George W. Bush Presidential Center will be located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and will house the Archives, the Museum, and the Institute. The Archives Built with private funds and then donated to the nation, the Archives will be overseen by the National Archives and Records Administration and will preserve the record of the Bush presidency for historians to study for generations to come. The Archive's mission is to explore the person and the presidency of George W. Bush by engaging visitors in a meaningful understanding of:
Among other initiatives, the Archives will include The Freedom Collection. Until now, there has been no central repository for the archives of political dissidents struggling to bring freedom and opportunity to their nations. The Archives will provide a secure home and a place of study for these important papers—another compelling reason for scholars and journalists from around the world to visit the Center. The Museum While telling the story of the consequential years of the Bush Presidency, the mission of the Library and Museum is to bring to life the enduring American ideals of freedom, opportunity, responsibility and compassion so that visitors young and old will be inspired to re-commit themselves to pursuing those same ideals. The thematic design of the Library and Museum will feature more than twenty case studies of challenging decisions the President and his Administration made, including the circumstances and information available, and the core principles that guided each decision. These case studies will be displayed so that visitors can consider each situation and reach their own individual conclusions in much the same way as if they were in the White House. The Library and Museum will also house an exact replica of the Oval Office, complete with a southeastern exposures and a Texas Rose Garden situated and designed to evoke its famous Washington counterpart, inviting visitors to experience the unique world of "Life in the White House," America's home. The Institute The Institute will, first and foremost, focus on serious applied research—research designed from the beginning to produce results that can be acted upon and deployed in the real world. These results can be tested, replicated, proven and scaled. The Institute will attract world-class scholars and provide an important voice in policy discussion and development. It will also draw upon the resources of Southern Methodist University, the wealth of research material catalogued in the Archives, and the unique ability of a former President and First Lady to convene, spotlight and inspire. The Institute will have four initial areas of focus for research: education, political freedom, global health and economic freedom. Each of these areas of research will have an associated action strategy, developed in partnership with third-party implementers including foundations, social entrepreneurs, NGO's, government entities and faith-based organizations. In addition, the Institute will have a Women's Initiative under the leadership of Mrs. Bush to ensure that the interests of women and girls are duly considered and emphasized across all areas of research and action. The Institute places great store in the power of ideas, informed by underlying principles. But its mission extends beyond the support and expression of ideas to their dissemination in a form that can be understood by audiences who will then advocate the solutions proposed—or act to achieve those solutions. In short, a major part of the Institute's mission is to turn ideas into action. |
