Clinton School Dean Skip Rutherford penned an Op-Ed in today’s Dallas Morning News about the impact of the upcoming opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Rutherford, who led the planning and development of the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, highlighted the bipartisan nature of presidential libraries and their positive impact on the communities where they are located:
Presidential libraries represent a post-presidential spirit that puts aside much of the politics involved in running for and holding our country’s highest elected office. This spirit is evidenced by the work of President George H.W. Bush and President Clinton after the 2004 Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as well as a similar partnership between President Clinton and President George W. Bush in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Presidential libraries also represent a uniting symbol for the communities in which they are located. They generate new jobs and tourism, and they affect the intellectual and cultural dynamics of their regions. President Bush’s collection of head-of-state gifts alone could stock an art museum.
Hundreds of thousands of people tour presidential libraries every year. Many people across the country may never have the opportunity to visit Washington, but through the Presidential Library System, visitors get a close-up view of life and work in the White House. Special exhibits, programs, presentations, events, festivals and conferences hosted at presidential libraries provide city and campus enrichment.
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