Dole Institute of Politics

🌅 Make the most of your final days of summer vacation with a visit to the Dole Institute's Museum & Galleries. Rated by Tripadvisor as one of Lawrence's top attractions, our Museum & Galleries feature the world's largest stained glass American Flag window, the Kansas Veterans Virtual Memory Wall, special exhibits on America at 250, and more!

Plus, visit other Lawrence attractions during the final days of Sunflower Summer to receive a free mystery bag!

🔗 Plan your visit by visiting https://bit.ly/4ukMXu9

🗳️ are taking place TODAY in Kansas and throughout the country! Make sure you are by checking your voter registration, locating your polling place, and confirming your state's requirements to vote!

🌻 Kansans can visit votekansas.gov to check their registration status and find their polling place

🔗 You can also visit vote.gov to find resources for your state of residence

📅 This week at the Dole Institute, the Ft. Leavenworth Series continues with "Saving the Army: Washington at the Battle of Long Island," presented by Patrick Howlett of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College's Department of Military History.

🔗 Learn more at https://bit.ly/44V1MJP

Throughout July, the Dole Institute was an active hub for civic engagement and education. Over the past few weeks, we hosted...

Our annual Youth Civic Leadership Institute, which brings rising Kansas high school seniors to Lawrence for a three-day institute designed to broaden their understanding of what it means to be a participant in our democracy. Each of the 50 students who participated was nominated by their teachers and guidance counselors.

The Learning Independence and Nationhood in Kansas Schools (LINKS) summer seminar, which capped the first of a three-year professional development program for Kansas history and civics teachers in grades 3-8. During their time in Lawrence, they got to explore the Dole Archives, visit our campus partners at the Spencer Research Library and the Spencer Museum of Art, and visit the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum.

And our annual conference for Kansas civics and history teachers, which this year focused on civic engagement and the election. 15 educators from all across Kansas spent three days in Lawrence hearing from leaders and educators about best practices for civic education.

Happy 90th Birthday, Senator Elizabeth Dole!

As we've showcased over the past few days, Senator Dole's leadership has impacted us immensely. From leading the implementation of life-saving vehicle and driver safety measures to her work today dedicated to supporting military and veteran caregivers, her legacy of leadership inspires us all.

At the Dole Institute, we're proud to honor her legacy by promoting opportunities that emphasize bipartisan cooperation, public service, and civic engagement and education. Visit the link in our bio to learn more about how you can support our mission.

In 1991, Elizabeth Dole left the Labor Department to serve as the President of the American Red Cross, becoming the first woman to hold the position since Clara Barton founded the organization in 1881.

On her first day in office, she declared that she herself would be a volunteer and accept no salary, and out of respect for fellow ARC volunteers, she wanted to earn the iconic Red Cross arm patch for herself. Over the next eight years, she led efforts to modernize the organization's blood collection, testing and distribution operations, and created the National Disaster Operations Center to monitor ongoing and potential disaster events 24/7.

In these photos , Dole joins ARC volunteers responding to support victims of Hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992.

After the 1988 Election, Elizabeth Dole was asked to serve in President George H.W. Bush's administration as Secretary of Labor. Upon her confirmation by the Senate, she became the first woman to hold two different cabinet positions in two separate administrations.

As Secretary of Labor, Dole tackled challenges related to the growing complexity of jobs and spearheaded initiatives that would benefit both workers and employers. Notably, she created the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, which developed national work readiness guidelines for high school students, held the first national conference on the school-to-work population, and encouraged the business community to get involved in mentoring.

In these photos , Secretary Dole meets with leaders at the Center for Career Alternatives' Seattle office, and speaks with center enrollees about the center's nationally recognized programs.

As we near Senator Elizabeth Dole's birthday, we're taking a look back at her legacy of leadership, starting with her tenure as Secretary of Transportation - the first woman to hold the position.

Throughout her service, she helped create a culture of safety that had rarely been present throughout the 20th century. Notably, she played an integral role in implementing many vehicle and driver safety regulations, such as requirements that cars come equipped with airbags and seatbelts, and raising the drinking age to 21 to lower teen driving deaths.

These actions, known as the "Trifecta," have together saved hundreds of thousands of lives over the 40+ years since their implementation.

In this photo , Dole speaks at a Mothers Against Drunk Driving rally on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Accompanying the photo is a page of the Congressional Record containing the final Senate vote tally for the bill raising the drinking age to 21, which Senators Frank Lautenberg and John Danforth, and Representatives Glenn Anderson and James Howard signed.

Today marks what would've been the 103rd birthday of Senator Bob Dole, who was born in 1923. It also marks the 23rd anniversary of the Dole Institute's dedication.

Three years ago, Kansans and friends from all over came together to celebrate a landmark occasion: Sen. Dole's centenary and the 20th anniversary of the Dole Institute. That day, we celebrated Dole's life and legacy, and the successes of the Dole Institute since our dedication.

Our mission of using politics to connect people to opportunities emphasizing bipartisanship, public service, and civic engagement has never been more important. Visit our website to explore the Dole legacy and see how you can help fulfill our mission.

Before 1980, the federal government retained the title to all university and non-profit research inventions made possible through federal funding. Senators Bob Dole and Birch Bayh crafted bipartisan legislation, known as the Bayh-Dole Act, that fostered the commercialization of these inventions by forging a new partnership between universities, non-profit research laboratories, and private companies to hold these patents.

In this photo , Senators Dole and Bayh meet in Dole's office.