The Dole Institute of Politics

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2350 Petefish Drive
Lawrence, KS 66045 United States Get Directions

The mission of the Dole Institute of Politics is to promote political and civic participation as well as civil discourse in a bi-partisan, balanced manner.

By providing a forum for discussion of political and economic issues, fostering public service leadership and encouraging participation in the political process, we emphasize that politics is an honorable profession and that only through political and civic participation can citizens redirect the course of our nation. While the objective is to accomplish this mission on a broad scale, our location at the University of Kansas provides a unique opportunity for outreach to young people and students.

We utilize the three distinct components of the Dole Institute to accomplish this mission: unique displays that tell the compelling story of Bob Dole’s life in the context of Kansas and The Greatest Generation; one of the largest congressional archives in existence which houses all of the Senator’s congressional papers; and finally, the vigorous public programming conducted by the Dole Institute.

Events at this venue
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Federalism in Action: The President and the States

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States
Hybrid Hybrid Event

The relationship between the federal government and the states is unique when compared to other nations. This discussion will look at how the states have limited the power of the presidency through our federalist system, in addition to touching on the ways in which states distanced themselves from the federal government.     Matt Beat […]

Dole & Dr. K: A Story of Loss and Recovery Turned Advocacy for Armenia

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States

A young Bob Dole, searching for a fuller recovery from grave World War II injuries, connected with Armenian surgeon Dr. Hampar Kelikian. Over the course of seven surgeries in seven years, “Dr. K” shared his story of loss and renewal around the 1915 Armenian Genocide—inspiring Dole as he worked to reimagine his future and build […]

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Preparing for the Unthinkable: The U.S. Navy, SLBMS, and the TRANSIT Satellites

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States
Hybrid Hybrid Event

In April 1960 the US Navy launched the first experimental navigation satellite.  This highly classified and cutting-edge technology found in the TRANSIT satellites were designed to provide the Navy’s submarines armed with the new POLARIS ballistic missile with more precise navigation fixes as a means to improve their accuracy, if and when they had to […]

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The State of Education in Kansas

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States

Join the Dole Institute Student Advisory Board for the spring Student Advisory Board Program, “The State of Education in Kansas.” SAB coordinator Kenna McNally will be joined by experts to discuss K-12 education policy in Kansas.

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The Consent of the Governed

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States
Hybrid Hybrid Event

In the final program of his series, Dole Fellow Matt Beat will explore the various reforms that have been proposed that could not only limit the power of the president but make them less controversial.     Matt Beat is a former middle and high school educator who taught history and civics across various grade […]

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The 2025 Dole Lecture

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States

2025 commemorates the 80th anniversary of Bob Dole’s battlefield wounding, and the end of World War II. Former Dole staffers Bob Lighthizer, Sheila Burke, and Rod DeArment will discuss the Senator’s formative leadership during the Reagan era through his retirement from the US Senate in 1996. How did Dole influence U.S. fiscal and economic policy? […]

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The 2025 Easter Egg Roll with Dole

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States

Come one, come all, for the Dole Institute’s Easter Egg Roll with Dole! Join us on Saturday, April 19, for a morning of family fun, including a White House-style egg roll race, egg hunt, games, crafts, and more. The event is free and open to the public, and will go on rain or shine. Learn […]

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The Counselors

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States
Hybrid Hybrid Event

Join Dole Institute Visiting Fellows and attorneys Ed Duckers and Pedro Irigonegaray for the next edition of The Counselors—an engaging program featuring debates on contemporary topics.   This program is presented in partnership with the Washburn University School of Law     Ed Duckers is partner at Stoel Rives LLP and the head of the firm’s […]

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The Brain of the Carrier Group: The Combat Information Center

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States
Hybrid Hybrid Event

This lecture will begin with the genesis of the shipboard combat information center (CIC) in World War II from the Guadalcanal campaign (1942) up through that at Okinawa (1945). From there it will move to a discussion of the development of the CIC on aircraft carriers through the Cold War and its current incarnation as […]

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Beyond Lend-Lease: The American Military Mission to China, 1941-1945

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States

China’s War with Japan began in 1937 with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident near Beijing.  While diplomatic and economic means were used to support the Chinese for several years, it was not until the 10th of October 1941 that an American military mission to support Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) was established.  Brigadier General John […]

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Whiz Kids at War: Data Analysis and America’s War in Vietnam

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States

The Vietnam War was not just America’s first televised war, it was the nation’s first computerized war. The conflict’s hybrid character created a fragmented battlespace that was defined by a lack of front lines, the comingling of friendly and enemy forces, and a patchwork of political and military control. Data collection and analysis thus became […]

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Desert Storm: High-Tech Wonders, or Ingenuity and Elbow Grease?

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The Dole Institute of Politics 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS, United States
Hybrid Hybrid Event

Desert Storm in January-February 1991 is known for its dazzling display of technological brilliance, forecasting a so-called revolution in military affairs that promised the United States a cheap alternative to wars of the past.  The lop-sided victory over Iraqi forces in Kuwait in 1991 seemed to forecast a new American way of war that was […]

The Dole Institute is committed to universal accessibility in all programs and resources. We are in the process of making all of our web projects fully accessible. An accessible version of the material represented on this site will be made available upon request. Please contact us at doleinstitute@ku.edu to request the material be made available in an accessible format, or for general assistance.