Dr. James Hollifield, a professor of political science at SMU, does not jump on the bandwagon of faculty protests against the Bush Library to be built on SMU’s campus.
“It is legitimate for anyone to criticize the president and his policies, but it is presumptuous for us as scholars to say that we know in advance and with certainty what the legacy of a sitting president will be . . . faculty members are not disconnected from the politics of the moment” (‘The Biggest Man on Campus’ – NY Times).
I think Dr. Hollifield has wisely reserved judgment and has taken the long view. That is precisely what I was arguing in my post “Bush in My Backyard.”
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Related Articles:
“The Biggest Man on Campus” – by James Hollifield (New York Times)
“Archives of Spin” – Benjamin Hufbauer (New York Times)
“Methodist ministers launch anti-Bush library petition” – Dallas Morning News
“Bush responds to complaints about SMU library plans” – Dallas Morning News
“Faculty of Dallas University Less Than Thrilled at Prospect of a Bush Library” – Washington Post
“S.M.U. Chief Says Bush Library Would Be a Boon for the Campus” – New York Times
“Ambushing the Bush Legacy” – Wall Street Journal
“Faculty at S.M.U. Voices Concern About Bush Library” – by Ralph Blumenthal (New York Times)
6 Comments
Paul
from the article…
“…the question of how George W. Bush made his decisions begs for scholarly research and discourse. The library will be a gold mine for scholars, and its location on a university campus symbolizes the need for study.”
If knowing how the president made his decisions is really first and foremost on everyone’s minds, then really, the presidential museum should be Cheney’s, and it should be in Wyoming.
dennyrburk
Paul,
You forgot about Karl Rove.
Denny
Kris Weinschenker
Of course, it only stands to reason SMU would be in favor of having the Bush library there, what with all the money in donations (around 500 million last time I heard) it is sure to bring in.
A lot more professors will get tenure.
Paul
And the discussions on the literary genius of “Everybody Poops” and “My Pet Goat” will be fascinating.
roy
With great respect for the leadership of Dr. Gerald Turner I think it is a mistake for the Bush Library to be located on the sMU camput It will be an embarrassment for our alma mater to be associated with George W. Bush.
It must be remembered that Harvard University declined the JFK library because of the congestion and traffic effect. University Park is just as vulnerable to the pollution and congestion not to mention the cultural degredation. I’ll bet Yale would not want any part of it.
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