
With an annual enrollment approaching 9,000 students, Continuing Studies offers
innovative non-credit courses to business and professional people in Houston and
the surrounding areas, as well as young people from 38 foreign countries. Many of
the department's offerings already focus on current events, history, and languages and
could be held at the Center, using primary materials from the collection. Other
courses focusing on the collection could be developed collaboratively.
The Rice Student Volunteer Program (RSVP) that involves Rice undergraduate and
graduate students in more than 56,000 hours of community service a year. As part of
the activities, fifty-five trained Rice students are teaching local adults to read and
more than one hundred students have established mentoring and tutoring
relationships with area middle and high school minority students. The library setting
will afford exciting primary materials for "hands on" instruction for both groups.
Rice programs benefiting area school teachers and their students. The university's
Education Department has for many years held a summer academic program that has
attracted thousands of local middle and high school students to the campus.
Hundreds of teachers already enroll in Continuing Studies courses for Texas
Education Agency credit. Others could engage in summer institutes for social studies
and history taught by Rice faculty and held at the Center. In addition, Rice's
Education Department and the Houston Independent School District are now
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 6
developing an experimental laboratory K-8 school in which Rice faculty will help train
teachers from other HISD schools who will be spending sabbatical years at the new
facility. This project is designed to be a national model for teaching and learning
excellence in an urban setting. The materials from the Bush Library will enrich this
venture enormously.
Though small (with an undergraduate and graduate enrollment of about 4,200), and
private, Rice University has a major scholarly impact on Houston and the surrounding
community. The rich materials of the Bush Center and the leadership of President and
Mrs. Bush will greatly enhance this ongoing commitment.
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 7
E. The Rice Institute for Policy Analysis (RIPA) appears to be an active, scholarly program that
informs elite audiences on contemporary social science issues. Do you feel there may be
opportunities for linkage between RIPA and the Bush Library?
Among the existing interdisciplinary structures at Rice, the two most closely tied to our
proposed Bush Institute are the Rice Institute for Policy Analysis (RIPA), which deals with
applied research and public outreach, and the Center for the Study of Institutions and Values
(CSIV), which focuses on theoretical and applied research. The opportunities for linkage
with the Bush Library are vast. As we indicated at our November meeting with Don
Wilson, these two structures form an appropriate base from which to develop the proposed
Bush Institute for Research and Education.
Established in 1981, RIPA is a component of the Rice School of Social Sciences. RIPA
provides a forum for nationally distinguished government officials, policy specialists,
faculty and journalists to meet with and speak to leaders from Houston's business,
governmental and educational institutions. RIPA's mission is to promote education and
research on contemporary policy issues. In pursuit of this goal, RIPA disseminates
information and research on critical policy issues, with particular emphasis on outreach to
the Houston community. The many activities of RIPA include luncheon roundtables,
public policy dinners, public lectures and seminars, forums and conferences, publications
including a newsletter, a working paper series, and a reprint series. RIPA also conducts
applied public policy research that includes election surveys at the national and regional
levels and extensive analysis of census data on a contractual basis. This research involves
Rice faculty members, graduate students and undergraduates. The program also provides
financial support for undergraduates in the form of Shell Scholarships in Public Policy.
RIPA is under the Directorship of Joseph Cooper, Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Social
Sciences in Rice's Department of Political Science.
Please see our answer to Question 9 for more detail on the current programs now
underway within RIPA and some lists of community members actively associated with
RIPA activities. Also please see Appendix K for our ideas about how RIPA might relate
to our proposed Bush Institute for Research and Education, which George Rupp and
Charles Duncan discussed with President and Mrs. Bush at the White House on January
17.
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April 20, 1990, Page 8
F. Several years ago, Rice University created the Center for the Study of Institutions and Values, an
interdisciplinary program in the social sciences. Being a very new program, I assume its direction is
still a matter for review and deliberation. Do you feel the work of the Center might give expression to
President and Mrs. Bush's ideas and ideals? If so, how?
The Center for the Study of Institutions and Values (CSIV) is an interdisciplinary center
that brings together researchers from all departments in Social Sciences and selected other
departments at Rice (drawn widely from the Humanities, Natural Sciences, Engineering,
Architecture, and Business Administration). The objective of CSIV is to examine issues
relevant to society's institutions, the rules by which they operate, and the value questions
they raise.
CSIV is indeed a new program whose direction is still evolving. CSIV has a strategic
planning process for identifying and developing new thrust areas. There is widespread
enthusiasm within CSIV for developing cooperative programs with the Bush Center. In a
planning document contained in Appendix K, we propose developing CSIV in conjunction
with the Bush Institute for Research and Education. Together with the Bush Institute,
CSIV will provide a wide range of opportunities for expressing the ideas and ideals of
President and Mrs. Bush. We plan to encourage President and Mrs. Bush to participate in
these programs in a direct, hands-on fashion.
CSIV is currently sponsoring several research projects. Our expectation is that as these
projects evolve, new projects will be added, either as earlier projects are concluded or as
the Center expands to accommodate new initiatives. Our three major projects underway at
the moment are as follows:
The first project deals with the AIDS epidemic, providing an analysis of the relationship
between the nature and costs of various levels of treatment extended to AIDS
patients and the medical outcomes these patients experience. The goal is to
formulate an economic model to forecast the economic impact of this epidemic.
The second project focuses on the Houston community and is intended to provide an
analysis of Houston's economic, political, educational and cultural institutions. The
goal is to produce a comprehensive history and description of the current state of
these institutions with a specific focus on factors that make Houston unique, including
the nature of the interaction of public and private institutions in the area.
Our third project is an interdisciplinary seminar series that focuses on rational decision
making. The seminar has been in process for over one year. In this seminar,
psychologists, economists, philosophers, political scientists, and others have discussed
recent experiments that question the rationality postulates made in economics and
decision theory. Generalizations of the standard theory of choice under uncertainty
developed in response to experimental evidence have also been discussed. Present
plans are to analyze the validity and limitations of rational, normative decision rules
in the social sciences and to formulate positive theories that better explain observed
human behavior. There will be an emphasis on theory, including philosophical
foundations and interpretations of rationality, and on experiments carried out in
psychology, economics, and political science.
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 12
H. Obviously, the Bush Library can be in one place only. If Rice is selected for the Bush Library,
what are your thoughts for participatory activities with TAMU, the University of Houston, and other
higher educational institutions in the state? Similarly, if another site were selected, what type of
participation would Rice want in library programs?
Although the Bush Library can indeed be in only one place, selecting Houston as the site
will maximize the opportunities for participatory activities with other institutions. As
George Rupp indicated to President and Mrs. Bush at the White House on January 17,
Rice University and the University of Houston are eager to collaborate on all aspects of
the Bush Library, Museum, and the proposed Bush Institute for Research and Education.
In addition, Rice and the University of Houston have had discussions with Texas Southern
University, Baylor College of Medicine, and other area schools that have focused on
planning our cooperative efforts on the Bush Presidential Center irrespective of which
Houston site is selected. These new collaborations will be a natural extension of our many
ongoing, joint research and educational activities within the Houston area. We see Rice's
central location in Houston as one of the strongest elements favoring our proposed sites.
Following these Rice initiatives, we now have in place agreements, from all four of these
institutions, pledging the cooperation of all involved. We also invited Texas A&M to
participate in these agreements, but they have declined to join us. If the Bush Library
comes to Rice, we expect they will change their minds on this point. The agreements
provide for representation of these institutions on both the Administrative Advisory
Council and the Program Advisory Council of the Board of the proposed George W. Bush
Institute for Research and Education. (Please see Appendix K for our Proposal on the
Bush Institute.) The agreements will assure an active role for all institutions in both the
research, educational, and outreach programs of the Bush Institute. Rice University
welcomes the prospect of collaborating with its friends both in Houston and throughout the
state and nation. We believe strongly that this joint venture will guarantee the creation of
the most successful presidential library possible.
Because these inter-institutional agreements are symmetric in nature, clearly Rice will
want to participate in Bush Library activities even if neither of our proposed sites is
selected. This sentiment applies to the A&M site as well. It is also true, however, that the
A&M site will be the most problematic for collaborative activities, not only for Rice but for
all the many other schools in the Houston area.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 6
5. Describe the University's computer system, including the network, and how it might support the
Bush Library.
Many advanced technological opportunities await the Bush Library if it is located at Rice
University:
Rice University and Compaq Computer Corporation are committed to combining their
unique strengths in computer hardware and software to develop an access system for
the Bush Library. This system will significantly enhance the research and scholarship
activities of the Library and at the same time facilitate a wide range of public
enrichment activities on all aspects of the Bush Presidency.
Rice has operating on the campus the full range of modern information systems, from
small personal computers and workstations to large scale mainframe computers. Rice
is also one of the nation's leading universities in terms of the expertise of its computer
professionals, and, importantly, in the operation of a sophisticated campus network
that interconnects directly with users around the country and the world.
Rice has a fully automated catalog of its Fondren Library collections using
NOTIS(LIBRiS), the most advanced software available in Houston and the choice of
many colleges and universities. Rice currently provides electronic access to resources
around the world, including the Fondren Library Collections. In addition, Rice is
participating in many collaborative projects involving Libraries and Technology on a
local, national and international level.
Rice is an international leader in computing research through CITI (Computing and
Information Technology Institute) and the NSF Center for Science and Technology.
Rice also provides leadership in networking: Rice is the home of SesquiNet - one of
the original nodes on the NSF Internet and connection for the Texas Region to the
Internet.
The Rice academic environment not only prepares students to develop technology but
uses technology to provide information resources throughout their instructional and
research programs. In particular, Rice is a leader in educational uses of technology in
Engineering Education (Owlnet).
Although the Bush Library would have its physical home at Rice University, we have the
expertise and commitment to establish its electronic home worldwide.
The following, more specific information is offered as an initial indication of what is
available currently. We will be happy to provide more detailed information upon request.
The Rice campus computing facilities are linked to one another through a local network
consisting of a Proteon 10Mbps token ring backbone with departmental tributary networks
consisting primarily of Ethernet. Most network traffic uses the DARPA TCP/IP protocol
suite, although the network is capable of carrying Digital Equipment Corporation's
DECNET, Novell's IPX, and Apple Computer Corporation's Appletalk protocol families
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 7
to varying degrees. Experimentation with the new FDDI standards and with OSI protocols
is beginning at the present time.
The Rice campus network is connected to the regional and national Internet via SesquiNet,
the Texas regional network funded in part by a grant from the National Science
Foundation awarded to Dr. Guy Almes of the Department of Computer Science and
Farrell Gerbode, Director of the Office of Networking and Computing Systems. Rice
hosts one of the thirteen NSFNET backbone network nodes through which SesquiNet
connects 15 Texas sites to NSFNET. In addition to these connections, NASA has agreed
to connect SesquiNet to its national backbone network. This connection, also to be at Rice,
is expected before mid-year. Rice is also a member of the Texas Higher Education
Network (THEnet), another regional network in Texas. The regional and national
networks carry TCP/IP traffic. THEnet coordinates a regional DECNET Internet for
SesquiNet and THEnet members. Since Rice was invited to join the BITNET II project,
BITNET traffic for the entire state of Texas has been routed through the Rice connection
to SesquiNet.
The next few years are likely to make possible a sharing of even more electronic
information resources nationally and internationally, and Rice has the platforms in place
for establishing a worldwide electronic home for the Bush Library. This means that
President and Mrs. Bush, as well as others, would be able to work with the electronic
collections of the Library from any location.
In establishing the Center for Research on Parallel Computation, a National Science
Foundation Science and Technology Center, Rice collaborated with other major
institutions (California Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, and Los
Alamos) and promised a vision of a "center without walls" that reached to minorities and
other important groups. Technology is helping to make these collaborations possible, and
Rice is dedicated to taking a leadership role in using them to benefit society, especially in
education and research.
Fortunately, much of the Bush information is already being collected in electronic form,
allowing conveniently for future electronic storage and retrieval over networks. It is
important to realize that many types of materials that were not traditionally available
electronically can now be preserved and referenced in electronic formats. Video archives,
collections of photographs, other images and sounds can now be processed, archived,
indexed and even transported fairly inexpensively and without fear of loss.
The Fondren Library catalog is maintained using NOTIS(LIBRiS), a state-of-the art on-
line public access catalog system developed originally at Northwestern. NOTIS is installed
at approximately 150 sites, including well over half of the libraries belonging to the
Association of Research Libraries. NOTIS operates on an IBM mainframe that is
connected to the Rice network and to all facilities attached to the national Internet. The
Bush Library will also have the option of cataloging its own working collection on the
LIBRiS system as a separate collection.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 8
Several related Rice projects exist between Fondren Library and Information Systems:
CSI (Center for Scholarship and Information) - Experimental Macintosh classrooms
located in Fondren Library close to bibliographic and other reference and A/V
materials. Experiments in interactive video and multi-media are being undertaken
now.
CRA (Computing Reference Area) - located within the primary computer support area,
the CRA is an experiment with handling non-traditional library materials (specifically,
computing information materials).
University Affiliate for U.S. Census Data - this project involves Rice's School of Social
Sciences in addition to the Fondren Library and Information Systems.
Economic Summit Proposal - Information Center and Kiosks.
Recently Rice University has become a charter member of a national coalition sponsored
by the Association of Research Libraries, CAUSE, and EDUCOM to address the
challenges of assuring the success of information services on the proposed National
Research and Education Network (NREN). Rice has participated actively for many years
in all three sponsoring organizations.
Rice University has also recently submitted a joint proposal with Duke University on the
rapid delivery of journal articles for the Library Research and Development Program of
the U.S. Department of Education.
There are numerous archival projects at Rice that have involved computing. Perhaps most
notable among them is the Johnson Space Center History Archive, which is made up of
historians' source files documenting America's space program from the beginning. This
archive is being indexed by the Rice staff on a host computer at the Johnson Space Center.
For more information on the archives, please see our response to Question 7.
Other major campus resources include mainframes, desktop and office support systems,
and local networks of sophisticated workstations.
It is expected that the Bush Library will benefit from Rice's ongoing services and broad
expertise in Information Systems. There may be excellent opportunities to share
development and administrative platforms/programs. The Bush Library staff will have
access to all computer training and consulting services offered to the Rice campus staff.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 16
9. Does the university sponsor conferences, lectures and symposia, that would benefit from
cooperation with a Presidential Library?
Rice sponsors a large number of conferences, lectures, and symposia, many of which could
benefit from cooperation with the Bush Library. Rice is eager to enter a partnership that
will allow us to share conference facilities, mailing lists, and other essential elements that
are needed to make these events succeed. Below we list current Rice-sponsored events,
grouped by the Rice division that sponsors each event.
University-wide events
The President's Lecture Series. This is the premier lecture series at Rice. Held about
six times per year, these lectures are open to the general public and are free of
charge; attendance ranges from 500 to 1,500 people. This year's speakers are
representative: Joyce Carol Oates (author); Jonathan Kozol (social activist); Edward
Stone (planetary physicist); David Broder (political reporter); and Edward Fiske
(education writer).
The President's Executive Luncheon. Begun in 1972, this speaker series brings
corporate leaders to campus to acquaint them with Rice faculty and research
programs. These luncheons are held twice per year. The speakers are all members of
the Rice faculty.
The Rice University Associates Dinner. This event brings a major figure to Rice to
address members of the University Associates, who are Rice's chief financial
supporters in the community. Begun 36 years ago, these formal dinners have featured
political, business and scientific leaders as the guest speaker. This year's speaker was
Admiral William Crowe, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under
Presidents Reagan and Bush.
Scientia. The Scientia Institute for the History of Science and Culture was founded by
the mathematician Salomon Bochner to encourage interdisciplinary interactions
among the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and engineering. Scientia
hosts four Rice speakers per year, and also brings an outsider to campus to deliver the
annual Bochner Lecture. A recent Scientia symposium focused upon the
superconducting supercollider to be built in Texas.
DeLange Conference Program. This new series of events will begin in 1991 and
continue in alternate years. The inaugural conference will be a three-day symposium
focusing on "Human Impact on the Environment." The program will include
presentations by anthropologists, historians, biologists, environmental specialists, and
computer scientists. The proceedings will be published.
Rice Design Alliance. The Rice Design Alliance is an outreach activity of Rice's School
of Architecture community targeted at about 800 members of the community with
interests in architecture and design. The RDA presents two series of lectures per
year at Houston's Museum of Fine Arts. It also publishes a review magazine called
Cite and sponsors architectural tours and exhibitions. The RDA will almost certainly
want to host a presentation on the architecture of the Bush Library buildings.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 17
History
The Harold and Margaret Rorschach Lectures in Legal History. These lectures bring
distinguished speakers in history, politics, and journalism to campus once or twice per
year. The audience includes not only university based scholars but the legal
community, business people, local school teachers and the general public. The most
recent Rorschach Lecture, from April of this year, was given by Stanley Katz,
President of the American Council of Learned Societies and Senior Fellow at the
Woodrow Wilson School.
The Kalb Lectures in History bring to the Rice campus an internationally recognized
speaker on general history, usually once per year. These lectures are open to the
general public, and over 5000 invitations are mailed to Rice's friends in the
community.
Finally, the History Department has a colloquium series that brings visiting historians
from around the country and world to speak to a primarily University audience.
Rice Institute for Policy Analysis
The Rice Institute for Policy Analysis is a primary forum for lectures, symposia and
conferences. RIPA's activities are so extensive that we are attaching a copy of a
recent Program Summary in Appendix A. As this summary reveals, RIPA has
brought to the Rice campus a steady stream of prominent public officials, economists,
political scientists, journalists and others. Among them are a former President of the
United States and the current Secretary of State.
This year's RIPA activities (not included in the RIPA Program Summary) include a
lecture by Richard Fenno (Distinguished University Professor, University of
Rochester), who spoke about his book describing his travels with Vice President Dan
Quayle during Quayle's years as U.S. Senator. This April, Rozeann Ridgeway
(President of the Atlantic Council and former U.S. Ambassador to East Germany)
spoke in an event co-sponsored with the World Affairs Council of Houston. In May,
Richard English (President Bush's Senior Policy Advisor for Europe and 1992) will
speak atan event co-sponsored with the International Section of the Houston Bar
Association. Finally, RIPA is developing a multi-day series of speeches and panels to
be held in the week immediately preceding the Economic Summit on the Rice campus
in July. The speaker list for this event is still in preparation but is likely to include
current and previous high ranking officials from the United States and the other
attending nations.
RIPA serves the dual missions of research and outreach. In its latter role, RIPA
provides an outstanding setting that brings together leading political and economic
figures, Rice faculty and graduate students, and key members of the Houston
community. We see RIPA serving as a model for many of the activities of a Houston-
based Bush Library.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 18
Political Science
The Political Science Department sponsored a major national conference at Rice last
December that dealt with Senate elections. Appendix B contains further information
on this "Electing the Senate" Conference.
The Political Science Department also has a colloquium series that brings visiting
scholars from around the country and world to speak to a primarily University
audience.
Sociology
Prof. Chandler Davidson is hosting on the Rice campus a major national Voting Rights
Conference, sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation. This event,
to be held in May, 1990, will draw together dozens of political scientists, survey
researchers, sociologists, legislators and others to assess the impact of the 1965
Voting Rights Act on its 25th anniversary. A preliminary program for this conference
is attached in Appendix C.
About once per year, the Sociology Department hosts the Walter and Helen Hall
Lecture, which is open to the general public. For this year's Hall Lecture, H. Ross
Perot spoke to an overflow audience on the topic of "Competitiveness."
Jones Graduate School of Administration
The Jones School has recently begun a new Dean's Seminar. This series brings 10 - 12
guest speakers to the campus each year. These speakers are drawn from the business
and the public sector, with one guest each year from the non-Jones School Rice
faculty.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 24
13. Describe the nature of the university . community programs and how might the Library relate to
these programs.
Rice University has a number of successful programs that attract local, national, and
international communities. Locating the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the
campus will enhance the long term impact of both institutions on the various communities
that the university already serves. If an auditorium and smaller classrooms were located in
the Bush Center, programs for the community could be held there and the faculty could
draw upon the materials in the Bush Library's collection.
Continuing Studies Program. Through its Continuing Studies program, the university has
the structure in place to offer the Bush Center high visibility and innovative community
programming. Rice's program has the highest enrollment in non-credit continuing
education of any university within a radius of 150 miles of the city. In a recent survey of
thirty-two other colleges and universities in the state, Rice's Continuing Studies program
also proved to have the largest collective non-credit enrollment in current events, history,
the arts, English as a Second Language, foreign languages, and related areas of study.
These courses, featuring Rice University professors and other experts, attract between
8,000 and 9,000 business and professional people to the campus annually.
Many of the most popular courses already focus on current political, historical and
economic issues. Recent or upcoming programs include "Conducting American Foreign
Relations," "Critical Moments in Modern History," "Eastern Europe: History in the
Making," "A Global View of the Economic Summit," "Changing China," "Theory of Global
Competition and the New World Economy," "Changing the Soviet Union: A Look at
Glasnost and Perestroika," and "Middle East," a three-part series. In the nine of these
courses already held, enrollment totaled 1,145.
The English as a Second Language and the Foreign Language programs offered through
Continuing Studies reflect the international spirit of Houston. In English as a Second
Language, pre-college students from 38 countries learn the language and study American
life and culture. Most of these young people then enroll in universities throughout the
United States, eventually to return to positions of leadership in their own countries. An
evening version of the program attracts consular professionals and their families and
residents of the community, especially research staff at the Texas Medical Center and
representatives from locally based international companies.
In addition to this ongoing program, the Continuing Studies office has designed orientation
programs for foreign groups sponsored by U.S. Agency for International Development and
the Institute of International Education. Clearly the Bush archives could provide a solid
base to extend orientation programs to international students, scholars, and business
people. The program already uses video materials of current events as a teaching tool. The
Bush archives will allow Continuing Studies to create video lessons for international
students that might be used here and in others parts of the country.
The Foreign Language program enrolls hundreds of local business and professional people
in eight foreign languages, including Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and Japanese.
The growth of this program reflects increasing interest in foreign countries and cultures
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 25
and a heightened awareness of the reality of the Global Community. As early as the late
70's and early 80's Continuing Studies held briefings on trade with China and Mexico.
More recently, they held an introductory series on Japan, co-sponsored by the Rice
Institute for Policy Analysis and underwritten by the Japanese Consulate. These briefings
could be expanded and held at the Bush Center, with the support of the numerous
consulates in the city.
Office of Executive Development. In addition to the programs offered by Continuing
Studies, an extensive number of non-credit seminars and short courses are held each year
through the Office of Executive Development of Rice's Jones Graduate School of
Administration. Managers, business leaders, and other professionals, numbering some
1,300 people, attend meetings (such as the successful three-day annual Entrepreneurship
Conference), seminars to update their skills, and more extended managerial programs.
The archival resources of the Bush Library will be of considerable interest to these
community leaders.
Rice Student Volunteer Program. Another activity significant in the university's
community involvement is the Rice Student Volunteer Program (RSVP). Figures for the
current academic year are not yet complete, but in 1988-89 Rice students volunteered
approximately 56,000 hours of time in community service. On a regular basis, some 600
students are presently involved in a variety of service projects.
Some of these activities will clearly benefit from the presence of the Bush Center. For
examplè, more than one hundred Rice students have established tutoring and mentoring
relationships with several hundred Houston Independent School District children
(elementary through high school), most of whom travel to the Rice campus on a regular
basis. One of the purposes of this program is to help these young minority students
develop not only better academic skills but also a sense of leadership and good citizenship.
The library setting will afford exciting primary materials for "hands on" instruction of these
school students.
A second RSVP project is the Rice Adult Literacy Program. In 1987, the undergraduates
at one of Rice's residential colleges initiated this program on an experimental basis. Their
efforts led the following year to a $25,000 grant from Southwestern Bell to establish the
program that is now in place, in which 55 specially trained Rice student tutors work on a
regular basis with adults who are learning to read. In addition, RSVP staff have initiated
training programs in literacy for volunteer employees of two corporations, Exxon and
Tenneco. Some of these efforts could gain from Bush Center video and written materials
involvement. as well as the impetus the President and Mrs. Bush could lend to corporate and community
Finally, even considering our relatively small number of students, Rice's RSVP is one of
the leading student volunteer programs in the country. For example, Rice will host a
national conference this August of 100 top university student leaders and administrators
involved in community service. The commitment that President and Mrs. Bush have to
these educational/community efforts will make the Bush Center an ideal site for ongoing
symposia attracting university leaders engaged in improving community life throughout the
nation.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 26
Contact with local teachers and students. The Bush Center could become a valuable
resource for school teachers and their students. Continuing Studies already communicates
regularly with more than 15,000 area teachers, many of whom enroll in courses that have
been approved by the Texas Education Agency for Advanced Academic Training. Special
summer institutes for social studies and history teachers, taught by Rice faculty, could draw
on archival material. Quite possibly, the video materials of the collection could be used by
lecturers to create video lessons for use by teachers in their classrooms.
The Education Department at Rice already offers a successful summer program for area
middle and high school students. Some of these courses might be held at the Bush Center
to allow students experience in working with archival materials, researching historical
topics, and working with an electronic database. National internships for minority college
students might provide the same opportunities for deserving students.
In addition to this ongoing program, the Education Department at Rice has been
instrumental in developing another project. Within the last few days Rice University's
Center for Education and the Houston Independent School District have announced plans
for an exciting new cooperative venture, an experimental school designed to help improve
teaching and learning in the greater Houston area. This laboratory K - 8 school, to be
located near to Rice campus, will have as a major component an ongoing program of
bringing area school children and their teachers to the school to engage in innovative
learning activities. The rich materials offered by the Bush Center, coupled with its close
proximity, will extend the possibilities and resources of the laboratory school immensely.
One of the goals of the partnership is to create a national model of innovative educational
programs. The Bush Center will help achieve this goal.
Rice University School Mathematics Project. This project is sponsored by the National
Science Foundation (initial grant of $500,000), with additional funding from The George
Foundation, The Southwest Bell Corporation, Citicorp/ Citibank, and GTE. The project
began in 1987 and is offered to secondary and elementary teachers in the Houston area
public and private schools. The intent of the project is to enhance the mathematical level
of the teachers in such a manner that it will improve their scholarship, broaden their
understanding of mathematics as a discipline, and have a positive impact on their
classroom interaction with students. An additional goal of the project is to serve as a
national model for the improvement of mathematics teaching. Moreover, we hope that
participating teachers will gain an increased sense of pride in being teachers, through their
association with the research atmosphere at Rice University. This successful program
could provide a prototype for an equally fruitful relationship of national agencies,
foundations and corporations, and Rice University faculty members. Together they could
design and fund similar institutes for history and social science teachers at the Bush
Center.
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
(George Bush Library)
Document No.
Subject/Title of Document
Date
Restriction
Class.
and Type
03. Letter
From Don Wilson to POTUS
3/5/91
P-5
Re: Bush Presidential Library Location (6 pp.)
Collection:
Record Group:
Bush Presidential Records
Office:
Chief of Staff, White House Office of
Open on Expiration of PRA
Series:
Sununu, John, Files
(Document Follows)
Subseries:
Issues Files
By
of
(NLGB)
on
10/28/05
WHORM Cat.:
File Location:
Presidential Library 1991 [2]
Date Closed:
1/5/2005
OA/ID Number:
29169-007
FOIA/SYS Case #:
1998-0004-F[2]
Appeal Case #:
Re-review Case #:
2005-0426-S
Appeal Disposition:
P-2/P-5 Review Case #:
Disposition Date:
AR Case #:
MR Case #:
AR Disposition:
MR Disposition:
AR Disposition Date:
MR Disposition Date:
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P-1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
(b)(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P-2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
(b)(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an
P-3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA]
agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P-4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
(b)(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA]
(b)(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P-5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
(b)(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P-6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA]
(b)(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of
(b)(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
(b)(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
PRM. Removed as a personal record misfile.
National
ARCRIVES
OF
THE
Archives
NATIONAL
UNITED
Archivist of the United States
THE 1934 STATES
Washington, DC 20408
meeting 3/7/91 1:30pm
March 5, 1991
my Ciconil
The President
The White House
Phil Brady/ Dr. Wilson
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
It is a pleasure for me to report that all candidates,
University of Houston, Rice University, and Texas A&M
University, are fully qualified sites to sponsor the George
Bush Library. As Archivist of the United States, it would
be my privilege to work with any one of these distinguished
institutions.
Over the past several months, I have met a great many people
and asked a great many questions. Each candidate university
went the course with spirit and the certitude that the Bush
Library belonged with them. Always lively, the contest was
never bitter. My specific recommendation as to which among
the three candidates would be the best site for your Library
is explained at the conclusion of this summary but, as a
result of the process, I can assure you that wherever the
George Bush Library goes, the National Archives will enjoy a
partner of vigor and vision and one committed to the
educational and public service goals of yourself and Mrs.
Bush.
I visited the three institutions in November 1989 and again
in March 1990. During the intervening months, a number of
of university officials and supporters met with me for
discussions in Washington. As I assembled facts and
impressions, my staff and I concluded it would be useful if
each institution provide formal written responses. Two sets
of questions were sent to each university. The first series
of 16 questions was asked of all participants. The second
set of nine to ten queries was individualized, permitting
each institution to more fully represent their strengths and
intentions, specific to a Bush Library.
Everyone readily agreed to this process. Without exception,
the responses were timely and detailed. More significant, I
believe, the questions helped each university define its
plans and its future with a George Bush Library on campus.
Some answers are summarized in this memorandum, other
replies, on more routine administrative and standard
research operations for example, are available but not
National Archives and Records Administration
2
included. Lastly, I believe there are certain answers that
do not bear abridgment and these appear as an appendix. At
the risk of overload, the appendix does allow the
universities to fully state their case on a number of
important issues. First are several core questions which we
have provided with some analysis:
A. FUNDING
Presuming President Bush finds favor with the proposal is
Rice (TAMU, Houston) willing to be active in endowment fund
raising for Bush Library public programs and outreach?
The University of Houston responds that the Board of Regents
formally voted to underwrite the private financing of $30
million for the Bush Library and $5 million for an endowment
for public programs and outreach. These are minimum
figures, Houston states, and are only intended to confirm
unqualified financial commitment.
The Rice Board of Governors has voted to fund both the
building and the ongoing programs of the Bush Presidential
Center. If the Bush Library is located on the Rice campus,
the Board guarantees $30 million for the facility itself,
and an additional $25 million for an endowment to support
the "ongoing programs at the Center." (By use of the word
"Center," I am assuming that the yield from the endowment
will be shared among several related programs, of which the
Library will be one.)
In its response of April 20, 1990, TAMU said that it
guarantees the funds for construction of a building along
with a program endowment. Public programs of the Library
and Museum will be supported by an endowment completely
separate from that provided for construction and
maintenance. TAMU officials have stated that they will do
"whatever it takes" to assure adequate funding of programs
and activities. Once again, the amounts $30 to $40 million
were discussed for a total package including the required
endowment and I was assured by TAMU of unqualified
commitment.
B. SITES
Rice proposes two sites: a 16.2 acre area within the Hermann
Park complex and a 17.6 acre parcel on campus, at the corner
of Main and University. I would like to set aside the
Hermann Park possibility and focus on the Rice site. As a
municipal facility and provider of a variety of services to
many constituencies, use of Hermann Park raises worrisome
concerns of possible discord over Library development,
public programs, control and growth.
3
The campus setting is both attractive and culture central,
although it could prove an effort to locate by out-of-
towners. Rice states that there will be adequate parking
although on days of heavy visitation this may mean employing
a shuttle bus service from the stadium to the Library and
dependence on "multistory parking structures directly across
Main Street in the Texas Medical Center."
Visitor parking has become a significant concern at tourist
attractions everywhere; it is not simply a matter of
automobiles but of school buses, oversize tour buses, and,
in increasing number, recreational vehicles. A tight, non
expandable, location and/or one difficult to reach may prove
a vexing and enduring problem.
Compelling and memorable, the Rice campus is a distinctive
landmark of the South Main district, a celebrated clustering
of museums, universities, and parkland. While most
residents would know Rice's location, it might pose a
difficulty for those unfamiliar with Houston. Today's
tourist peels off the highway expecting a direct shot at his
destination. The driver may have a carload of kids or a RV
to maneuver, in any case, there seems to be low tolerance by
some for places not immediately found or for driving in
traffic, "on my day off." This is not so with most people
but we believe the somewhat circuitous route to Atlanta's
Jimmy Carter Library is responsible, in part, for the
unexpected low attendance.
In all its aspects, the 35 acre parcel proposed by the
University of Houston is fully satisfactory. It is
expandable, with ample parking, and quick, easy access from
two major roadways. It is at the campus edge, but planning
can effectively integrate it with the rest of the
university. Skillful landscaping will produce an inviting
environment, if not a serene one, given the nearness of
Interstate 45 and Highway 35.
In sum, either site, Houston or Rice, would enjoy the
advantages of an outstanding metropolitan center as well as
benefit from the patronage of a dedicated, "can do"
community leadership. Civic spirit and support has made
Houston a leader in cultural achievement.
Based on my inspection, the land offered by TAMU appears
fully satisfactory also--environment, ground conditions,
size, and access. One mile from major university buildings,
the parcel is moderately isolated, a circumstance that
should change with time. According to TAMU's master plan,
the future George Bush Library and ancillary buildings will
anchor an extended pedestrian mall.
In its natural state, the TAMU site is the most pleasing
and, in my opinion, best fitted to develop a family oriented
4
facility if that is a Library goal. I concur with TAMU's
assessment that its tranquil, wooded landscape, "will
encourage families to visit, linger and return." It
provides a dramatic contrast to the urban settings of the
other potential sites. Additionally, the site offers
sufficient land for future growth of support buildings and
programs.
C. MUSEUM VISITATION
The perception that an urban site offers an inherent
guarantee of higher visitor attendance than does a non urban
one is not borne out by the experience of presidential
libraries. For example, the Herbert Hoover Library, in a
rural setting, currently receives more visitors than does
the Gerald Ford Library, which is situated in a city of
300,000 population. Year after year, the Lyndon Johnson
Library outdraws the John Kennedy Library, at a rate of two
to one. Greater Austin's population base is 25 percent of
Metropolitan Boston.
The Franklin Roosevelt Library, in the village of Hyde Park,
75 miles and two hours drive from New York City,
consistently receives more museum goers than does the
Hoover, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Ford and Jimmy
Carter Libraries. Of all the presidential libraries, the
Carter Library in Atlanta, the "crossroads" of the South,
has the most disappointing attendance, second lowest.
If location does not determine attendance, what does?
Without slighting the complexities of the matter, I believe
the following qualities to be solid indicators of a
library's vitality: innovative leadership, imaginative
public programs, aggressive "marketing" and, especially, an
active foundation. The presence of these attributes at any
of the three proposed campuses will produce a successful and
highly visible George Bush museum program.
TAMU, is particular, has been aggressive in addressing the
issue of museum attendance, as indicated in their written
response. TAMU made this commitment in conversations with
me as well, saying a tour of the Bush Museum would be a
featured attraction of campus visits.
D. CONSTRUCTION
Each university was asked to describe the design and
construction process at their respective institutions. This
is a pertinent inquiry as "in house" construction assistance
would be most helpful to the National Archives, while
providing a dollar savings for those raising the funds.
When the Ford Library was built in Ann Arbor, the University
of Michigan collaborated with the Archives at every step--
5
site selection, design, construction and facility
maintenance. By adding the Ford Library to its annual $150-
200 million construction portfolio, the University of
Michigan provided an expertise that saved time and money and
insured the completion of a quality building. It proved a
great advantage to the National Archives to have that
assistance.
Rice University boasts a beautiful campus and noble
buildings, but being a small school it has no need for a
facilities construction unit. Rice does have a construction
manager on staff who coordinates the occasional project.
The University of Houston, in recent years, has been
averaging one large construction project annually.
Houston's Office of Facilities, Planning, and Construction
(staff size not specified) provides general oversight and
negotiates architectural and engineering services. TAMU,
with an average $120-150 million in new construction each
year, maintains three separate divisions (planning,
construction, administrative services) that includes
architects, engineers, inspectors, interior designers, etc.,
approximately 61 professional and technical staff in all.
All three institutions declared their ability and
willingness to provide building security, maintenance, and
custodial services to the Bush Library on a contract basis.
The cost of these services make up 40 percent of a library's
annual outlay. Thus their availability on campus is a
definite plus since the main motivation will be satisfying
the customer not turning a profit.
The following appendix comprises those responses that I
believe best illustrate the differences in choice. Certain
questions, covering a range of topics, were common to all
universities--for example, computer capabilities, inter-
university cooperation, and the role you and Mrs. Bush might
assume in Library/university activities. Other queries, the
"supplemental questions," are intended to complete the
profile of each university by addressing specific matters,
such as TAMU's perceived "remoteness," Rice's community
outreach initiatives, and Houston's plans for the Bush
Center.
As I stated in the opening of this report, all three sites
under consideration present viable proposals for the
establishment of a Presidential Library. It is my opinion,
however, that the strongest candidate is Texas A&M
University (TAMU) I base that conclusion on several
observations: 1) TAMU in my view has the best conceived
allied program proposal in the "public service school"
concept. The Center for the Presidential Studies has
already been established and it is both a timely and unique
program concept that can greatly enhance a Presidential
Library. 2) The patriotic values and military traditions
6
which give TAMU its unique personality virtually guarantee a
perpetual compatibility between the university and the
Library. 3) The George Bush Library would always be the
"crown jewel" of the TAMU campus and surrounding region.
Fifty years from now I do not believe the Library would be
overshadowed by competing interests and institutions common
to any large urban area. At TAMU, the Library's unique
standing and visibility within the University and
surrounding community would ensure its continuing value as
an education and research institution. 4) In my opinion,
the tradition and character of the TAMU alumni now, and in
the future, would sustain a strong financial support base
for private giving to the Library that will enhance its
public programs.
I offer these final conclusions based on several months of
evaluation by myself and senior staff members. They are not
meant to diminish the other proposals in any way, and if
your personal choice is one of the other two sites, I have
no doubt either could be developed into an outstanding
Presidential Library.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss further any of
the proposals or my specific recommendations, I would be
pleased to have the opportunity to do SO.
Respectfully,
Dawwish
DON W. WILSON
Archivist of the United States
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 1
A. From the University's perspective, does Rice see a structured role, albeit a flexible one, for Mr.
participation? and Mrs. Bush in the post-presidential years? Do you have any thoughts on the form of their
We are honored to have this opportunity to comment on the role President and Mrs. Bush
might assume within Rice University and the Bush Presidential Center located on or near
our campus.
First, we plan to encourage President and Mrs. Bush to participate in the programs both of
the Bush Presidential Center and of Rice University to the greatest extent their schedules
will allow after they leave the White House. We, as well as our surrounding community,
hope very much that President and Mrs. Bush will use the Bush Presidential Center as
their principal base of operations for all aspects of their public lives.
Second, we are proposing a menu of specific possibilities in order to allow maximum
flexibility to President and Mrs. Bush. We do not presume to know nor do we presume to
speculate on how President and Mrs. Bush will choose to involve themselves in the
activities and operations of the Bush Presidential Center. The range of possibilities is
nearly limitless. The President and First Lady will want to decide, among other matters:
The amount of time they wish to devote to the Bush Presidential Center
The ways in which they wish to distribute that time among various Center activities (that
is, through broad involvement in many simultaneous programs or through focused
involvement in a smaller number of programs)
The particular programs in which they want to participate
The nature of their involvement in those programs, ranging from daily, hands-on
participation to a less frequent, more advisory role
The sorts of other programs they would like the Center to initiate but in which they may
not wish to participate directly
In light of this range, we offer a menu of options for President and Mrs. Bush to consider.
This menu is intended only to suggest, not to exhaust, the possibilities. We encourage the
Bushes to select as many of these options as they wish. As we noted in our first premise,
we welcome the full involvement of President and Mrs. Bush. At the same time, we
recognize there will be pressures on their time from many other quarters. From our
perspective, however, an ideal model would be one in which President and Mrs. Bush use
the Bush Presidential Center as a base for all their activities, including those not linked
directly with the Center itself.
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 2
A menu of possibilities:
Teaching appointments at Rice, which will allow for direct contact with Rice students,
who are recognized as among the best in the nation. These appointments could be
made in the Social Sciences (such as the Department of Political Science), in the
Jones Graduate School of Administration, in the Department of Education, or in the
Office of Continuing Studies.
Associate appointments at one or more of our residential colleges, which will allow for
informal, social interaction with Rice undergraduates and full participation in college
activities.
Various administrative or faculty roles in the Bush Presidential Center, including
participating in the research, educational and outreach programs of the proposed
Bush Institute for Research and Education (as described in Appendix K) and as well
as joining the Bush Institutes Governing Board.
Full participation in functions sponsored by Rice University academic departments
(including Political Science, Education, and the Jones Graduate School of
Administration) and by Rice centers, including the Center for the Study of
Institutions and Values and the Rice Institute for Policy Analysis.
Supervisory, participatory, or advisory roles on various outreach activities, including, for
example: the Rice Student Volunteer Program and its active Adult Literacy Program,
which began in 1987; the Center for Education and its model laboratory school being
created in cooperation with the Houston Independent School District, which will be a
national model for innovative educational programs; and the Jones Graduate School
of Administration's Office of Executive Development, which offers courses of
instruction to members of the Houston business community. Please see our response
to Question 13 for more information on these important efforts.
Full participation in the many other educational, social, cultural and athletic events that
take place regularly on the Rice campus.
A note on Rice University. President and Mrs. Bush already know a lot about Rice. We
wish to add a few words about how their experience at Rice might differ from that at other
universities under consideration for the Bush Library. Rice's unique qualities - our small
size, our high quality, our firm commitment to an unequaled curriculum at an affordable
cost, our magnificent setting, and our relaxed atmosphere - offer the ideal setting in which
the Bushes could pursue their interests. Our active outreach and continuing education
programs provide abundant opportunities for working with the Houstonians who frequent
our campus. The central location of the campus will afford the President and Mrs. Bush
easy access to all parts of the city. Our buildings and grounds are both dignified and
tranquil, and so will provide an unsurpassed setting in which the Bushes could entertain
visitors ranging from family friends to heads of state. Our world famous undergraduate
programs will allow both President and Mrs. Bush to teach and interact with the best
college students in the nation in settings ranging anywhere from small, informal seminars
and research projects to lectures to the larger Rice community. We will encourage
President and Mrs. Bush to work with us to shape roles for themselves and for us with
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 3
which we will all feel comfortable. We see the potential here for the most successful
blending of the lives of a Presidential family and of a university that has ever been
achieved.
Endowed chairs. As a further step to strengthen the links between the Bushes and Rice
University, we propose, subject to the agreement of President and Mrs. Bush, to create two
new endowed chairs for Rice professors, with one chair named for George Bush and one
for Barbara Bush.
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 5
C. Rice University, in its prospectus, states that it "will take on" the demanding outreach component
that will come with a presidential library. At this juncture, does Rice have any preliminary ideas or a
general outline for community oriented programs?
D. Traditionally, presidential libraries try to cultivate presence through outreach programs. In the
matter of such commitments, is Rice University interested in cooperating with the Bush Library in
activities that might fall under the rubric of civic or citizen education; that is, activities targeted for
the general population?
Rice University is very enthusiastic about collaborating with the Bush Library to create
excellent community-oriented programs. The university already has the broadest-based
continuing education and community service programming of any university in the region.
For any university to develop these outreach programs, two factors are crucial: a large and
diverse surrounding community not only to provide resources but also to support an
outreach program, and a commitment by the university's administration to ensure the
institutional support necessary for these activities to flourish. Clearly, Rice University has
both. These programs currently serve populations as diverse as the business and
professional leaders of Houston, area public school teachers and their students, young
people from 38 other countries, minority school children, and adults learning to read. The
Bush Center will become a focal point for extending these outreach efforts to local,
national, and international communities.
A more detailed description of the university's community programs appears in the answer
to Question 13, but briefly, the activities already in place that could strengthen and in turn
be strengthened by the Bush Library are as follows:
The largest and most respected university continuing education program in the area.
With an annual enrollment approaching 9,000 students, Continuing Studies offers
innovative non-credit courses to business and professional people in Houston and
the surrounding areas, as well as young people from 38 foreign countries. Many of
the department's offerings already focus on current events, history, and languages and
could be held at the Center, using primary materials from the collection. Other
courses focusing on the collection could be developed collaboratively.
The Rice Student Volunteer Program (RSVP) that involves Rice undergraduate and
graduate students in more than 56,000 hours of community service a year. As part of
the activities, fifty-five trained Rice students are teaching local adults to read and
more than one hundred students have established mentoring and tutoring
relationships with area middle and high school minority students. The library setting
will afford exciting primary materials for "hands on" instruction for both groups.
Rice programs benefiting area school teachers and their students. The university's
Education Department has for many years held a summer academic program that has
attracted thousands of local middle and high school students to the campus.
Hundreds of teachers already enroll in Continuing Studies courses for Texas
Education Agency credit. Others could engage in summer institutes for social studies
and history taught by Rice faculty and held at the Center. In addition, Rice's
Education Department and the Houston Independent School District are now
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 6
developing an experimental laboratory K-8 school in which Rice faculty will help train
teachers from other HISD schools who will be spending sabbatical years at the new
facility. This project is designed to be a national model for teaching and learning
excellence in an urban setting. The materials from the Bush Library will enrich this
venture enormously.
Though small (with an undergraduate and graduate enrollment of about 4,200), and
private, Rice University has a major scholarly impact on Houston and the surrounding
community. The rich materials of the Bush Center and the leadership of President and
Mrs. Bush will greatly enhance this ongoing commitment.
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 7
E. The Rice Institute for Policy Analysis (RIPA) appears to be an active, scholarly program that
informs elite audiences on contemporary social science issues. Do you feel there may be
opportunities for linkage between RIPA and the Bush Library?
Among the existing interdisciplinary structures at Rice, the two most closely tied to our
proposed Bush Institute are the Rice Institute for Policy Analysis (RIPA), which deals with
applied research and public outreach, and the Center for the Study of Institutions and Values
(CSIV), which focuses on theoretical and applied research. The opportunities for linkage
with the Bush Library are vast. As we indicated at our November meeting with Don
Wilson, these two structures form an appropriate base from which to develop the proposed
Bush Institute for Research and Education.
Established in 1981, RIPA is a component of the Rice School of Social Sciences. RIPA
provides a forum for nationally distinguished government officials, policy specialists,
faculty and journalists to meet with and speak to leaders from Houston's business,
governmental and educational institutions. RIPA's mission is to promote education and
research on contemporary policy issues. In pursuit of this goal, RIPA disseminates
information and research on critical policy issues, with particular emphasis on outreach to
the Houston community. The many activities of RIPA include luncheon roundtables,
public policy dinners, public lectures and seminars, forums and conferences, publications
including a newsletter, a working paper series, and a reprint series. RIPA also conducts
applied public policy research that includes election surveys at the national and regional
levels and extensive analysis of census data on a contractual basis. This research involves
Rice faculty members, graduate students and undergraduates. The program also provides
financial support for undergraduates in the form of Shell Scholarships in Public Policy.
RIPA is under the Directorship of Joseph Cooper, Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Social
Sciences in Rice's Department of Political Science.
Please see our answer to Question 9 for more detail on the current programs now
underway within RIPA and some lists of community members actively associated with
RIPA activities. Also please see Appendix K for our ideas about how RIPA might relate
to our proposed Bush Institute for Research and Education, which George Rupp and
Charles 17. Duncan discussed with President and Mrs. Bush at the White House on January
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 8
F. Several years ago, Rice University created the Center for the Study of Institutions and Values, an
interdisciplinary program in the social sciences. Being a very new program, I assume its direction is
still a matter for review and deliberation. Do you feel the work of the Center might give expression to
President and Mrs. Bush's ideas and ideals? If so, how?
The Center for the Study of Institutions and Values (CSIV) is an interdisciplinary center
that brings together researchers from all departments in Social Sciences and selected other
departments at Rice (drawn widely from the Humanities, Natural Sciences, Engineering,
Architecture, and Business Administration). The objective of CSIV is to examine issues
relevant to society's institutions, the rules by which they operate, and the value questions
they raise.
CSIV is indeed a new program whose direction is still evolving. CSIV has a strategic
planning process for identifying and developing new thrust areas. There is widespread
enthusiasm within CSIV for developing cooperative programs with the Bush Center. In a
planning document contained in Appendix K, we propose developing CSIV in conjunction
with the Bush Institute for Research and Education. Together with the Bush Institute,
CSIV will provide a wide range of opportunities for expressing the ideas and ideals of
President and Mrs. Bush. We plan to encourage President and Mrs. Bush to participate in
these programs in a direct, hands-on fashion.
CSIV is currently sponsoring several research projects. Our expectation is that as these
projects evolve, new projects will be added, either as earlier projects are concluded or as
the Center expands to accommodate new initiatives. Our three major projects underway at
the moment are as follows:
The first project deals with the AIDS epidemic, providing an analysis of the relationship
between the nature and costs of various levels of treatment extended to AIDS
patients and the medical outcomes these patients experience. The goal is to
formulate an economic model to forecast the economic impact of this epidemic.
The second project focuses on the Houston community and is intended to provide an
analysis of Houston's economic, political, educational and cultural institutions. The
goal is to produce a comprehensive history and description of the current state of
these institutions with a specific focus on factors that make Houston unique, including
the nature of the interaction of public and private institutions in the area.
Our third project is an interdisciplinary seminar series that focuses on rational decision
making. The seminar has been in process for over one year. In this seminar,
psychologists, economists, philosophers, political scientists, and others have discussed
recent experiments that question the rationality postulates made in economics and
decision theory. Generalizations of the standard theory of choice under uncertainty
developed in response to experimental evidence have also been discussed. Present
plans are to analyze the validity and limitations of rational, normative decision rules
in the social sciences and to formulate positive theories that better explain observed
human behavior. There will be an emphasis on theory, including philosophical
foundations and interpretations of rationality, and on experiments carried out in
psychology, economics, and political science.
Rice University, Answers to Specific Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 12
H. Obviously, the Bush Library can be in one place only. If Rice is selected for the Bush Library,
what are your thoughts for participatory activities with TAMU, the University of Houston, and other
higher educational institutions in the state? Similarly, if another site were selected, what type of
participation would Rice want in library programs?
Although the Bush Library can indeed be in only one place, selecting Houston as the site
will maximize the opportunities for participatory activities with other institutions. As
George Rupp indicated to President and Mrs. Bush at the White House on January 17,
Rice University and the University of Houston are eager to collaborate on all aspects of
the Bush Library, Museum, and the proposed Bush Institute for Research and Education.
In addition, Rice and the University of Houston have had discussions with Texas Southern
University, Baylor College of Medicine, and other area schools that have focused on
planning our cooperative efforts on the Bush Presidential Center irrespective of which
Houston site is selected. These new collaborations will be a natural extension of our many
ongoing, joint research and educational activities within the Houston area. We see Rice's
central location in Houston as one of the strongest elements favoring our proposed sites.
Following these Rice initiatives, we now have in place agreements, from all four of these
institutions, pledging the cooperation of all involved. We also invited Texas A&M to
participate in these agreements, but they have declined to join us. If the Bush Library
comes to Rice, we expect they will change their minds on this point. The agreements
provide for representation of these institutions on both the Administrative Advisory
Council and the Program Advisory Council of the Board of the proposed George W. Bush
Institute for Research and Education. (Please see Appendix K for our Proposal on the
Bush Institute.) The agreements will assure an active role for all institutions in both the
research, educational, and outreach programs of the Bush Institute. Rice University
welcomes the prospect of collaborating with its friends both in Houston and throughout the
state and nation. We believe strongly that this joint venture will guarantee the creation of
the most successful presidential library possible.
Because these inter-institutional agreements are symmetric in nature, clearly Rice will
want to participate in Bush Library activities even if neither of our proposed sites is
selected. This sentiment applies to the A&M site as well. It is also true, however, that the
A&M site will be the most problematic for collaborative activities, not only for Rice but for
all the many other schools in the Houston area.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 6
5. Describe the University's computer system, including the network, and how it might support the
Bush Library.
Many advanced technological opportunities await the Bush Library if it is located at Rice
University:
Rice University and Compaq Computer Corporation are committed to combining their
unique strengths in computer hardware and software to develop an access system for
the Bush Library. This system will significantly enhance the research and scholarship
activities of the Library and at the same time facilitate a wide range of public
enrichment activities on all aspects of the Bush Presidency.
Rice has operating on the campus the full range of modern information systems, from
small personal computers and workstations to large scale mainframe computers. Rice
is also one of the nation's leading universities in terms of the expertise of its computer
professionals, and, importantly, in the operation of a sophisticated campus network
that interconnects directly with users around the country and the world.
Rice has a fully automated catalog of its Fondren Library collections using
NOTIS(LIBRiS), the most advanced software available in Houston and the choice of
many colleges and universities. Rice currently provides electronic access to resources
around the world, including the Fondren Library Collections. In addition, Rice is
participating in many collaborative projects involving Libraries and Technology on a
local, national and international level.
Rice is an international leader in computing research through CITI (Computing and
Information Technology Institute) and the NSF Center for Science and Technology.
Rice also provides leadership in networking: Rice is the home of SesquiNet - one of
the original nodes on the NSF Internet and connection for the Texas Region to the
Internet.
The Rice academic environment not only prepares students to develop technology but
uses technology to provide information resources throughout their instructional and
research programs. In particular, Rice is a leader in educational uses of technology in
Engineering Education (Owlnet).
Although the Bush Library would have its physical home at Rice University, we have the
expertise and commitment to establish its electronic home worldwide.
The following, more specific information is offered as an initial indication of what is
available currently. We will be happy to provide more detailed information upon request.
The Rice campus computing facilities are linked to one another through a local network
consisting of a Proteon 10Mbps token ring backbone with departmental tributary networks
consisting primarily of Ethernet. Most network traffic uses the DARPA TCP/IP protocol
suite, although the network is capable of carrying Digital Equipment Corporation's
DECNET, Novell's IPX, and Apple Computer Corporation's Appletalk protocol families
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 7
to varying degrees. Experimentation with the new FDDI standards and with OSI protocols
is beginning at the present time.
The Rice campus network is connected to the regional and national Internet via SesquiNet,
the Texas regional network funded in part by a grant from the National Science
Foundation awarded to Dr. Guy Almes of the Department of Computer Science and
Farrell Gerbode, Director of the Office of Networking and Computing Systems. Rice
hosts one of the thirteen NSFNET backbone network nodes through which SesquiNet
connects 15 Texas sites to NSFNET. In addition to these connections, NASA has agreed
to connect SesquiNet to its national backbone network. This connection, also to be at Rice,
is expected before mid-year. Rice is also a member of the Texas Higher Education
Network (THEnet), another regional network in Texas. The regional and national
networks carry TCP/IP traffic. THEnet coordinates a regional DECNET Internet for
SesquiNet and THEnet members. Since Rice was invited to join the BITNET II project,
BITNET traffic for the entire state of Texas has been routed through the Rice connection
to SesquiNet.
The next few years are likely to make possible a sharing of even more electronic
information resources nationally and internationally, and Rice has the platforms in place
for establishing a worldwide electronic home for the Bush Library. This means that
President and Mrs. Bush, as well as others, would be able to work with the electronic
collections of the Library from any location.
In establishing the Center for Research on Parallel Computation, a National Science
Foundation Science and Technology Center, Rice collaborated with other major
institutions (California Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, and Los
Alamos) and promised a vision of a "center without walls" that reached to minorities and
other important groups. Technology is helping to make these collaborations possible, and
Rice is dedicated to taking a leadership role in using them to benefit society, especially in
education and research.
Fortunately, much of the Bush information is already being collected in electronic form,
allowing conveniently for future electronic storage and retrieval over networks. It is
important to realize that many types of materials that were not traditionally available
electronically can now be preserved and referenced in electronic formats. Video archives,
collections of photographs, other images and sounds can now be processed, archived,
indexed and even transported fairly inexpensively and without fear of loss.
The Fondren Library catalog is maintained using NOTIS(LIBRiS), a state-of-the art on-
line public access catalog system developed originally at Northwestern. NOTIS is installed
at approximately 150 sites, including well over half of the libraries belonging to the
Association of Research Libraries. NOTIS operates on an IBM mainframe that is
connected to the Rice network and to all facilities attached to the national Internet. The
Bush Library will also have the option of cataloging its own working collection on the
LIBRiS system as a separate collection.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 8
Several related Rice projects exist between Fondren Library and Information Systems:
CSI (Center for Scholarship and Information) - Experimental Macintosh classrooms
located in Fondren Library close to bibliographic and other reference and A/V
materials. Experiments in interactive video and multi-media are being undertaken
now.
CRA (Computing Reference Area) - located within the primary computer support area,
the CRA is an experiment with handling non-traditional library materials (specifically,
computing information materials).
University Affiliate for U.S. Census Data - this project involves Rice's School of Social
Sciences in addition to the Fondren Library and Information Systems.
Economic Summit Proposal . Information Center and Kiosks.
Recently Rice University has become a charter member of a national coalition sponsored
by the Association of Research Libraries, CAUSE, and EDUCOM to address the
challenges of assuring the success of information services on the proposed National
Research and Education Network (NREN). Rice has participated actively for many years
in all three sponsoring organizations.
Rice University has also recently submitted a joint proposal with Duke University on the
rapid delivery of journal articles for the Library Research and Development Program of
the U.S. Department of Education.
There are numerous archival projects at Rice that have involved computing. Perhaps most
notable among them is the Johnson Space Center History Archive, which is made up of
historians' source files documenting America's space program from the beginning. This
archive is being indexed by the Rice staff on a host computer at the Johnson Space Center.
For more information on the archives, please see our response to Question 7.
Other major campus resources include mainframes, desktop and office support systems,
and local networks of sophisticated workstations.
It is expected that the Bush Library will benefit from Rice's ongoing services and broad
expertise in Information Systems. There may be excellent opportunities to share
development and administrative platforms/programs. The Bush Library staff will have
access to all computer training and consulting services offered to the Rice campus staff.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 16
9. Does the university sponsor conferences, lectures and symposia, that would benefit from
cooperation with a Presidential Library?
Rice sponsors a large number of conferences, lectures, and symposia, many of which could
benefit from cooperation with the Bush Library. Rice is eager to enter a partnership that
will allow us to share conference facilities, mailing lists, and other essential elements that
are needed to make these events succeed. Below we list current Rice-sponsored events,
grouped by the Rice division that sponsors each event.
University-wide events
The President's Lecture Series. This is the premier lecture series at Rice. Held about
six times per year, these lectures are open to the general public and are free of
charge; attendance ranges from 500 to 1,500 people. This year's speakers are
representative: Joyce Carol Oates (author); Jonathan Kozol (social activist); Edward
Stone (planetary physicist); David Broder (political reporter); and Edward Fiske
(education writer).
The President's Executive Luncheon. Begun in 1972, this speaker series brings
corporate leaders to campus to acquaint them with Rice faculty and research
programs. These luncheons are held twice per year. The speakers are all members of
the Rice faculty.
The Rice University Associates Dinner. This event brings a major figure to Rice to
address members of the University Associates, who are Rice's chief financial
supporters in the community. Begun 36 years ago, these formal dinners have featured
political, business and scientific leaders as the guest speaker. This year's speaker was
Admiral William Crowe, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under
Presidents Reagan and Bush.
Scientia. The Scientia Institute for the History of Science and Culture was founded by
the mathematician Salomon Bochner to encourage interdisciplinary interactions
among the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and engineering. Scientia
hosts four Rice speakers per year, and also brings an outsider to campus to deliver the
annual Bochner Lecture. A recent Scientia symposium focused upon the
superconducting supercollider to be built in Texas.
DeLange Conference Program. This new series of events will begin in 1991 and
continue in alternate years. The inaugural conference will be a three-day symposium
focusing on "Human Impact on the Environment." The program will include
presentations by anthropologists, historians, biologists, environmental specialists, and
computer scientists. The proceedings will be published.
Rice Design Alliance. The Rice Design Alliance is an outreach activity of Rice's School
of Architecture community targeted at about 800 members of the community with
interests in architecture and design. The RDA presents two series of lectures per
year at Houston's Museum of Fine Arts. It also publishes a review magazine called
Cite and sponsors architectural tours and exhibitions. The RDA will almost certainly
want to host a presentation on the architecture of the Bush Library buildings.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 17
History
The Harold and Margaret Rorschach Lectures in Legal History. These lectures bring
distinguished speakers in history, politics, and journalism to campus once or twice per
year. The audience includes not only university based scholars but the legal
community, business people, local school teachers and the general public. The most
recent Rorschach Lecture, from April of this year, was given by Stanley Katz,
President of the American Council of Learned Societies and Senior Fellow at the
Woodrow Wilson School.
The Kalb Lectures in History bring to the Rice campus an internationally recognized
speaker on general history, usually once per year. These lectures are open to the
general public, and over 5000 invitations are mailed to Rice's friends in the
community.
Finally, the History Department has a colloquium series that brings visiting historians
from around the country and world to speak to a primarily University audience.
Rice Institute for Policy Analysis
The Rice Institute for Policy Analysis is a primary forum for lectures, symposia and
conferences. RIPA's activities are so extensive that we are attaching a copy of a
recent Program Summary in Appendix A. As this summary reveals, RIPA has
brought to the Rice campus a steady stream of prominent public officials, economists,
political scientists, journalists and others. Among them are a former President of the
United States and the current Secretary of State.
This year's RIPA activities (not included in the RIPA Program Summary) include a
lecture by Richard Fenno (Distinguished University Professor, University of
Rochester), who spoke about his book describing his travels with Vice President Dan
Quayle during Quayle's years as U.S. Senator. This April, Rozeann Ridgeway
(President of the Atlantic Council and former U.S. Ambassador to East Germany)
spoke in an event co-sponsored with the World Affairs Council of Houston. In May,
Richard English (President Bush's Senior Policy Advisor for Europe and 1992) will
speak at an event co-sponsored with the International Section of the Houston Bar
Association. Finally, RIPA is developing a multi-day series of speeches and panels to
be held in the week immediately preceding the Economic Summit on the Rice campus
in July. The speaker list for this event is still in preparation but is likely to include
current and previous high ranking officials from the United States and the other
attending nations.
RIPA serves the dual missions of research and outreach. In its latter role, RIPA
provides an outstanding setting that brings together leading political and economic
figures, Rice faculty and graduate students, and key members of the Houston
community. We see RIPA serving as a model for many of the activities of a Houston-
based Bush Library.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 18
Political Science
The Political Science Department sponsored a major national conference at Rice last
December that dealt with Senate elections. Appendix B contains further information
on this "Electing the Senate" Conference.
The Political Science Department also has a colloquium series that brings visiting
audience. scholars from around the country and world to speak to a primarily University
Sociology
Prof. Chandler Davidson is hosting on the Rice campus a major national Voting Rights
Conference, sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation. This event,
to be held in May, 1990, will draw together dozens of political scientists, survey
researchers, sociologists, legislators and others to assess the impact of the 1965
Voting Rights Act on its 25th anniversary. A preliminary program for this conference
is attached in Appendix C.
About once per year, the Sociology Department hosts the Walter and Helen Hall
Lecture, which is open to the general public. For this year's Hall Lecture, H. Ross
Perot spoke to an overflow audience on the topic of "Competitiveness."
Jones Graduate School of Administration
The Jones School has recently begun a new Dean's Seminar. This series brings 10 - 12
guest speakers to the campus each year. These speakers are drawn from the business
and the public sector, with one guest each year from the non-Jones School Rice
faculty.
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 24
13. Describe the nature of the university - community programs and how might the Library relate to
these programs.
Rice University has a number of successful programs that attract local, national, and
international communities. Locating the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the
campus will enhance the long term impact of both institutions on the various communities
that the university already serves. If an auditorium and smaller classrooms were located in
the Bush Center, programs for the community could be held there and the faculty could
draw upon the materials in the Bush Library's collection.
Continuing Studies Program. Through its Continuing Studies program, the university has
the structure in place to offer the Bush Center high visibility and innovative community
programming. Rice's program has the highest enrollment in non-credit continuing
education of any university within a radius of 150 miles of the city. In a recent survey of
thirty-two other colleges and universities in the state, Rice's Continuing Studies program
also proved to have the largest collective non-credit enrollment in current events, history,
the arts, English as a Second Language, foreign languages, and related areas of study.
These courses, featuring Rice University professors and other experts, attract between
8,000 and 9,000 business and professional people to the campus annually.
Many of the most popular courses already focus on current political, historical and
economic issues. Recent or upcoming programs include "Conducting American Foreign
Relations," "Critical Moments in Modern History," "Eastern Europe: History in the
Making," "A Global View of the Economic Summit," "Changing China," "Theory of Global
Competition and the New World Economy," "Changing the Soviet Union: A Look at
Glasnost and Perestroika," and "Middle East," a three-part series. In the nine of these
courses already held, enrollment totaled 1,145.
The English as a Second Language and the Foreign Language programs offered through
Continuing Studies reflect the international spirit of Houston. In English as a Second
Language, pre-college students from 38 countries learn the language and study American
life and culture. Most of these young people then enroll in universities throughout the
United States, eventually to return to positions of leadership in their own countries. An
evening version of the program attracts consular professionals and their families and
residents of the community, especially research staff at the Texas Medical Center and
representatives from locally based international companies.
In addition to this ongoing program, the Continuing Studies office has designed orientation
programs for foreign groups sponsored by U.S. Agency for International Development and
the Institute of International Education. Clearly the Bush archives could provide a solid
base to extend orientation programs to international students, scholars, and business
people. The program already uses video materials of current events as a teaching tool. The
Bush archives will allow Continuing Studies to create video lessons for international
students that might be used here and in others parts of the country.
The Foreign Language program enrolls hundreds of local business and professional people
in eight foreign languages, including Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and Japanese.
The growth of this program reflects increasing interest in foreign countries and cultures
Rice University, Answers to General Questions on Bush Library Proposal
April 20, 1990, Page 26
Contact with local teachers and students. The Bush Center could become a valuable
resource for school teachers and their students. Continuing Studies already communicates
regularly with more than 15,000 area teachers, many of whom enroll in courses that have
been approved by the Texas Education Agency for Advanced Academic Training. Special
summer institutes for social studies and history teachers, taught by Rice faculty, could draw
on archival material. Quite possibly, the video materials of the collection could be used by
lecturers to create video lessons for use by teachers in their classrooms.
The Education Department at Rice already offers a successful summer program for area
middle and high school students. Some of these courses might be held at the Bush Center
to allow students experience in working with archival materials, researching historical
topics, and working with an electronic database. National internships for minority college
students might provide the same opportunities for deserving students.
In addition to this ongoing program, the Education Department at Rice has been
instrumental in developing another project. Within the last few days Rice University's
Center for Education and the Houston Independent School District have announced plans
for an exciting new cooperative venture, an experimental school designed to help improve
teaching and learning in the greater Houston area. This laboratory K - 8 school, to be
located near to Rice campus, will have as a major component an ongoing program of
bringing area school children and their teachers to the school to engage in innovative
learning activities. The rich materials offered by the Bush Center, coupled with its close
proximity, will extend the possibilities and resources of the laboratory school immensely.
One of the goals of the partnership is to create a national model of innovative educational
programs. The Bush Center will help achieve this goal.
Rice University School Mathematics Project. This project is sponsored by the National
Science Foundation (initial grant of $500,000), with additional funding from The George
Foundation, The Southwest Bell Corporation, Citicorp/ Citibank, and GTE. The project
began in 1987 and is offered to secondary and elementary teachers in the Houston area
public and private schools. The intent of the project is to enhance the mathematical level
of the teachers in such a manner that it will improve their scholarship, broaden their
understanding of mathematics as a discipline, and have a positive impact on their
classroom interaction with students. An additional goal of the project is to serve as a
national model for the improvement of mathematics teaching. Moreover, we hope that
participating teachers will gain an increased sense of pride in being teachers, through their
association with the research atmosphere at Rice University. This successful program
could provide a prototype for an equally fruitful relationship of national agencies,
foundations and corporations, and Rice University faculty members. Together they could
design and fund similar institutes for history and social science teachers at the Bush
Center.
GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Supplemental Question 3:
Do you perceive an opportunity for the Bush Library and the University of Houston's
Center for Public Policy to act in concert in promoting symposia and conferences?
As described in University's response to initial question 9 Houston's Center for
Public Policy is a major research, educational, and outreach program with an existing
budget of approximately one-half million dollars a year. An important part of the
University of Houston's proposal is the plan to move the Center for Public Policy
to the academic facility adjoining the Bush Library and rename it the "George Bush
Center for Public Policy and International Relations". The new Bush Center will
continue the extensive economic, political, and business programs currently in place,
and add domestic and international programs that focus on and extend President
Bush's accomplishments and interests while responding to international events. The
new Bush Center will be able to act "in concert" in promoting symposia and
conferences with the Bush Library. A brief description of the new Bush Center
prepared by James L. Smith, the current director of the Center for Public Policy is
attached. It is the University's intention to fund and endow this new Bush Center
separately and in addition to the intended endowment for programs described in
supplemental question 8.
This new Bush Center for Public Policy and International Affairs is an exciting
concept and one of the key elements to the University of Houston's proposal.
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Bush Center for Public Policy and
International Affairs
The Bush Presidential Library can be much more than an archive or museum. By
our deliberate choice it can be fashioned into a working investment - a catalyst for learning
and study devoted to the new social challenges and opportunities that are coming of age
during the Bush Administration. To this end we propose the Bush Center for Public Policy
and International Affairs as an integral component of the Presidential Library.
Public policy concerns are as broad as human endeavor. It is clear already, however,
that the Bush Administration will be strongly identified with important developments:
-
in the areas of global environmental and energy policy,
-
in the acceleration of international economic integration,
-
in the breathtaking evolution of East-West relations,
-
in recognizing the value of cooperative approaches to the economic and social
problems of our neighbor states north and south of our borders.
These areas will be focal points for domestic and international policy-making during the
Bush Administration. The Bush Library will be rich in collections of utmost value to
scholars and students of public policy and international affairs. The Bush Center will by
design stimulate and support studies that tap the potential of these collections. Why is this
important? Full and proper understanding of the impact of policies affecting relations
among countries and the peoples of those countries will be a vital link in the realignment
of nations in Europe and Latin America, as well as an integral part of our own welfare.
The seeds for the Bush Center already exist at the University of Houston within its
Center for Public Policy. The mission of the Center, which has existed for a decade, is to
encourage and focus faculty and student research in the public policy arena. The Center
has been most active in topic areas that overlap and complement those enumerated above.
Under the Center's auspices, the University faculty are focusing on energy and
environmental policy, Soviet economic reform, economic and demographic analysis and
forecasting, and international trade, communications, and economic relations.
As a component of the George Bush Presidential Library, the Center for Public
Policy would expand its areas of primary strength, house resident scholars, invite domestic
and international students for advanced dissertation study and research, and host scholarly
meetings and colloquia to explore and expand the information base and resources available
at the Bush Library.
George Bush Center for Public Policy
and International Affairs
The Houston setting is right for this project. The agenda and priorities of the
present Center for Public Policy, and the broader resources of the University of Houston,
are only one part of the story. Sophisticated in technological fields (medical, chemical,
space, and energy) - but highly individualistic in the development of its government and
institutions - Houston fosters experimentation. The frontier quality of the city is best
captured in its physical character: flat, open, ready to be fashioned by men and women.
It is a city cosmopolitan and international, an environment that attracts ideas and debate,
and certainly a city that has attracted men and women of leadership and perspective. All
qualities to be captured and leveraged by the proposed George Bush Center for Public
Policy and International Affairs.
GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Supplemental Question 5:
Has the University of Houston developed a further definition of activities (and buildings)
that will share the presidential library site?
Activities -
[1]
The Bush Center for Public Policy and International Studies.
The Bush Center for Public Policy and International Studies is described in
response to supplementary question 3. This activity is a key part of the
proposal and directly related to the activities of the Bush Library.
[2]
The Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy.
The Center has as its major objectives: to conduct, publish, and disseminate
basic and applied research on literacy; to serve as a clearing house of
information; to serve as a site for conferences and colloquia on the subject
of literacy; and to serve as a resource for policy studies and policy
development. The University is committed to fund this Center including the
establishment of a Barbara Bush Distinguished Professor of Literacy. A more
detailed description of the Barbara Bush Center is attached. The Barbara
Bush Center is a second key part of the University's proposal, and the
University is committed to its existence.
[3]
Strategic Studies Institute.
This exciting and innovative new institute will provide another distinctive
quality to the Bush Library. The concept of the institute is to build on the
wealth of information relating to the military and international relations. The
Defense and State Departments are two of the largest employers of historians.
By expanding the University of Houston's already strong Public History
Program into the areas of international studies the University will be able to
solidify its position as one of the premier graduate programs in public history
in the country. A more complete description of the strategic studies institute
is attached.
Supplemental Question 5: (continued)
[4]
Collaborative Activities. The University of Houston is committed to work
with Rice University, Texas Southern University, and the various academic
institutions located in the Texas Medical Center on collaborative programs
relating to the Bush Library. The presidents of the various higher education
institutions in the city of Houston have agreed to work together to provide
opportunities for faculty and graduate students from all local institutions to
work together on projects, and also to have the opportunity to develop
programs of their own.
Related Buildings .
The University of Houston has current plans for a related academic building of
approximately 50,000 sq. ft. to be designed and planned in collaboration with the
Bush Library. Some of the space in this related structure would be directly
complementary to the activities of the Bush Library. For example, this space might
include an auditorium, visitors lounges, computer labs, and offices for the President
and Mrs. Bush depending upon the design configuration of the Bush Library itself.
It is also the current intention that this space would house the renamed and
expanded Bush Center for Public Policy and International Studies. The Barbara
Bush Center for the Study of Literacy, and the Strategic Studies Institute may also
be in this space.
It is also intended that some of this related space will be available for joint projects
with Rice University and Texas Southern University as well as others who would like
to join in collaborative programs.
The proposed 35-acTe site has sufficient space for two or three academic buildings
in addition to the Bush Library. One project under current consideration is a new
communications building complex which would house the University's public
television station, public radio station, as well as the department of communications.
This could be a very positive development, and relate well to the activities of the
Bush Library and Bush Center.
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
The Barbara Bush Center for the
Study of Literacy
President George Bush has achieved a growing record as a supporter of education
and of educational reform. First Lady Barbara Bush has an equally long record of
dedicated support to the advancement of literacy. We propose that the Bush Presidential
Library have as a major component The Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy.
Its purpose will be to provide a center for literacy research where scholars from across the
country and around the world may gather to generate and share knowledge about this major
national and international problem.
Purpose and Objectives
The purpose of the Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy is to promote
literacy in local, national and international settings. Its major objectives are:
to conduct, publish, and disseminate basic and applied research on childhood,
adolescent, and adult literacy and by so doing promote dialogue among
literacy researchers.
to serve as a library and clearing house of information on the various
components of literacy research and on the current status of on-going literacy
projects around the world.
to serve as a site for conferences and colloquia on the subject of literacy,
bringing together leading scholars from such educational disciplines as
psycholinguistics, psychology, the teaching and learning of reading,
composition and rhetoric, sociology, and anthropology.
to serve as a resource for policy studies and policy development on ways in
which social, economic, and political resources can be brought to bear on the
problem of literacy.
Illiteracy as a National Problem
Though literacy is most often associated in the public mind with underdeveloped,
third-world nations, one of the lessons of the 1980s has been the extent to which illiteracy
is a wide-spread and growing problem in America itself, the richest and most highly
developed nation in the world.
The inability to read and write at the functional level required for active and
effective participation in American social, economic, and political life has serious
implications for virtually every sector of our society. For the schools, illiteracy means
GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Supplemental Question 7:
Does the University of Houston see a structured role, albeit a flexible one, for President
and Mrs. Bush in the post-presidential years? Do you have any thoughts on the form of
their participation?
The University of Houston is eager to have the participation of the President and
Mrs. Bush in the activities of the Bush Library, and in various related activities.
Specifically, the University anticipates the following:
[1]
That President Bush and Mrs. Bush will each have faculty appointments at
the University, and will be invited to teach and participate in regular courses,
and in special courses and seminars designed for them.
[2]
President Bush and Mrs. Bush will each have their administrative offices
located in the Bush Library, or in the related academic building. An
important objective is to provide each of them with a forum for continued
involvement in areas they define as important. The various programs
sponsored by the Bush Library and the related activities will give the
President and Mrs. Bush an opportunity to communicate to the general public
as well as to the University community.
[3]
The President will be encouraged to assist serious scholars explore the role
of this Presidency in History. This can be done through the Strategic Studies
Institute, as well as structured involvement in particular research projects, the
existence of the Public History Program will help make this activity specific
and practical.
[4]
President Bush will be asked to serve on the Board of the Bush Center for
Public Policy and International Studies, and the Strategic Studies Institute, and
invited to participate in the planning and participation of programs.
[5]
Mrs. Bush will be asked to serve on the Board of the Barbara Bush Center
for the Study of Literacy, and invited to participate in the planning and
participation of programs of that Center.
[6]
The President and Mrs. Bush will be asked to name other individuals to serve
on the Advisory Boards of the various activities related to the Bush Library.
GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Supplemental Question 9:
Obviously, the Bush Library can be in one place only. If the University of Houston is
selected for the Bush Library, what ideas do you have for participatory activities with Rice,
TAMU, and other higher educational institutions in the state? Similarly, if another site
were selected, what type of participation would the University of Houston want in library
programs?
The President of the University of Houston has already agreed with the President
of Rice University, the President of Texas Southern University, and the Presidents
of the various institutions of higher education connected with the Texas Medical
Center to collaborate on academic programs relating to the Bush Library.
Specifically, if the University of Houston is selected for the Bush Library the
University is prepared to do the following:
[1]
Invite each of the institutions to assign faculty and graduate students to work
with the various Centers and research project connected with the Bush
Library.
[2]
The University of Houston will help organize the supervision of collaborative
activity and the supervision of graduate students for advanced degrees
involved in research related to the Bush Library from the various institutions.
[3]
The University of Houston will provide the opportunity for the various
institutions to build or lease facilities for the development of their own
individual programs related to the Bush Library.
[4]
The University of Houston will invite representatives from each of the
institutions to participate in the advisory boards involved with the various
programs related to the Bush Library.
[5]
The University of Houston will work with these other institutions in their
development of computer access to materials stored in the Bush Library, and
in other ways to enhance the use of the Bush Library by their faculty and
students.
The University of Houston has participated with Rice University in inviting Texas
A & M University to be involved in this collaborative effort, and will renew this
invitation in the future if it is selected.
If another site is selected for the Bush Library the University of Houston would want
the opportunity to participate in the various ways described above that we are willing
to provide to others.
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Question 5: Describe the university's computer system and how it might support the
Library?
A.
University's Computer System
The University of Houston supports numerous academic and administrative
computing environments. Specifically, the academic system is an assemblage of DEC
minicomputers (combined in a configuration called a JETSON cluster), an IBM
compatible mainframe (AS 9000), a pair of AT&T minicomputers, to support the
UNIX operating environment, and numerous stand-alone workstations and
microcomputers (Approximately 1,500 of these systems may be found in the
academic environment). Many of the University's microcomputers are, located in
public clusters to give student access to such resources. Presently there are 17
clusters located around the campus to facilitate ease of use by students. The
administrative computing environment is primarily composed of a DEC cluster (5
large VAX minicomputers) but also includes numerous powerful desktop machines.
Currently the university is in the process of networking the entire campus. This
procedure will include the installation of a state of the art digital voice/data system
(ROLM) and the placement of a fiber optic cabling backbone throughout the
campus. Upon completion of this project any office within the University will be
able to communicate directly with our campus supported computer systems and many
offices will be able to use the desk top resources that reside in non contiguous offices
(e.g. the ability to print a document from my computer on your printer). All of the
University's residential facilities will be connected to the campus network. This
includes the new commercial/university joint venture apartment project currently
being constructed.
The University has also recently installed a microwave system that enables it to
communicate with all of the other components of the University of Houston System.
The microwave will enable the components to transmit voice, data, and video
between each facility. Presently we are investigating the benefits of formalizing a
relationship with the UT and A & M Systems to jointly share all microwave
installations. If this arrangement is formalized the University will have the
capabilities of both sending and receiving video, statewide, as well as having the
ability to share all resources (computing, library, etc.) with the UT and A & M
System.
The University also is a member of two statewide computing networks; THENET
and SESQINET. These networks also allow the University to easily communicate
with all the other major Universities in the state including: Rice, UT, A & M, Texas
Tech, etc.
Question 5: (continued)
If the Bush Library is located at the University of Houston it can easily become a
part of the total computing environment that has been configured here. It would be
networked as part of the campus therefore giving it the ability to communicate with
the library, computer center, residential housing, or any other unit on campus. It
could conduct video conferences in the facility or send and receive live seminars
from or to most anywhere around the world.
The environment that has been and is being created at the University would assist
the Bush Library in carrying out its objectives of disseminating information
throughout the state, United States, and around the world.
B.
M. D. Anderson Library's Computer System
M. D. Anderson Library has established a leadership role among research libraries
in the use of information technology to expand both services and access to
information, while increasing productivity in both processing and service programs.
An important step in this process was taken in 1983 with the implementation of the
Geac Integrated Library System (ILS). The database of the ILS includes the
holdings of all the libraries on each of the four University of Houston campuses.
The ILS allows access to the library resources of all units of the University of
Houston System. Access is available via the campus Ethernet, or dial-up access is
possible with any PC with a modem. Access will also be available through the new
campus telephone system. With a database of over 950,000 catalog records
representing over 2 million volumes, the University of Houston has one of the largest
academic public online catalogs in the nation.
Beyond the University of Houston, the M.D. Anderson Library has a number of
cooperative agreements with other libraries both within and outside the State of
Texas. One. of the most useful is the Houston Area Research Library Consortium
(HARLiC). The members of HARLiC have established reciprocal borrowing
privileges for faculty and graduate students. A courier service transmits books and
journals borrowed through interlibrary loan among the member libraries. Free
photocopying for all interlibrary loan requests is provided.
A computerized catalog of the holdings of the HARLiC libraries is being developed
with the support of a Federal grant. This computerized catalog will contain records
of the holdings of HARLiC member libraries, using optical disc storage devices
(Compact Disc Read-Only Memory, or CD-ROM). This computerized catalog will
provide access to over 8 million volumes, representing the collections of the major
university and health science libraries in the greater Houston metropolitan area and
East Texas. The HARLiC member libraries are Houston Academy of Medicine
Texas Medical Center, Rice University, University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston, Houston Public Library, Texas Southern University, Texas A & M
University, Prairie View A & M University, and the University of Houston.
Question 5: (continued)
At the regional level, the libraries on all four campuses are members of the
AMIGOS Bibliographic Council. AMIGOS is a multi-state, computer-based
bibliographic network with member libraries in six states across the Southwest.
AMIGOS is in turn a member of the international library computing agency, the On-
Line Computer Library Center (OCLC). On-line computer access through OCLC
provides access to records of more than 18 million records for books and journals
in 5,500 libraries across North America. OCLC services include computerized on-
line interlibrary loan.
All of these facilities and services will be available to the staff of the Bush Library.
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
University of Houston Proposal
Responses to the Questionnaire
from the Archivist of the United States
Question 9: Does the university sponsor conferences, lectures and symposia, that would
benefit from cooperation with a Presidential Library?
Various departments and colleges at the University of Houston sponsor numerous
conferences, lectures, and symposiums during any given year many of which would benefit
from cooperation with the Presidential Library. Particularly relevant are various
conferences sponsored by the Center for Public Policy, the College of Business, and the Law
Center.
A.
The Center for Public Policy
The University of Houston Center for Public Policy is one of the strongest programs
of its type in the country. The following is a list of conferences and symposiums held
in 1989 - all of which would benefit from cooperation with the Presidential Library.
[1]
April 19 - Houston, Texas: The Next Chapter Unfolds - a conference.
Dr. Barton Smith presented his economic analysis of the regional economy,
focusing on research on oil dependent economies.
[2]
July 13 - 14 - Natural Gas: Meeting California's Energy Needs and Air
Quality Goals
The Center contributed to the continuance of public discussion of natural gas
regulation, business practice issues, and the environment.
[3]
November 16 - Frank Carlucci: Changes in the Pentagon?
Former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci gave his audience some straight
talk about the Soviet's military establishment and the unknown outcomes of
the current political turmoil.
[4]
December 1 and 2 - Electing the Senate: National Election Studies
Benchmark Survey on Senate Elections
Sixty congressional scholars assembled for a. two-day symposium to discuss
research based on the first national survey of voting behavior in senatorial
elections.
[5]
December 7 - 1987 Economic Census Data Users Conference
A discussion of the federal economic census, a basic source of data on the
economics of the nation.
Question 9: (continued)
[6]
December 10 - 12 - Prospects for a Soviet Economic Reform
A small group of Soviet economic policy researchers and American Soviet
scholars gathered for 3 days of discussion about the process of Soviet
transition toward a market economy.
B.
Following is a list of other national programs presented by various academic units
in the University which also would benefit from cooperation with the Presidential
Library.
[1]
Business, Society, and Environmental Crises: Who and What Will the Public
Believe? Sponsored by the College of Business Administration - March 28,
1990.
[2]
Mental Health in the 1990s - a national conference on law and mental health
policy sponsored by the University of Houston Health Law Institute - March
15, 1990.
[3]
Managing Liability from Hazardous Wastes - sponsored by the Environmental
Liability Law Program in 1989.
[4]
A Commitment to Caring - a lecture series in 1989 by the School of Social
Work.
[5]
We have enclosed folders and attachments involving a variety of other
activities and conferences.
The University of Houston was the principal founder of the Forum Club in the city
of Houston. This has grown into one of the major public affairs speaking lecture
organizations in the country. President Bush was a speaker at the Forum Club last
spring. There would be a mutual advantage to the activities of the Forum Club
and the Bush Library by its presence in the city.
C.
Tenneco Lecture Series - an endowed lecture series which brings distinguished public
figures to the University. This program is part of the Humanities and Professions
Program and is administered within the Public History Program.
The Barbara Bush Center for
the Study of Literacy
Page Two
increased incidences of failure and dropout. For prospective employers, illiteracy means
applicants whose skill levels bar them from employment or limit them to marginal or entry-
level positions with little or no hope for career advancements. For the nation at large,
illiteracy means individuals who are unable to engage as full-informed citizens in the
institutions of democratic life. The fact that the level of literacy demanded by our
information and knowledge-based society has risen and continues to rise further compounds
the problem. To the extent that literacy is identified disproportionately with certain racial,
ethnic, and socio-economic groups, its very existence tends to exacerbate tensions and
divisions within the fabric of society itself.
The clear implications of continuing illiteracy has given rise in recent years to
numerous efforts at the local, state, national, and international levels to bring about its
eradication. Yet, as Daniel A. Wagner of the University of Pennsylvania has recently
written, "A central paradox in efforts to reduce illiteracy in today's world is that so much
effort has been invested, and so little knowledge gained, about how best to achieve success."
Such, in brief, is the case for the Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy.
Houston as a Laboratory for the Study of Literacy
Houston is an international city in every sense of the word. Houston and Houston-
area school districts report that some one hundred different languages are spoken in the
homes of their students. Houston companies do business quite literally around the world.
Fifty-three foreign consulates have been established in Houston, and the Port of Houston
ranks first in the nation in foreign tonnage. And appropriately enough, given its
commitment as a city whose face is turned toward the world, the 1990 International
Economic Summit will be held in Houston, Texas.
As a multicultural, multilingual living laboratory, Houston offers opportunities to
promote and study early intervention with children to bring childhood literacy, as well as
to learn more about the most effective means of correcting and improving literacy skills
among adults. We do not yet fully understand the complexity of interactions between issues
of basic literacy, multilingualism and cultural differences. Greater knowledge of those
world. interactions is essential for the growth, prosperity and peace of our nations and of our
We believe that the proposed Center will contribute significantly to our
understanding of the dynamics of becoming literate in a bilingual or multilingual
environment. We need to understand the nature of the interdependence between first and
second languages in the acquisition and development of literacy skills. Implications of such
research are enormous given the high school dropout rates and low levels of academic
achievement among language-minority students. This research will contribute significantly
to our understanding of both the learning and teaching process. There is much also to
learn about the socio-cultural context in which learning takes place and the various factors
and influences that impact upon and shape that learning environment.
The Barbara Bush Center for
the Study of Literacy
Page Three
The Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy will, in short, support research
into fundamental literacy issues and will seek to assume a leadership role in investigating
literacy in dual languages contexts as it so often occurs in urban environments like Houston.
It will also seek to become the focal point of a broad international network of organized
literacy resources, such as the READ Commission, the National Aeronautic and Space
Administration's Johnson Space Center, the United Nations, UNESCO, the National
Advisory Council on Adult Education, university literacy research centers; and specialists
in reading, writing, artificial intelligence, anthropology, linguistics, psychology, economics,
and history in Houston-area universities such as Rice, the Texas Medical Center, and the
University of Houston. Such a broadly based and broadly conceived center for literacy
study will benefit not only the regional and national community, but will also benefit those
many countries around the world whose leaders struggle with the problem of how best to
integrate national languages and indigenous mother tongues within a single social and
political order.
The Museum/Library Setting
Because the various programs of the Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy
will be located in a modern and technologically sophisticated museum/library setting, they
will be able to draw upon various exhibits, artifacts, and collections designed to illustrate
such topics as the development of written language, how schooling promotes childhood
literacy around the world, and the efforts made by different countries to develop and
maintain a literate workforce. Houston's many consulates will be asked to participate in
the development of these exhibits.
The Center will make major use of new and emerging communication technologies
as an integral part of its research and information dissemination programs. University of
Houston faculty, in consultation with scientists from nearby Johnson Space Center, are
already in the process of developing a computerized tutorial to teach reading and problem-
solving strategies to adult illiterates. Headway is also being made with voice recognition
hardware and software that offers the promise of expert feedback on developing reading
abilities. In addition to making use of computer technology as a part of its own research
program, the Center will display and make available to others state-of-the-art literacy
promoting software developed by other educational institutions and corporate sources
throughout the nation and world. It will utilize computer technology as well toward
building sharable data bases of information on the subject of literacy which will, in turn, be
accessible by users everywhere.
The Barbara Bush Center for
the Study of Literacy
Page Four
Staffing and Support
Critical to the Center and its success are adequate staffing and support. To provide
on-going leadership for the Center the University of Houston will establish and endow the
"Barbara Bush Distinguished Professorship in Literacy" together with a series of visiting
professorships for "Resident Fellows" of the Center. The Center will house a small support
staff which will include clerical personnel, technologists, research assistants, and university
faculty specialists attached to the Center on a part-time basis. Support for the Center will
be augmented by external research projects and grants.
The Barbara Bush Center for the Study of Literacy will provide an enduring legacy
to the leadership of President and Mrs. Bush, a legacy which will, in turn, benefit all
humanity.
Additional Ten Questions from Don Wilson
Received, March 19, 1990
Regarding the Bush Presidential Library
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
1. One complaint frequently ventilated by those who favor the Bush Library in
Houston is TAMU's "remote" location. By way of rebuttal. you may wish to note
scheduled transportation improvements for the area. Are there existing plans for
improving road access into College Station/Bryan? What about train service and the
expectation of growth of scheduled air service into the area?
Texas A&M University is located in the population center of Texas
Access is not just a matter of time, it is distance, time and convenience; the
central location of Texas A&M and its freedom from urban congestion make
it easily accessible from the major population centers of the world
The Texas A&M site is convenient to public and private modes of
transportation: air, train, bus and automobiles
Major improvements in regional, trunk, and federal highways serving Texas
A&M University have been approved and are under construction
Uncongested travel to Texas A&M University is scenic, relaxed and
pleasurable
Texas A&M University has a centralized location in Texas between major urban
areas. More than 77 percent of Texas residents live within a 200 mile radius of College
Station. It is in the population "heart" of Texas, and well within the Texas driving range
for bus tours and family day trips.
The Texas A&M site offers the unique advantage of a central location that makes
it a nearby destination from the major population centers in Texas. The Library and
Museum would be within easy driving distance from Houston (1-2 hours), Austin (2
hours), Dallas-Fort Worth (3 hours), Waco (2 hours), San Antonio (3 hours), Corpus
Christi (4 hours), Tyler (3 hours), and Longview (3 hours).
College Station is readily accessible for those traveling by public as well as
private transportation. Easterwood Airport, a full-service airport with the new William
A. McKenzie terminal, is within five minutes of the proposed site. It is served by
American, Continental, and Delta Airlines and has adequate ground transportation, as
further discussed in the response to question three. A railroad station with daily Amtrak
service is within five minutes of the site. In addition to a nearby national bus line station,
the University and the community each operate intercity bus lines.
Texas A&M University is an excellent site for the predominant group of visitors
to presidential libraries: school children! Approximately two-thirds of the visitors to the
Johnson Presidential Library arrive in school buses. The central location of College
Station makes it possible for the great majority of Texas school children to visit the
Library and then return to their communities in easy day trips. The Texas A&M site
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 1
would serve a larger potential user group for the George Bush Library and Museum than
any other single city within Texas.
A common pattern is that local school districts in the communities where other
presidential libraries are located do not participate in visitation programs. Based on
visitation experiences at these libraries, it is reasonable to conclude that more school
children from major urban areas in Texas would visit the Bush Presidential Library in
College Station than if it were located in one of the major urban areas.
Improvements to the major highways leading to College Station are presently
under construction or scheduled for construction by the Texas Highway Department
(please see accompanying map). The so-called "Aggie Expressway" will reduce both
travel distance and time between College Station and Houston. Improvements under way
on Texas Highway 6 will make travel to cities such as Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco,
more convenient. Ongoing improvements in Texas Highway 21 to the University
campus will strengthen linkages to cities to the west such as Austin, San Antonio, and
those in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Texas A&M site is an easy trip for the large majority of Texas residents. The
lack of urban congestion, excellent and reasonably-priced hotel accommodations, a
variety of restaurants and other amenities for travelers are convenient both by distance
and by time.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 2
Fort Word
Wao
Bryan College State
Austin
AMORIO
Approved and Proposed
Highway Improvements
2. Some who favor metropolitan Houston as a site for the Bush Library say
TAMU's "remoteness" is more than simply a matter of distance from a major airport. As
a major urban center. Houston offers greater advantages for tourism. for attracting and
keeping a quality staff, and for having ready access to national media. Perhaps you wish
to address these contentions.
Texas A&M ranks among the top 10 universities in the nation in number of
students, endowment, and volume of research and, as such, is an
internationally recognized center for educational and cultural programs
More than two million participants visit Texas A&M yearly for various
events
Texas A&M offers an intellectual and cultural climate appropriate to the
Bush Presidential Library
The College Station/Bryan area offers important advantages for attracting
and keeping a quality staff, as evidenced by the success of Texas A&M in
recruiting and retaining world renowned faculty
The Texas A&M location offers ready access to national media
Texas A&M lies in the population center of Texas with more than 77 percent of
the state's population within 200 miles. In addition, the fortunate placement of Houston
Intercontinental Airport allows about equal driving time between Intercontinental and
College Station as is required between the airport and the southern and western parts of
Houston. The short trip to College Station is a relaxing drive through a scenic, wooded
area.
This, coupled with satellite communications technology, allows Texas A&M to
make full use of all of the facilities associated with urban activities while still enjoying
the considerable amenities offered in a smaller city. Using satellites, Texas A&M
broadcasts from the campus and also participates in various interactive programs initiated
at other locations. Bush Library programs would take full advantage of these state-of-
the-art facilities.
Presidential Libraries located in major urban centers do not attract the greatest
numbers of visitors. An analysis of the number of visitors to existing presidential
libraries documents that public interest in the former Presidents and the quality of their
library's public programs are more important factors in determining visitation rates. Data
supplied by the Office of Presidential Libraries suggest, for example, that in 1989 the
Roosevelt Library in a rural section of New York State, approximately 85 miles from
New York City, outdrew the Ford Museum and Carter Museum/Library, both located in
major urban cities (184,984 vs. 81,385 and 86,440 visitors, respectively). Visits to the
Johnson Library in Austin, Texas (approximately 100 miles from College Station),
exceeded 400,000 in 1989 -- twice the attendance of any other presidential library.
Texas A&M University currently draws in excess of two million visitors
annually, and this, coupled with the thousands of public school students who currently
visit Texas A&M throughout the year for educational and extracurricular activities,
reinforces the fact that the George Bush Library and Museum located on the Texas A&M
campus will attract a large audience.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 3
Visitors to Texas A&M are from those groups most likely to visit the Presidential
Library and Museum: school children, families, scholars, and senior citizens seeking
educational and cultural activities. More than 3,000 conference events attract visitors to
Texas A&M annually. The Texas A&M University campus is already a major center of
educational programs that attract a large number of statewide, national, and international
students and visitors. It is estimated that in 1989 nearly 1,600,000 attended conferences,
educational, and cultural programs at Texas A&M University. In addition,
approximately 550,000 individuals attended sporting events at Texas A&M.
Apart from education programs and services targeted to permanent students, the
University and University System provide programs and services to the entire state
through the Texas Engineering Extension Service, the Texas Agricultural Extension
Service, the Texas Forest Service, the Texas Transportation Institute, and other agencies.
The Memorial Student Center schedules some 1,400 activities annually, and "University
Plus" provides additional educational/recreational opportunities. Each year former
students return to campus to pursue educational programs through Aggie Hostel.
Presently, more than 100,000 school children visit Texas A&M to attend educational
programs, art exhibits, career days, and special programs such as International Week, as
well as various academically related contests and workshops, cultural and sports events.
Texas A&M University offers an appropriate intellectual and cultural climate for
the Bush Presidential Library. The qualities exhibited by President Bush throughout his
career and identified with his presidency include patriotism; volunteerism; commitment
to family, friends and community; leadership; discipline; respect for tradition; self-
improvement through education; help for the less fortunate; openness; honesty and
sincerity; and egalitarianism. Texas A&M University, its student body and former
students, historically personify these same values.
A presidential library should be an inherently unique institution that reflects the
personality, character, and values of the individual. President Bush and Texas A&M are
kindred spirits. The compatibility of Texas A&M University and the George Bush
Library is underscored by the institution's history and traditions. Texas A&M gives high
priority to its mission of service and to the importance of public education. It is a leading
institution of higher education drawing more than 40,000 students from around the world,
i.e., more than 100 countries are represented in the student body. Accordingly, Texas
A&M University offers a fitting backdrop to portray the President: the man, his
presidency, and his legacy.
As evidenced by the success Texas A&M has enjoyed, the College Station/Bryan
area offers important advantages for attracting and keeping a quality staff for the
Presidential Library. The quality of life is high: education is the primary "industry";
local schools are excellent; cost of housing and the cost of living is materially lower than
major metropolitan areas; the crime rate is low. Because of the University, the area
offers the amenities of metropolitan life without the problems that accompany urban
congestion. The economic climate is strong. The local unemployment rate is
consistently the lowest in the state. The College Station/Bryan area is listed frequently
among locations attractive for business expansion and likely to experience additional
economic development in the near future.
Texas A&M University has had excellent success in attracting and keeping
quality faculty and staff. This success is, in large measure, related to the values of the
local community. College Station/Bryan is an attractive area for family life. The staff of
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 4
the Bush Presidential Library will be made to feel at home in the academic community of
Texas A&M University and in the family community of College Station/Bryan.
The Texas A&M University site offers excellent access to national news and
communications media. National media representatives covering President Bush's major
foreign policy address at Texas A&M University's commencement in May 1989 were
pleased with local facilities. The national and international coverage of that event
underscores the point that the communications technology is readily available to bring
the attention of the world to a Presidential Library at Texas A&M.
The University and local broadcast and print media offer the requisite feeds,
uplinks, and communication networks. It should not be overlooked that the decision
about which news is worthy of dissemination is typically made initially at the local level.
Local news media personnel must first offer information to the national network. A Bush
Presidential Library at Texas A&M University would be a cultural and news focal point
for the area. At Texas A&M, the Bush Presidential Library would enjoy excellent,
ongoing access to local news and communication media, and through them, to national
and international media.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 5
3. Presumably the Center for Presidential Studies and the Center for Public
Leadership plan to solicit policymakers and commentators for symposia and conferences.
How do you respond to the assertion that many busy people will decline participation in
TAMU programs because there is no direct air service from Washington and New York
and they can't spare the extra hours required?
The symposia, conferences, and academic programs offered by the Center
for Presidential Studies will be of the quality and urgency to attract
prominent speakers and participants from around the world
Past experience is proof that there is no reluctance of busy and influential
people to attend and participate in programs at Texas A&M University
Influential leaders in government and the private sector visit Texas A&M
regularly
Texas A&M University's Easterwood Airport has numerous daily flights on
major airlines and is only one stop away from any major city in the United
States and many foreign capitals
The Texas A&M location offers excellent travel times from origin to final
destination
Influential people, including leaders in government, academia and the private
sector, visit Texas A&M University regularly. They find it a convenient destination for
their busy schedules. The symposia, conferences, and academic programs offered at the
Center for Presidential Studies will be of the quality and urgency to attract prominent
speakers and participants from around the world. Distinguished visitors who have
accepted invitations to participate in programs at Texas A&M University include Ronald
Reagan, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, former
British Prime Ministers Edward Heath and James Callaghan, former Chancellor Helmut
Schmidt of Germany, Henry Kissinger, Edmund Muskie, Robert McNamara, John
Kenneth Galbraith, Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson, among others. President
George Bush visited Texas A&M to give a commencement address in May 1989. The
President also visited Texas A&M while he was a congressman and Vice President.
Easterwood Airport is a full-service facility located within five minutes of the
proposed Library site. It is served by three major airlines: American, Continental, and
Delta. These airlines offer frequent, convenient, one-stop service to Washington, Boston,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Tokyo, London, Paris,
Frankfurt, and Mexico City are also one stop away through the 14 daily flights to Dallas
and 6 to Houston. The airport, and its new, modern terminal are owned and operated by
Texas A&M University and can accommodate major commercial and private aircraft.
Busy and influential people frequently participate in programs at Texas A&M
University. Such people assess convenience in terms of travel time from airport to
airport and also in terms of time to final destination. The Texas A&M site is within five
minutes of Easterwood Airport; travel time to local hotels from the airport or the Library
site during periods of greatest traffic congestion is no more than five minutes. Compared
to sites in major urban areas, the Texas A&M site offers excellent travel times from
origin to final destination without the delays from traffic congestion common to urban
areas.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 6
10. Obviously the Bush Library can be in one place only. If TAMU is selected
for the Bush Library, what ideas do you have for participatory activities with Rice, the
University of Houston, and other higher education institutions in the state? Similarly, if
another site were selected. what type of participation would TAMU want in library
programs?
The Texas A&M University System has led in initiating many important
programs of cooperation with other higher education institutions in the state
If Texas A&M University is selected as the Bush Library site, we will build
on existing programs and create new programs so all institutions of higher
education can participate
If Texas A&M University is selected as the Bush Library site, we would build on
existing programs of cooperation with Rice University, the University of Houston, and
other higher education institutions in the state to give them greatest access to the
resources of the Presidential Library and Museum and to affiliated academic programs of
Texas A&M University. The Texas A&M University System has eight university
campuses and numerous other facilities -- including sites in Houston, Dallas, San
Antonio, and Austin -- that promote cooperation with other higher education institutions.
Other Texas A&M University System components, such as the Texas Agricultural
Extension Service, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, the Texas Engineering
Extension Service, the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, the Texas Transportation
Institute, and the Texas Forest Service reach every county in the state and involve the
academic and professional communities and the general public in their programs.
Texas A&M University and its System historically have initiated area and
statewide programs, and have invited other universities, both private and public, to
participate for the betterment of Texas and its people. In this instance, we would initiate
and invite the above named institutions and others to participate in ongoing educational
and cultural opportunities afforded by the Bush library and the George Bush School of
Government and Public Service.
The Texas A&M University data and video networks will offer the opportunity
for any institution of higher education in the state to participate in the Bush Library
activities in College Station. In particular, the data network will allow other universities
to access the electronic information services of the Bush Library. Because of the
extensive nature of the Texas A&M University network connections, this access will be
available to the entire campus network at the other institutions. If demand from a
particular location is high, a special network link can be installed. For example, we may
want to connect the Bush and Johnson Libraries with a dedicated high speed link.
The video network capability will allow two-way interactive video among higher
education institutions and the Bush Library at Texas A&M University. Using such
capability, remote locations would participate in seminars, classroom presentations, and
presentations by special visitors. Two-way interactive video will convey the programs of
the Bush Library to other institutions. In those settings where two-way interactive
capability is not essential, we will use our uplink capability to broadcast video to a wide
variety of locations.
The Bush School of Government and Public Service and its research centers offer
several opportunities for cooperation with other institutions of higher education. Faculty
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 15
of other universities can be given appointments as adjunct faculty, visiting faculty, and
fellows. Postdoctoral fellowships, lecture series, workshops, symposia, conferences, data
archives and other Texas A&M University academic programs will be available to
students and faculty throughout Texas. Faculty at other Texas universities will be asked
to serve on the editorial board of the journal established in affiliation with the Center for
Public Leadership Studies and the Center for Presidential Studies. The Bush School and
Research Centers will offer facilities for visiting scholars who will use resources in the
Library.
The Bush Library and Museum will be a national and international resource.
Students, former students, faculty, administrators, and friends from all universities in
Texas will have the opportunity to work for the Library project through the foundation or
foundations to be established to create endowments for facilities and programs.
Texas A&M University seeks to offer what it can to the Presidential Library
project. We want the Bush Presidential Library to portray the man, his presidency, and
his legacy. The Library should be a living, enduring, and vital enterprise; it should set a
new standard for presidential libraries in the twenty-first century. We are eager to be a
part of the team the President assembles to bring the George Bush Presidential Library to
reality. Our aim is to work with the President, his staff, National Archives
administrators, and other individuals designated by the President. If another site were
selected, we would support the Bush Presidential Library as desired by the President.
Texas A&M University
Ten Questions - Page 16
5.
Describe the university's computer system and how it might support the
Library,
Texas A&M University has recently installed and placed on-line a CRAY Y-
MP2/116 supercomputer.
Texas A&M University makes a wide variety of computing information services
available to its students, faculty, and staff. Mainframe (Amdahl, IBM, DEC) computing
facilities may be accessed, either from any of several thousand public terminals located
throughout the campus or from private terminals or personal computers via telephone
lines. Approximately 3,000 personal computers are available to University personnel in
classroom and public laboratories through the campus. Electronic Data Systems (EDS)
has agreed to work closely with the Texas A&M University Bush Library Steering
Committee in designing the best state-of-the-art computer network for the Bush Library.
The Sterling Evans Library houses one of the nation's most extensive collections
of computer-based information storage and retrieval aids. Bibliographic and reference
materials include data on dedicated microcomputer and CD-ROM systems. A variety of
national on-line databases can be accessed easily.
Texas A&M University has installed almost 200,000 feet of 12- and 24-strand
fiber optic cable to create a campus-wide network. Every major building and dormitory
complex on the campus is connected to this extensive network. The network carries data
and video services; voice is handled by a separate network. The fiber optic network
employs the latest design and electronics and spans the entire Texas A&M University
campus and Research Park. This network has the capacity to handle projected data, text,
and graphics needs.
Texas A&M University's network is part of the regional THEnet, which connects
the major universities in Texas (about 100 nodes), the NSF regional network
SESQUINET, and, through it, the NSFnet. In addition, Texas A&M provides access to
BITNET and Internet along with a number of specialized networks.
The catalog of holdings of the Texas A&M University library is available in
electronic format. The library supports NOTIS, a user-friendly system for using the
catalog. Catalogs of holdings of other universities in the region are available at Texas
A&M through Internet. Catalogs and other services of major libraries more distant,
including the Library of Congress, soon will be available at Texas A&M.
A wide range of on-line bibliographic services is available through telephone or
computer networks directly as well as through the Sterling Evans Library. They include
BRS, DataTimes, Dialog, Orbit, Westlaw, Wilson, Federal Assistance Program Retrieval
Service, NASA RECON, Dow Jones News Retrieval Service, and Capitol Information
Service. Each provides an extensive volume of information. For example, the Wilson
files. system alone provides access to 17 bibliographic databases and 3 directory/authority
Connection to Texas A&M University's Ethernet provides users with access to
mainframe computer facilities and a variety of communications networks. Users at the
Bush Presidential Library would be able to communicate throughout the nation and world
by means of networks such as Bitnet, Internet, and NSFnet.
Texas A&M University
Sixteen Questions - Page 6
Texas A&M University and The Texas A&M University System are in the
process of constructing a statewide telecommunications network which will have as one
of its main features the delivery of two-way interactive video. This network will link
together all parts of The Texas A&M University System and will link to several external
networks and services. In particular, using the technology described in the following
paragraphs, the network will link with satellite uplink capability allowing the broadcast
of video signal from anywhere on the Texas A&M University campus and from within
The Texas A&M University System.
The technology which will be used to achieve the two-way interactive video
capability is that of compressed video. This technology uses computer technology to
compress video signal so that it can be transmitted over medium speed digital telephone
circuits. The services provides two-way interactive video and audio capability.
On the Texas A&M University campus, the extensive fiber optic network will
carry the video signal. Off campus, the signal will be carried by leased T-1 telephone
circuits. The planned future installation of a satellite uplink on the College Station
campus will provide broadcast capability. In the meantime, Texas A&M has established
transmission capability to the satellite uplinks in Houston.
With the availability of compressed video equipment at remote sites, say
Washington, D.C. or other presidential libraries, there could be interactive conferences
among the sites. These might deal with administrative matters or matters of scholarly
interest. In addition to the transmission of the conference, the network has the capability
of handling graphics, facsimile, and data transmissions.
It will be possible to broadcast programs from the Bush Presidential Library to
any site with downlink capability in the world. This could include research seminars on
the presidential materials.
Using the interactive capability, it would be possible for other educational
institutions and government agencies to participate actively in the programs of the Bush
Presidential Library and Museum and the School of Government and Public Service at
Texas A&M University. Similarly, the compressed video capability will be used to bring
speakers of interest into the classrooms at Texas A&M University from their home
locations.
Summarizing, all of the above will be linked to and used to support the Library.
Texas A&M will continue to maintain state-of-the-art computer and telecommunications
systems as technology evolves. Such systems will give the Bush Presidential Library the
unique opportunity to access continuously the cutting edge technologies of Texas A&M
University.
Texas A&M University
Sixteen Questions - Page 7
THE CENTER FOR PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES
Approved by the Texas A&M University
Board of Regents on January 25, 1991
Agenda Item No. 8
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Office of the President
January 9, 1991
Dr. Edward Hiler
Interim Chancellor
The Texas A&M University System
Subject: Authorization to Create the Center for Presidential Studies
Authorization is respectfully requested for the College of Liberal Arts to establish the
Center for Presidential Studies. The Center will be the national center for scholarship on the
American presidency - an institution at the heart of American government and international
relations.
The Center for Presidential Studies will conduct research on a wide range of dimensions
involving the presidency, serve as a national archive for data not available elsewhere, and
promote understanding of the presidency through its sponsorship of conferences, lecture series,
and publications. The attached executive summary and full proposal describe in greater detail
the objectives and plans for the Center. The College of Liberal Arts will provide funding of
$25,000 per year for fircal years 91 and 92 from Account 186242, Enhancing Excellence in
Research, after which it is expected that the Center will be self-supporting. The Center will be
administered by a director appointed by the President of Texas A&M University upon the
recommendation of the Provost and the Dean of the College, and will report to the Dean of
Liberal Arts.
I recommend adoption of the following minute order:
"The Center for Presidential Studies is hereby established as an
organizational research unit of Texas A&M University within the College of
Liberal Arts. The College of Liberal Arts will provide funding of $25,000
per year for fiscal years 91 and 92 from Account 186242, Enhancing
Excellence in Research, after which it is expected that the Center will be self-
supporting. The President of Texas A&M University is authorized to appoint
a Director of the Center as its chief administrator."
Respectfully submitted,
William H. Mobley
Willin A. Molly
Approval Recommended:
President
Original signed by
Edward A. Hiler
Edward Hiler
Interim Chancellor
A Proposal to Establish the
CENTER FOR PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES
within the
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Center for Presidential Studies
College of Liberal Arts
Texas A&M University
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Center for Presidential Studies will be a nationally recognized center for research
on the American presidency. The Center will conduct research on important matters relating
to the presidency and convey information about the presidency to other scholars, government
officials, and the general public. Areas of scholarly research will include presidential decision
making, presidential-congressiona relations, the president as world leader, the president as chief
executive, presidential selection, the president as party leader, and the president's relations with
the public and the press.
The Center will also create and continuously augment a database on the presidency not
available in traditional archives. This will be the country's central archive for quantitative and
other data on the presidency not found in presidential libraries, and an invaluable supplement
to the libraries. It will serve scholars, government officials, and others interested in the
presidency and provide the basis for significant research projects.
The Center for Presidential Studies will broaden understanding of the presidency and
serve the community in several ways, including (1) holding national conferences on the
presidency for scholars and practitioners, with each group enriching the other; (2) sponsoring
lecture series on the presidency; and (3) publishing papers, symposia, and, eventually, a journal
of leadership studies.
The Center will be administered by a director appointed by the President of Texas A&M
University, and reporting to the Dean of Liberal Arts. The Center will be administratively
located in the College of Liberal Arts which is providing $25,000 in start-up funding for the first
two years from Account 186242, Enhancing Excellence in Research, after which it is expected
that the Center will be self-supporting. Funding for Center programs is expected from gifts,
grants, and contracts. Donations of significant data archives are expected in the near future
from national public opinion polling organizations.
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Center for Presidential Studies
INTRODUCTION
No office within American government has commanded the attention, stirred the
imagination, and generated the emotions as has the presidency. It has become the dominant
institution in a system designed for balanced government, the prime initiator and coordinator
among separate and independent institutions, the foremost mobilizer among disparate and, often,
competing interests, and the principal communications link from and to a multitude of groups
and individuals. It is a multi-faceted, dynamic office - with a plethora of responsibilities, a
variety of roles, and a broad range of powers.
Playing a pivotal role in both domestic and foreign policy, the president is a vital
centralizing force in American government and the leader of the free world. Yet despite the
extraordinary visibility of the chief executive and the enormous volume of commentary on
individual presidents, scholarly research focused on the presidency has lagged. Ironically, the
American presidency is the most discussed and least understood institution in American politics.
The Center for Presidential Studies is designed to remedy this research gap. It will be
the leading center for scholarship on the American presidency. Scholars associated with the
Center will conduct studies of important matters relating to the presidency and convey
information about the presidency to other scholars, government officials, and the general public.
The presidency is unique in both its importance and the difficulty of researching it.
Access to accurate and systematic information is often limited and cross-fertilization among
several scholars working on related projects at the same location is rare. Making advances in
our understanding of the presidency requires a concentration of talent and a focus of effort that
has not occurred elsewhere.
The Center for Presidential Studies will be the world center for research on the
presidency. Distinguished visiting scholars, prominent public officials, post-doctoral fellows,
and Texas A&M faculty from several disciplines will come to the Center to conduct research
and share their understanding of the presidency, enriching each other in the process.
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The data in the archive will include public opinion polls on presidents and the presidency,
audio-video records of the presidency, journalists' files and diaries, national political party
records, roll-call voting data on presidential relations with Congress, and records of presidential
decision making based on the holdings of several presidential libraries.
The archives are a critical component of the Center. For example, political scientists and
historians cannot go back in time to poll the public about its response to Ronald Reagan's efforts
to persuade it to support his policies. The acquisition of public opinion poll data on such
questions is directly comparable to receiving millions of dollars of grants for scientific
experimentation on presidential leadership.
Public Activities
The Center for Presidential Studies will broaden understanding of the presidency and
serve the community in several ways:
1.
Holding national conferences on the presidency for scholars and practitioners,
with each group enriching the other.
2.
Sponsoring lecture series on the presidency.
3.
Publishing papers, symposia, and, eventually a journal of leadership studies.
ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANIZATION
The Center will be located within the College of Liberal Arts. It will be administered
by a Director, appointed by the President of Texas A&M University, and reporting to the Dean
of the College of Liberal Arts.
USE OF THE CENTER
The Center will be multidisciplinary and international in scope. In addition to resident
experts in the presidency, we anticipate that each year both post-doctoral and distinguished
senior scholars from around the world would be working at the Center.
Donations of Major Data Archives
A key feature of the Center for Presidential Studies would be the establishment of an
archive of polling data concerning the presidency and national politics. The Center would
receive raw data from a variety of sources and would become the national center for scholarship
in this important area.
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Distinguished Professor George Edwards, a leading Presidential Scholar at Texas A&M
University, has talked with national polling organizations for several years regarding the use of
their data. Our latest discussions with these sources have been very fruitful. Exceptional gifts
of retrospective polling data are now planned from such polling organizations as the Gallup Poll,
Tarrance and Associates, and others of national stature. To produce an equivalent number of
these kind of interviews today would cost millions of dollars. Of course, retrospective polling
data are impossible to obtain today in any case. The data will come to Texas A&M in a
computer format making it ready to use immediately.
With the establishment of data archives on the Presidency, the University will have a
major resource which can be used effectively to attract grants from governmental and private
funding organizations. The archive also represents an attractive giving opportunity for corporate
or personal gifts to support center activities. Creation of the Center will be followed by the
development of funding proposals to the National Science Foundation, both in the form of basic
research grants and through the program supporting research centers. In coordination with the
University's capital campaign and the College's priorities, gifts will also be solicited to support
programs and operations of the Center. Although there are no firm prospects for donors, the
Center and archives are likely to present an excellent opportunity for leveraging a small
investment by the University to create support for an important, highly visible enterprise.
RESOURCES FOR THE CENTER
The Center for Presidential Studies is expected to be self supporting within two years.
The College of Liberal Arts is prepared to provide $25,000 in start-up funding for FY91 and
FY92. The source of these funds is the Enhancing Excellence in Research, Account 186242.
The Department of Political Science will provide partial release time for Dr. George Edwards
as director of the Center, initial secretarial support, and would house the Center in research
space currently available in Bolton Hall.
The attached budget anticipates the Center's financial needs and resources for the coming
two fiscal years. In FY93, support would come from such sources as the National Science
Foundation, the Peace Institute, and private foundations.
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Tentative Budget
Center for Presidential Studies
College of Liberal Arts
FY91
FY92
Personnel
Director
nc*
nc*
Research Associate
$20,000
$21,000
Secretarial Assistance
nc**
nc**
Operating Expenses
Telephone, Copying, etc.
$1,000
$2,000
Program Expenses
Speakers
$2,000
$1,500
Travel
$2,000
$1,500
TOTALS
$25,000
$25,000
Source of Funds
Enhancing Excellence in Research
(Account No. 186242)
$25,000
$25,000
*Director will receive 50 percent release time from Department of Political Science in advance
of cost recovery contracts with external agencies.
**Secretarial assistance will be provided by Department of Political Science in advance of cost
recovery contracts with external agencies
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