The University of Kansas has debuted the inaugural exhibition of the newly opened Elizabeth Dole Gallery and Reading Room at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the university. The exhibit is entitled “What Would a Woman Offer Her Country?: Elizabeth Dole’s Ground-Breaking, Trail-Blazing Life of Service.” The exhibition features over 100 items from her personal collections, documenting her career across six decades of public service.
Elizabeth Dole was a U.S. senator from North Carolina from 2003 to 2009. She served as secretary of transportation in the Reagan administration and as secretary of labor in the administration of George H.W. Bush. She was president of the American Red Cross from 1991 to 1999. Dole is a graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School.
“This centennial year of women’s suffrage, as well as an election year, is an ideal opportunity to recognize the career of Senator Elizabeth Dole as a prime example of women’s leadership in public service and politics over the last century,” said Dole Institute Associate Director Audrey Coleman, who oversaw the project’s development.
In 2017, the former U.S. senator announced the gift of her personal papers to the archives at the Dole Institute of Politics, creating the Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive & Special Collections. In honor of this gift, the Dole Institute renovated the archives research room to become a multipurpose space for showcasing collections through both exhibitions and research. The space will be officially dedicated in the spring.
The exhibition will be on display at the Dole Institute through May 2020.