If we aren’t lucky enough to be going to school at such a gorgeous and vibrant campus in one of the best neighborhoods in Dallas, SMU students have surely been grateful for the occasional sightings of George “Dubya” Bush on campus either walking through Dallas Hall or teaching a sporadic international relations class. Yet, now more than ever, SMU students are thankful for the new, upcoming Presidential Center and (furthermore appreciative of most classes being canceled on Thursday).
The George W. Bush Presidential Center includes the presidential archives of the Bush administration, as well as a museum with permanent and traveling exhibits and an independent public policy institute. The Bush Center’s dedication ceremony will be held on April 25th. Due to the notoriety of the event and limited space, attendance is invite only. The prominent guests in attendance will include President Obama, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton, as long with a variety of other government officials.
The George W. Bush administration artifacts are to include 80 terabytes of digital information, more than 200 emails along with over 43,000 artifacts. The museum and library will be open to the public on May 1st.
The Bush Center has already had an immense impact on our campus considering it has been unofficially open since 2010. The center has conducted over 12 symposia and has provided opportunities for co-sponsored programs and research projects.
Seeing as the country has just overcome the horrific tragedies of the Boston Marathon bombing, as well as the explosion in West, Texas and the Ricin letters, this is a perfect time for our country to see our past presidents as well as present come together.
Tune in to watch the coverage live on the Presidential Center website on April 25th.
Photo Credit- SMU.edu