Dole Institute of Politics and Bipartisan Policy Center announce partnership

August 17, 2023 - News

LAWRENCE – In honor of the 100^th birthday of the late Bob Dole, U.S. Senator from Kansas, 1969-1996, and Republican Senate Leader, 1985-1996, the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas, and Washington, D.C.-based organization Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) announce plans to create an ongoing programmatic partnership that fosters bipartisan engagement and civility in future generations of leaders.

“We are excited to work with our friends at BPC in Washington to bring the nation’s top policy experts and legislative leaders to the Dole Institute to engage with undergraduate students here at KU and eventually, across the state,” said Dole Institute director Audrey Coleman. “Our organizations both recognize that bipartisan compromise is the foundation of policymaking in a democracy, and we’re proud to promote that value together in new generations.”

BPC’s Governing and Civics Project Director John Richter remarked, “It is entirely fitting that BPC joins with this highly regarded institute established by one of our founders. Sen. Dole devoted his entire life to service. While he vigorously embraced the “R” after his name, above all he considered himself an “American” — and understood that driving our diverse nation forward requires collaboration and compromise. BPC launched our Campus Partnerships Program this year to help the next generation of leaders appreciate and operationalize this principle, and there is no better place to do that than the Dole Institute.”

The Dole Institute and BPC have partnered in the past, most recently in April 2023 when the Dole Institute hosted former Senators Trent Lott and Tom Daschle to discuss their careers and practical bipartisanship during a public interview program.

The Dole Institute was dedicated on July 22, 2003, at the University of Kansas on Senator Bob Dole’s 80^th birthday. Home to the personal archives of both Senator Bob and Senator Elizabeth Dole, with a museum facility on par with the U.S. Presidential libraries, the Dole Institute has been a vibrant political forum promoting civil discourse, civic engagement, and idea exchange across the political spectrum for 20 years.

The Bipartisan Policy Center is a mission-focused organization helping policymakers work across party lines to craft bipartisan solutions. By connecting Republicans and Democrats, delivering data and context, negotiating public policy, and creating space for bipartisan collaboration, BPC helps turn legislators’ best ideas into durable laws that improve lives. Since 2007, the Bipartisan Policy Center has helped shepherd countless bills across the finish line.