A Shining Purpose: George H.W. Bush's Legacy of Service

A SHINING PURPOSE GEORGE H.W. BUSH’S LEGACY OF SERVICE

EXPLORING 20 YEARS AT THE GEORGE H.W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY CENTER B Y T H E B R YA N - C O L L E G E S TAT I O N E A G L E

A SHINING PURPOSE

GEORGE H.W. BUSH’S LEGACY OF SERVICE

“We have within our reach the promise of a renewed America.

We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light.”

— George H.W. Bush, State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, Jan. 29, 1991

Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of the publisher: Bryan-College Station Eagle 1729 Briarcrest Drive, Bryan, TX 77802 First edition. ISBN: 978-1-59725-760-2 Printed by Pediment Publishing

FOREWORD

WHEN OUR LIBRARY AND MUSEUM opened on the campus of our beloved Texas A&M in 1997, I remember worrying that all the exhibits and other materials that focused on the 41st President constituted a clear violation of my dear mother’s lifelong admonition to us against bragging.

Actually, her exact words were: “George, don’t be a braggadocio.

Nobody likes a braggadocio.”

Upon hearing those words, I did what any eight year-old might do: I nodded my full assent and then went immediately to a dictionary to look up what “braggadocio” meant.

WHY TEXAS A&M? 5

THE DEDICATION 15

MUSEUM EXHIBITS 25

I can only hope this latest work by the terrific staff at the Bryan-College Station Eagle does not run afoul of Mum’s “no bragging” rule, but in this case it truly is not about yours truly so much as it is about our fantastic team at the Bush Center — and their shared commitment to a timeless, universal concept of service that has never been more important in my view.

BUSH SCHOOL 39

BUSH AWARDS 47

To each of the dedicated men, women, students and extended members of the A&M family that contributed to the success of the Bush Center during our first 20 years in Aggieland, let me simply say the gratitude in my heart knows no bounds. That goes for Barbara Pierce Bush, too.

Looking forward, I am filled with wonder and optimism at the thought that the Bush Center will be building on the solid foundation that so many have labored so selflessly at all levels to set in place.

If we can touch but one person, and inculcate the notion of service with honor to guide their journey through life, together we will have succeeded in fulfilling a most noble mission.

— George H.W. Bush

A LOOK BACK 59

WHY TEXAS A&M?

A MATCH MADE IN AGGIE HEAVEN May 12, 1989, was an important day for Texas A&M University: George H.W. Bush was on campus to deliver a commencement speech, marking the first time a sitting president addressed Aggie graduates.

And though he twice had presided over ceremonies in College Station while serving as vice president, the Republican planned to use this occasion to give his first foreign policy speech since taking office four months earlier.

As historic as were those moments, something else was unfolding behind closed doors that day – conversations that would forge a lasting alliance between Bush and the flagship university in College Station.

A group of influential Aggies had been at work for 5½ months on a proposal to convince Bush to build his presidential library and museum on the A&M campus.

On the same day Bush would give one of the most important speeches of his presidency, he also would learn how serious the Aggies were about housing — and nurturing — his legacy.

The initial push started with oil tycoon Michel Halbouty in late November 1988, just three weeks after Bush defeated Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis by about 7 million votes

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and by an electoral-college landslide of 426 to 111. Halbouty, a legendary wildcatter, was a longtime Bush friend and a 1930 Aggie graduate. He stopped by Bush’s Washington office, and proposed this question: “Why don’t you consider Texas A&M as the site for your presidential library?” Bush told him it was too early to be thinking of such matters, since he had not even been sworn in as president.

Halbouty didn’t let go of the idea. He walked out of Bush’s office and called Chancellor Perry L. Adkisson, who appointed him to lead a committee that included A&M President William H. Mobley. The administrator wrote a letter officially asking the president to build on the campus, which is about 100 miles northwest of Bush’s Houston home.

Bush graduated from Yale University, like his father, not A&M. He also had ties spanning three decades at the University of Houston and Rice University, and those two Texas schools quickly declared their interest in hosting the library.

Bush’s relationship with Aggieland started to develop in the 1980s during his vice presidency. It was on speaking engagement trips that he witnessed the attention many students gave to public service, including members of the Corps of Cadets.

Several on his staff were Aggies, along with the pilot who flew Air Force One to College Station that May morning in 1989.

But the committee formed to secure the library knew it would take more than a few Aggie connections to lure Bush to pick A&M. They worked to have a major street near the proposed site renamed after Bush, though that alone wouldn’t be enough.

The team – which included members of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, business owners and longtime friends of Bush — decided to take advantage of a brief opening in his schedule on graduation day.

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The plan was to present Bush with a formal proposal explaining why Texas A&M was the best place for his presidential library.

Much was riding on that small window of opportunity.

Halbouty tightly gripped the proposal, which they had bound in leather to emphasize its importance, as he approached Bush during a pre-graduation lunch.

“His chief of staff told the President that he had people waiting, so he wouldn’t be able to meet with us,” Adkisson recalled.

“President Bush said, ‘The heck I can’t. These are my friends and I’m going to go in there and talk to them.’ Those were his words.”

As they all stood in a foyer, Halbouty improvised and spelled out their ideas: The site would cover a 90-acre spread dotted with oak and cottonwood trees on the southwest corner of campus near Research Park. The National Archives and Records Administration would run the library and museum after a foundation raised the money to build and fill it, then sustain it with a multi-million dollar endowment A conference center and living quarters were included, too.

But the aspect that Bush honed in on was a graduate school that would be created to study public service and politics, a place where students would learn from those who lived those experiences.

Bush was impressed enough to host several White House meetings where Halbouty’s team presented in-depth plans, along with the particulars on how a complex at A&M would be financed. The non-profit Bush Presidential Foundation committed to having the estimated $42 million bill paid before the doors opened.

Bush wanted to be fully involved in developing all aspects of the project. Yale, situated in Connecticut, wasn’t given

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serious thought since it would be far from Bush’s Texas home after he left office. University of Houston and Rice University eventually combined their proposals, offering a joint plan in the face of A&M’s momentum.

Legend has it that Halbouty cinched the deal in one meeting by reaching into his pocket and pulling out a memo that compared the 1988 presidential election results from the student precincts of Rice, Houston and Texas A&M. “I want to read the results to you (Bush) so that you’ll understand what Texas A&M students think about you,” Halbouty recalled saying years later. Bush had received 26 percent of the Houston student vote and 36 percent from Rice students.

But he won 79 percent of the student precinct at Texas A&M. “Mike,” President Bush said, “that does make a difference.”

“He had the clincher,” Adkisson recalled.

On May 3, 1991, Bush called the chairman of the board of regents to say A&M was his and Barbara Bush’s first choice.

Bush appreciated that the tradition-rich college enrolls the highest number of ROTC members of any public university in the nation. It’s also a tier-one research institute with a student body known for its volunteering endeavors.

Bush later would say his decision was heavily influenced by the graduate school proposal, a center for learning about how government can help people and how it can be improved.

Once construction started in 1994, Bush remained active in the planning all the way through to the selection of exhibits and preparing for its grand opening.

The Bush Presidential Foundation’s 103-member board of directors — guided by Don Wilson, a former archivist of the

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United States — met its $42 million goal months early. That paid for the library, museum and conference center, while the $40 million Bush School was funded primarily through state dollars and by A&M revenue bonds. A&M used the opportunity to move the economics and political science departments into the new building, along with several other programs.

When the Bush School started classes in September 1997, its namesake said he was ready to take on his new role as lecturer.

“I look forward to coming to this school, because I want to teach and I still want to learn,” said Bush, who years earlier had become somewhat of a regular at A&M football games and other events. “I want to share with the students my thoughts on public service — that service to a country is a calling, and that in a far broader sense means helping others and sacrificing and contributing to causes bigger the yourself.”

“The American Dream means giving it your all, trying your hardest, accomplishing something.

And then I’d add to that, giving something back.

No definition of a successful life can do anything but include serving others.”

— George H.W. Bush in a 1995 interview with the Academy of Achievement

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“More important to me is how these records will serve to educate future generations of Americans — and give them a broader understanding of how their government responded the way it did to the challenges it faced at a watershed moment in history.”

— George H.W. Bush, Nov. 6, 1997, during dedication of library and museum

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T H E D E D I C AT I O N

A CELEBRATION TO REMEMBER A visit from a current commander-in-chief, three former U.S. presidents, scores of dignitaries, world leaders, generals, celebrities and a few political dynasties made the dedication of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum the most remarkable day in Bryan-College Station’s history.

It combined to offer Texas A&M University one of its proudest achievements in housing exhibits, documents, photographs, video recordings and memorabilia that illustrate the 41st president’s lifetime commitment to public service. On a larger scale, the complex serves as classrooms for democracy by focusing on U.S. history since World War II. Almost 20,000 guests heard from President Bill Clinton and former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, as well as two of Bush’s sons — Texas Gov. George W. Bush and future Florida governor Jeb Bush. Nancy Reagan spoke on behalf of her ailing husband, former President Ronald Reagan.

The hour-long Nov. 6, 1997, dedication event was free of partisanship and filled with storytelling, laughs and reflections.

Bush stayed true to his roots in deflecting praise onto others.

He said he didn’t want the museum to be a shrine honoring him, but rather a place where everyone could learn.

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“I can honestly say the three most rewarding titles bestowed upon me are the three I have left – as a husband, a father, and a granddad.

To that I can only add the rich blessings of friendship.”

— George H.W. Bush Nov. 6, 1997

Hundreds turned out to see the Bushes – along with 60 family members and 40 members of Bush’s White House staff – step out of a 20-car Union Pacific train a day before the dedication of the nearby library and museum. Bush addressed the cheering crowd before heading off to play horseshoes and enjoy the day with family and old friends.

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“It’s a place from which any person would draw enormous inspiration, a place for the reaffirmation of our faith in America.”

— Bill Clinton

Almost 20,000 people attended the dedication ceremony in front of the limestone and granite museum. The Bushes welcomed President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and numerous other dignitaries, including two other presidents, four other first ladies, and Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late John F. Kennedy. Also attending were Gen. Colin Powell, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush, numerous world leaders and celebrities. The Rev. Billy Graham gave the invocation. Bush said later that only his 1989 inauguration could compare to that historic day.

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“In our very first race for the Congress more than 30 years ago, you revealed yourself to be a leader, not a label. ‘Labels are for cans,’ you said as a congressional candidate back in 1964.

In all the years since, you have steadfastly appealed to what Abraham Lincoln called the better angels of our nature.”

— Gerald Ford

The crowd had a chance to see four U.S. presidents: Jimmy Carter, Bush, Clinton and Gerald Ford; and six First Ladies: Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalynn Carter, Barbara Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan.

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“As to whether we got things right, or could have done things better, history will decide — rendering its judgment based on the 40 million documents and other materials safeguarded in the building behind us.” ­— George H.W. Bush

The next day, the opening of the museum to the public drew a crowd of about 10,000. George and Barbara spoke briefly and presided over a dedication of the International Center, with scores of Brazos Valley schoolchildren participating.

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PERMANENT EXHIBITS Symbols of the Presidency Family Traditions Pierce Family Duty, Honor, Country From Flyboy to Goldenboy Making Our Own Way Taking Risks The Congressman From Texas Working for Peace Serving the Party Challenge of the Unknown (China) A Firm Yes (CIA) Journey to the Presidency Mr. President The President and Mrs. Bush Request The Seat of Power Domestic Leadership Gifts of State To Help Every Day (Barbara Bush) Camp David The Berlin Wall/Age of Freedom Crisis Management Where Duty Required Us to Stand Eco-Terrorism Freedom Tribute A Tough Campaign and a Life of Service Fidelity (Bush’s speedboat) Private Citizens George and Barbara Bush A Thousand Points of Light Memento Letters

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MUSEUM EXHIBITS

A CLOSE-UP LOOK AT U.S. HISTORY George H.W. Bush was firm on one issue when he and his team set out to design the Bush Library and Museum: He didn’t want it to be about “just one person.”

As a result, more than 75 major exhibits have come through its corridors over the past two decades, allowing repeat visitors to experience new displays several times each year.

“We wanted to touch a broader cross-section of American life, encompassing an eventful period of our history,” Bush said.

Curators have access to a wealth of historic material as they look for exhibits and artifacts that will educate, entertain and invite conversation. Many of the exhibits are paired with forums.

The permanent exhibits covering Bush’s life reach into his military, intelligence and political careers and provide a behind-the-scenes look at his family and personal life.

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George H.W. drove from Connecticut to Texas after World War II in the Studebaker at left. A flintlock presented as a gift from the president of Albania is on top. The baseball mitt Bush kept in his Oval Office desk is above.

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Left, the World War II exhibit includes a replica of the Grumman TBM Avenger he flew in combat in the Pacific Theater.

Above, a permanent exhibit marks Bush’s year as CIA director.

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Exhibits re-create the presidential office at Camp David, top, and the “situation room,” above. At right is a re-creation of the White House Oval Office with Bush’s personal effects.

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Above, the Emir of Kuwait presented Bush with a 19th century door with side panels listing names of U.S. service personnel killed in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War. A Cold War exhibit includes a piece of the Berlin Wall at right.

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Maps, interactive displays and military gear help tell the story of the Persian Gulf War, left. Above, Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega’s target for shooting practice with Bush’s name on it.

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TEMPORARY EXHIBITS In addition to permanent displays, the Bush Museum presents changing exhibits that offer new perspectives on the life and work of George H.W. Bush.

Temporary exhibits have included the 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (2016), George Washington’s personal copies of the laws enacted by the first U.S. Congress (2013) and White House Christmas memorabilia dating back to the 18th century (1999). A piece of the World Trade Center (right) was included in the “Remembering 9/11” exhibit in the fall of 2016. “The Legacy of Ranching: Preserving the Past, Embracing the Future,” which opened in 2017, looks at the historic ranches of Texas and their ability to adapt through changing times.

BY THE NUMBERS • 40 million-plus pages of records • 2 million photographs • 10,000 video recordings • 92,070 artifacts • 1,533 foreign head-of-state artifacts • 2,100 hours of audio

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“Our principles are clear: that government service is a noble calling and a public trust. …

There is no higher honor than to serve free men and women, no greater privilege than to labor in government beneath the Great Seal of the United States and the American flag.

And that’s why this administration is dedicated to ethics in government and the need for honorable men and women to serve in positions of trust.”

— George H.W. Bush, Jan. 26, 1989, to top-level government employees

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THE BUSH SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT A N D P U B L I C S E R V I C E AT T E X A S A & M

A FOUNDATION FOR LEADERSHIP As classes began in the fall of 1997, students in the inaugural class of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M heard from the 41st president. The quality of government relies on the quality of the people who make it work, George H.W. Bush told them. The contributions of caring and talented individuals are needed to keep our democracy strong.

That paramount mission – to give back through public service – guided Bush through seven decades of his life. He now counts on it to lead generations to come.

The Bush School is doing its part in educating and motivating future leaders. For the past five years, 70 to 80 percent of the graduating classes have gone into public service or to work for non-profit organizations. A snapshot of recent former students includes the deputy foreign minister of Afghanistan, principal speech writer for the current secretary of state, a former president’s daily briefer for the FBI and dozens working in U.S. intelligence.

Seventeen of the 36 full-time faculty members teaching these students through two degree programs hold endowed chairs or professorships; many came to the job after having worked in the public service sector. The Bush School is unique in that the former president himself often leads the class.

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“President Bush has been intensely involved in the Bush School, even now - the school’s board just met as his guests in Kennebunkport,” Dr. Charles F. Hermann, the school’s first director, said about the August 2017 meeting. “Moreover, the professional master’s programs are the Bush School’s exclusive focus. Most of our peers also do either undergraduate instruction or Ph.D.s or both.”

More so than any president before him, Bush has been able to immerse himself in teaching what he’s learned to graduate students and faculty. His classes over the years have included distinguished public servants, elected officials, successful business owners, world leaders, military personnel and athletes.

The catalogue of speakers who have met with and lectured students can be likened to the politics version of Academy Award winners. Their diverse expertise ranges from national security and foreign affairs to open government and the end of the Cold War, and from the Holocaust to life-saving vaccines.

A Buddhist monk, humanitarian activist, Kurdish-American writer, Egypt’s minister of justice and a well-regarded Muslim scholar are among those who have lectured at A&M in the first 20 years. Other visiting scholars include Robert Gates, the 22nd U.S. secretary of defense and former president of Texas A&M; former director of the CIA Michael Hayden; the commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda; and the president of the Treasury Board of Canada.

The graduate school, which has just over 700 students, is across the courtyard from the Bush Library and Museum, and adjacent to the conference center that houses offices for the former president and his foundation staff, as well as a living quarters for the Bushes.

One of the deciding factors in Bush selecting Texas A&M as the site of his presidential library was the university’s commitment

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MISSION STATEMENT: The Bush School prepares students to become principled leaders and to reflect the value of public service.

AWARDS & RANKINGS 1st in the nation for “Best Value in MPA programs” – Value Colleges, 2016 Top 5 public university master’s programs for Policy Career in International Relations – Foreign Policy, 2015 8th among public institutions and 12th in the nation for non-profit management – U.S. News and World Report, 2016 In the top 20 among public institutions in public affairs programs – U.S. News and World Report, 2016

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to an academic component. He sought a place where international challenges could be discussed and solutions proposed, a place where the next generation of leaders could learn both the theory and practice of public service.

The Bush School has three major policy research centers: the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy, and the Institute for Science Technology and Public Policy.

Hermann, who has taught at the institution since it opened, said the school’s formal name captures what sets itself apart from peer institutions: its focus on public service.

“It is not just the title of the school, it is in fact in our DNA,” Hermann said. “The idea that the school’s mission is to prepare principled leaders for careers in non-profit management and government at all levels.”

He pointed out that 100 percent of in-residence students are awarded merit scholarships from $1,000 to $30,000.

“I have heard the dean of the Kennedy School say that a challenge they face is that many students enter their program with the idea of going into government, but upon graduation a significant portion go into the private sector because of their huge student loan debt and the better chance of paying it off,” Hermann said. “We work hard to minimize adding to our students’ debt to avoid this problem.”

Top: Bush speaks to a class. Above: Bush School 2005 graduates.

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FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE BUSH SCHOOL

DR. CHARLES F. HERMANN Director 1995-1998 The Brent Scowcroft Chair in International Policy Studies at the Bush School came to Texas A&M in 1995 to serve as the founding director of the Bush School of Government and Public Service. After the school became an independent unit with its own dean, Hermann served as associate dean for academic programs and then as the designer and first director of the master’s program in International Affairs.

Above: Bush signing a book for a student after class in 2000. Top left: Bush School Dean Ryan Crocker presenting governance award. Top right: Bush with students.

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PROGRAMS OF STUDY

DEANS

Master of Public Service and Administration Tracks: • Public Policy Analysis

• Public Management

• Nonprofit Management Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration Master of International Affairs Tracks: • International Development

and Economic Policy

• National Security and

Diplomacy Accredited by the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs Online Executive Master of Public Service and Administration Tracks: • Nonprofit Management

• Homeland Security

• Public Management Certificate in Nonprofit Management In-residence or online Certificate in Homeland Security Online Certificate in Advanced International Affairs In-residence or online

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ROBERT M. GATES

LT. GEN. RICHARD CHILCOAT

A. BENTON COCANOUGHER

interim dean 1999–2001

dean 2001–2008

interim dean 2009

Gates is the only career officer in the CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to director. He served as Texas A&M president from 2002 until 2006, when he was named by then-President George W. Bush to become secretary of defense.

He remained defense secretary under President Barack Obama until June 2011.

Chilcoat served as the Bush School’s first permanent dean after a 42-year career in the United States Army, which included serving in combat in Vietnam and as executive assistant to Gen. Colin Powell during the 1990-91 Gulf War. He directed the Army Strategic Leadership Course for Army general officers, served as the 43rd commandant of the United States Army War College and was the ninth president of the National Defense University.

The marketing professor was the longest-serving dean at Texas A&M’s Mays Business School with a 14-year tenure.

He came to academics after an extensive career in business and later was special adviser to A&M’s president for almost two years before being named interim chancellor over the Texas A&M University System for another two years in the mid-1990s.

RESEARCH & INSTITUTIONS Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs

ENROLLMENT RYAN CROCKER

ANDREW CARD

GEN. MARK A. WELSH III

dean 2010–2016

acting dean from 2011 to 2013

dean 2016-present

Following 37 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, Crocker was asked by then-President Obama in 2011 to take on a title he was familiar with – ambassador.

It was the second time he’d serve in that role in Afghanistan.

Previous appointments include Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait and Lebanon. He has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Presidential Distinguished Service Award. He survived the 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut and served in many leadership roles, including director of the Iraq-Kuwait Task Force.

Card served while Crocker was on extended leave following his ambassador appointment. He spent most of his career in public service and is perhaps best known for informing then-President Bush that America was under attack by terrorists on Sept.

11, 2001. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Massachusetts and served as President Ronald Reagan’s special assistant for intergovernmental affairs. President George H.W. Bush named him deputy chief of staff and later secretary of transportation.

Less than a decade later, he was back in the White House, serving as George W. Bush’s chief of staff for almost six years.

The executive professor served as chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force and, as a member of the Joint Chiefs, he served as a military adviser to the secretary of defense, National Security Council and the president. He served as commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and of NATO’s Air Command in Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

He also served as associate director of military affairs at the CIA and as commandant of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

717 students (2016-17) from 38 states and 26 countries 15 Fulbright Scholars 26 veterans and active duty military 27% Texas A&M undergraduates 24% minorities 13% international

ENDOWMENTS & SCHOLARSHIPS $66.6 million total endowments $27.8 million endowed student scholarships 17 endowed chairs and professorships

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“He is the quintessential reflection of a place and an era when American goodness and greatness brought hope to the furthest reaches of the globe while lifting lives and breaking down barriers to the American dream at home.”

— Bush, describing former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, who was honored in 2016 for his public service

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T H E G E O R G E H .W. B U S H A W A R D FOR EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC SERVICE

AN AWARD TO HONOR SERVICE The George H.W. Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service celebrates actions by an individual or group dedicated to the cause of helping others. That can mean developing a better way of life for strangers, reforming policy to the degree that it changes a country’s ideology, choosing government service over higher pay from the private sector, or passionately finding new ways to educate mass populations.

The 41st president – who has dedicated most of his life to public service – underscored the importance of making a lasting impact in his 1989 inaugural address. Bush called on Americans to help the United States become a “kinder and gentler nation,” pledging in a moment rich with promise to use American strength as “a force for good.”

Few who knew Bush were surprised when he expressed a desire to recognize others who have made sacrifices or challenged the status quo in hopes of creating change and inspiring hope.

From that came the Award for Excellence in Public Service. It recognizes individual or group dedication and commitment to public service at the local, state, national or international level.

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The Bush Presidential Library Foundation, along with several people selected by Bush, comprise the award nomination committee, which provides a recommendation to Bush.

The honor comes with $20,000 and a custom crystal sculpture designed by Eric Hilton for Steuben of New York.

Nine leaders have been awarded the distinction since 2001: Six are Americans, including a former president, a defense secretary, two senators, a governor and an evangelist.

Two of the others led their own countries and were key in improving the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s. All are considered friends of Bush, but even more, he considers them devotees to causes greater than themselves.

The honorees: Robert J. Dole

2016

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser

2013

Ronald W. Reagan

2011

Robert M. Gates

2007

The Rev. Billy Graham

2006

Arnold Schwarzenegger

2004

Edward M. Kennedy

2003

Mikhail S. Gorbachev

2001

Helmut Kohl 2000

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Above: Bush with future award winners Robert M. Gates and Billy Graham in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1989.

Left: Bush and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 2012 during a lunch meeting at Bush’s Houston office.

2016 ROBERT J. DOLE United States Senator 1968-1996 Robert “Bob” Joseph Dole overcame devastating war wounds to become a towering figure in American politics. First elected as congressman for Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1960, Dole ran for and won a Senate seat in 1968.

He was minority leader from 1987 to 1995 and majority leader from 1995 to 1996.

A master in the art of practical politics, Sen. Dole worked across the aisle on many important pieces of legislation that touched tens of millions of lives. His leadership as a senior statesman has included: spearheading the creation of the WWII Memorial, being awarded the World Food Prize and serving on the advisory board of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

– George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center

Bob Dole gave brief remarks at the 2016 award ceremony, joking with his former GOP primary opponent who had become a good friend.

“Many people doubted I could serve the president because we had a rather rough campaign. But it wasn’t true.

We got along fine because of the man he was, not because of me. I was proud to be his leader in the Senate, because I liked what he stood for. He wanted to make America … I would say great again, but somebody already said that.”

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2013 HER HIGHNESS SHEIKHA MOZA BINT NASSER Of Qatar A driving force behind education and social reforms in Qatar for more than 15 years, Sheikha Moza is the Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, a private non-profit organization founded in 1995.

The award honors her tireless advocacy of access to quality education, and for spearheading projects promoting peace and human development throughout the world. By providing access to education and building strong families and communities, Sheikha Moza’s initiatives are laying the foundation for Qatar’s success in the global economy.

– George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser received the award during the Annual Distinguished Lecture at the University of New England near Kennebunkport, Maine, where the Bushes have a home.

She discussed her Educate a Child initiative, which aims to bring quality primary education to disadvantaged children across the globe. “The seeds of prosperous minds begin with education. Educate a Child is working to reach the world’s hardest-to-reach children … to break the vicious cycle of poverty. … Sustainable solutions need to be creative and innovative. The greatest obstacle to progress would be to do nothing. Education is the key.”

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2011 RONALD W. REAGAN 40th President of the United States 1981-1989 Born in 1911, Ronald Reagan was educated in Illinois public schools and graduated from Eureka College with a degree in economics and sociology. He began as a sports broadcaster and editor, then moved to California to begin his acting career. He made 53 feature films and in the 1950s and '60s had a successful television career. He married Nancy Davis in 1952. In 1966 he began the first of his two terms as governor of California.

James Baker accepts the award in 2011 on behalf of Reagan, under whom he served as White House chief of staff and secretary of the treasury.

Reagan was elected president of the United States in 1980 and re-elected in 1984, when he carried 49 out of 50 states. During his presidency, he lowered the tax structure, championed business growth, rebuilt the military and negotiated the Soviet Union into the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. He paved the way for the end of the Cold War. Because of his policies, America enjoyed the largest peacetime economic prosperity in its history. – George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center

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2007 DR. ROBERT M. GATES Secretary of Defense Dr. Gates has been a selfless public servant whose dedication and professional work has supported seven presidents.

The award honors his leadership in the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense that has helped strengthen the intelligence and security of the United States.

In his service to the Boy Scouts of America and as president of Texas A&M University, Dr. Gates has shown his commitment to helping guide the youth of our nation in the noble principles of duty and honor to country, and to the values of faith and family in lives.

– George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center Robert M. Gates, who has come out of retirement three times for public service jobs – interim dean at the Bush School, Texas A&M president and Department of Defense secretary – explained why he believes Americans choose public service.

“Each one in public service has his or her own story – and motives. But I believe, if you scratch deeply enough, you will find that those who serve – no matter how outwardly tough or jaded or egotistical – are, in their heart of hearts, romantics and idealists. And optimists. We actually believe we can make a difference, that we can make the lives of others better, that we can make a positive difference in the life of the greatest country in the history of the world – in President Lincoln’s words, ‘the last, best, hope of earth.’ Public servants are people willing to make sacrifices in the present for the future good, people who believe, to paraphrase Walter Lippmann, that we must plant trees we may never get to sit under.”

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2006 THE REV. BILLY GRAHAM Evangelist William “Billy” F. Graham preached the Gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history. He grew up on a farm in North Carolina during the Depression and learned the value of hard work.

He was ordained in 1939, graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois in 1943, and married fellow student Ruth Bell.

Through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, he spread his message via radio, television, newspapers, magazines and 125 films. The Rev. Graham’s ministry was known worldwide, from remote African villages to New York City.

He ministered to heads of state as well as to bushmen in Australia.

The Rev. William “Billy” F. Graham, one of the most influential religious leaders in the world, has preached to more than 200 million people in almost 200 countries.

– George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center

“My calling has been to help people look beyond this world and its problems, to the world to come – to help us understand that we weren’t created for this life alone, but we were created for eternity and for fellowship with God.”

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2004 ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER 38th Governor of California 2003-2011 A true American success story, Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived from Austria at age 21, and with hope and hard work achieved the American dream. After he established successful careers in business and entertainment, he then sought to enter public service.

In 2003, he won a landslide election for governor of California. Ultimately serving two terms, he offered bold and compassionate leadership.

Gov. Schwarzenegger was honored as a champion of health and education programs, including Special Olympics and California’s After School Education and Safety Act. His message of offering opportunity and hope was the focus of his administration.

– George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center

Arnold Schwarzenegger credited Bush with helping spark the former actor’s political career. He served as Bush’s chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports from 1990 to 1993.

“George Bush helped make me a public servant and now I am having the greatest time of my life. [He] opened my eyes. He threw me in and gave me a platform. George Bush always said he wanted me to motivate others, but I think he was helping to motivate me.”

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2003 EDWARD M. KENNEDY United States Senator 1962-2009 Edward Kennedy was a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School.

He was elected in 1962 and represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate for more than 40 years.

Sen. Kennedy earned wide respect as a tenacious and eloquent voice for progress. He built strong personal friendships on both sides of the Senate aisle and often reached out to forge political consensus where possible.

Edward M. Kennedy, who at the time had served 41 years in the U.S. Senate, said the award belongs not to him, but to the “million Americans whose names we will never know, but who have shared in these struggles of our time, and who have made so much progress possible.

Throughout his career, Kennedy fought for issues that benefited the citizens of Massachusetts and the nation. He was especially committed to improving the lives of people with developmental disabilities and in encouraging youth service.

– George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center

“There is something I want to say plainly today that goes beyond any differences of party or policy,” said the Massachusetts Democrat, one of the harshest critics of the policies of Bush’s son, President George W. Bush.

“I have great respect for both President Bushes, and it’s been a great privilege to work closely with them on a wide range of issues … So while we may sometimes disagree, both our families share an abiding commitment to the nation’s founding ideals and to the cause of an America that lives up to its highest principles.”

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2001 MIKHAIL S. GORBACHEV General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 Mikhail Gorbachev’s career started in Stavropol in southwest Russia.

At age 49, he was made a full member of the Politburo, where he became the youngest member of the Communist Party’s inner circle.

In 1985, following the successive deaths of General Secretaries Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko, Gorbachev was appointed the new head of the Soviet Union.

Following Bush’s inauguration in 1989, and during the next three years, the two leaders addressed a wide range of fundamental problems that continued to divide the world along ideological lines – including human rights, arms control and political self-determination. Their relationship moved beyond constructive dialogue to active cooperation, facing the challenges of German unification, the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, a failed Soviet coup attempt in 1991 and the Madrid Peace Conference.

– George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center

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Mikhail Gorbachev’s award was given outside the public eye during a dinner in his honor. Earlier in the evening, he spoke to 2,500 people at Texas A&M about the good friend he has in Bush, and detailed how sweeping social and economic reforms he introduced in the communist Soviet Union had a faster impact than he imagined. “We needed one generation to turn things around. This kind of project takes decades to accomplish,” said Gorbachev, who took office in 1985 – four years before the Berlin Wall came down.

2000 HELMUT KOHL Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany 1982-1998 Dr. Helmut Kohl was born in Ludwigshafen in 1930. Educated in Germany, Chancellor Kohl studied law, sociology, political science and history at the universities of Frankfurt am Main and Heidelberg.

He earned his Ph.D. in 1958.

Helmut Kohl was the award winner in 2000 but couldn’t make the trip because of illness. It was awarded to him in Aggieland in 2003.

Bush credited Germany’s longest-serving chancellor with having the vision to see his country united and for winning over doubtful European leaders.

“He immediately seized the fall of the Berlin Wall (as an opportunity to unite Germany),” Bush said.

“He convinced them that a unified Germany wasn’t a threat to France, the United Kingdom or other countries.”

Kohl served as Germany’s sixth post-World War II chancellor. His overall political career spanned nearly 40 years. He worked with George Bush for seven years while Bush was vice president and four more as president to address the critical issues in helping to bring the Cold War to a peaceful conclusion: deployment of intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) in Germany (1983); the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989); German unification (1990); and the demise of the Soviet Union (1991).

– George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center

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“Public service is a noble calling, and we need men and women of character to believe that they can make a difference in their communities, in their states and in their country.”

— George H.W. Bush, Nov. 6, 1997, during dedication of library and museum

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A LOOK BACK

MILESTONES AND MEMORIES Two decades have passed since the dedication of the George H.W. Bush Library and Museum at Texas A&M University.

Since then, the complex in College Station has become a stage for national and world leaders, along with towering figures from education, the news media, entertainment and sports.

Bush’s passion for learning and public service has an enduring home at the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Students have taken advantage of the resources available through the library and museum and have benefited from a continuing stream of influential speakers.

What began as a dream of Aggie alum Michel T. Halbouty became reality when Bush agreed in 1991 to make Texas A&M the permanent home for the official records of his presidency.

That dream has grown to provide a fitting legacy for the nation’s 41st president.

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DEC. 3, 1977 George H.W. Bush presented the Invest-in-America National Council’s American Eagle Award at a luncheon for Texas A&M’s Center for Education and Research in Free Enterprise where he spoke about his experiences as chief liaison for the U.S. in China.

MAY 1, 1980 Two days before the Republican primary in Texas, George H.W. Bush makes a campaign stop at Texas A&M University’s Rudder Theatre. The standing-room-only crowd hears about the presidential candidate’s plan for a better economy and stronger foreign policy. In true Bush form, he garners a few laughs while telling some well-timed stories.

He drops out of the race 26 days later.

At the Republican Party convention in July, he is asked by Ronald Reagan to serve as his running mate.

MAY 5, 1984 (facing page) Vice President Bush speaks at Texas A&M University’s spring commencement at G. Rollie White Coliseum.

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SEPT. 4, 1984 (facing page) Bush speaks at Texas A&M’s MSC Political Forum at Rudder Tower.

NOV. 3, 1986 Vice President Bush again accepts an invitation to speak at Texas A&M’s MSC Political Forum.

NOV. 30, 1988 Texas oilman Michel T. Halbouty, a 1930 graduate of Texas A&M, meets privately with George H.W. Bush at his Washington, D.C., office after voters select him as the 41st president.

Halbouty’s mission: Suggest to his longtime friend that A&M be the site for Bush’s presidential library.

Bush says it is too early to think of such matters.

JAN. 3, 1989 At Halbouty’s urging, Texas A&M University Chancellor Perry L. Adkisson appoints a steering committee to devise a proposal for Bush.

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MAY 12, 1989 The steering committee meets at length three times before drafting a plan to put in front of Bush.

They seize the opportunity to do so in person when Bush arrives in Aggieland to preside over a commencement ceremony. The group briefly makes its case in front of Bush before a luncheon.

JUNE 29, 1989 (facing page) Halbouty hands Bush a memo that he believes proves why the president should select Aggieland as home for his library. The memo shows the presidential election results from student boxes at Texas A&M, Rice University and the University of Houston – the three contenders for the library. Not only did Texas A&M’s student body overwhelmingly support Bush, but the other two schools decidedly chose his opponent, Michael Dukakis.

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JAN. 18, 1990 (facing page) President and Mrs. Bush hear a formal presentation asking that the library be located at the College Station campus, in their living quarters on the second floor of the White House.

Both have many questions and show appreciation, although Rice and Houston also are in contention.

MAY 3, 1991 Following more than a year of planning, executing assignments and working with architects, the verdict comes via a phone call from Bush to William A. McKenzie, the chairman of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents: He and Barbara have decided on Texas A&M.

DEC. 15, 1992 Thirty-six days before leaving office, Bush delivers his last commencement speech as president to Aggies.

He discusses the alliances built through the reunification of Germany, as well as the political landmines exposed by the Cold War – aggressive nationalism, ethnic conflict, civil war and humanitarian crises.

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NOV. 30, 1994 Ground is broken on a 90-acre site surrounded by oak and cottonwood trees on the west side of campus.

The site will be home to Texas A&M’s $40 million Bush School of Government and Public Service and $42 million library and museum, and conference center. Funding for the center, library and museum comes from private donations.

The library and museum will be operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, while the Bush Presidential Library Foundation – which serves as a non-profit fundraising unit – will finance the conference center.

SEPT. 10, 1997 (facing page) The Bush School, which offers several graduate degree programs, is officially dedicated. Classes start for the inaugural class of 19 students, with an emphasis on executive leadership and on how economic and social forces shape and are shaped by government.

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APRIL 15, 1997 Journalist Hugh Sidey, who covered the White House for Time magazine for almost a half century, speaks at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Foundation forum.

NOV. 5-7, 1997 The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is dedicated.

Pages 14-23.

1998 Bush lectures throughout the year and appears at invitation-only talks and community events in Aggieland.

Bush becomes a regular at the Texas A&M home football games, mingling with the Aggie faithful, who are eager to have their pictures taken with the former president.

JAN. 20, 1998 Two presidential researchers and two members of the media sign in on the opening day of the library. Presidential Records Act has strict rules governing the timeline on when materials can be released to the public. Only a fraction through 2017 have been declassified.

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MAY 3, 1998 Journalist Thomas DeFrank, Washington Bureau chief for the New York Daily News and an alum, describes interviews with each president since Lyndon B. Johnson, as well the experience of witnessing both attempts on Gerald Ford’s life.

MARCH 8, 1999 (facing page) George and Barbara Bush are the speakers at the Distinguished Lecture Series at the Bush School for Government and Public Service.

APRIL, 1999 Masters of public service and administration program at the Bush School has its first class of graduates.

MAY 22, 1999 “Play Ball” baseball exhibit opens at Bush Library and Museum with the first 1,000 people receiving a baseball card honoring a president. The lefty’s love of the sport started early in his childhood when he would memorize stats and cheer for his beloved Boston Red Sox. He played for Yale and was the captain in 1948. Bush kept his 1945 George McQuinn-Rawlings mitt in his Oval Office desk drawer and had a Baseball Encyclopedia next to his desk.

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SKYDIVING George H.W. Bush was decked out in a white jumpsuit with a flash of red and blue down the sides for a dramatic celebration of his 75th birthday in 1999.

He hit his target on the front lawn of the Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Hundreds of onlookers watched in awe as the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team linked their bodies to form the initials “G.B.” and the number “75” while plummeting toward the earth at 125 miles an hour.

“We were rolling around in the sky ... and it was heaven,” Bush said.

“It was exhilarating.”

His explanation for the jump was that he wanted to prove that “old guys can still do stuff.”

Barbara Bush told the crowd gathered in College Station that he would repeat the adventure again in five years. Bush also speculated that it was “more than likely” he would repeat the feat when he turned 80.

Bush did jump again in College Station in 2004 and in 2007 and went on to skydive for two more milestone birthdays – 85 and 90, both in Kennebunkport, Maine.

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JUNE 9, 1999 Bush celebrates his 75th birthday by jumping with the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Team members describe his landing on the grounds of the Bush Library and Museum as perfect.

“This (skydiving) is the most exciting thing I have done, next to being president of the United States.�

- George H.W. Bush after jumping from an airplane over Aggieland on June 13, 2004

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Sons George W. and Jeb joined him after his 85th birthday jump in 2009.

Bush also surprised delighted guests by jumping from the skies over Aggieland in 2007 when his library and museum celebrated its 10th anniversary.

In all, Bush skydived five times onto the Texas A&M campus, each with the U.S. Golden Knights Parachute Team.

Two of them were “practice drills” made early on the days of the public demonstrations.

His first parachute jump came Sept. 2, 1944, when the 20-year-old Navy pilot bailed out of his torpedo bomber after it was hit by anti-aircraft fire south of Japan. The parachute of one crewman didn’t open, and it wasn’t known what happened with the other; both were killed. Bush, the nation’s youngest Naval pilot when he enlisted at age 18, flew 58 combat missions during World War II. When Bush jumped for his 90th birthday in 2014, he said it would be his last. He performed the maneuver tethered to a veteran paratrooper.

He tweeted that June morning: “It’s a wonderful day in Maine – in fact, nice enough for a parachute jump.”

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OCT. 22, 1999 Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who Bush nominated in 1991, lectures on conservative judicial philosophies.

SEPT. 27, 1999 Marlin Fitzwater, White House press secretary under Bush and Ronald Reagan, shares insights from working for both.

NOV. 2, 1999 Robert Gates, former director of the CIA, speaks about working in the intelligence community and how it compares to being the new dean of the Bush School.

NOV. 18, 1999 A bonfire under construction at Texas A&M collapses, killing 11 students and one former student.

George H.W. and Barbara Bush, as well as Texas Gov. George W. and Laura Bush, attend a candlelight vigil to honor the dead and the 27 injured.

2000 Bush School’s Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy is opened.

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FEB. 3, 2000 Foundation panel discussion includes Bush, credit card pioneer Charles M. Cawley, professional golfer Ben Crenshaw, U.S. Marine Gen. Charles C. Krulak and Republican strategist Mary Matalin, who discuss topics ranging from politics to economics.

FEB. 21, 2000 Bush School lecture features Judy Smith, founder of strategic and crisis communications firm Smith and Company.

She offers highlights of her time as special assistant and deputy press secretary to Bush in 1991, including communications after the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991 and during the Los Angeles riots in 1992.

FEB. 28, 2000 Bush School students hear from Sichan Siv, a Cambodian-American who volunteered for Bush’s 1988 campaign and was appointed as a deputy assistant to Bush the following year.

(In 2001, he was appointed by George W. Bush to be ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.)

MARCH 27, 2000 Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to Bush and Gerald Ford, addresses the circumstances and strategies leading up to the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War. 77

APRIL 10, 2000 Sean Walsh, assistant press secretary under Bush, shares memories of facing scores of reporters on a regular basis and how he handled the job.

APRIL 12, 2000 Judge Ken Starr, U.S. solicitor general during Bush’s term and independent counsel for the Whitewater investigation during the Clinton Administration, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the process leading to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, as the featured speaker at a Bush Foundation event.

APRIL 20, 2000 Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl explores why the economy fared so well under Bush and says the 41st president wasn’t given the proper credit.

MAY, 2000 The Bushes identify their future burial site on the east bank of a creek that runs behind the museum.

It’s hidden among oak trees and protected by an iron fence and a security camera. Their daughter Robin, who died at age 3 from leukemia, is reinterred at the site from the family plot in Connecticut.

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MAY 11, 2000 Barbara Bush urges the importance of literacy efforts, especially encouraging parents to read often to their children.

JULY 4, 2000 The public enjoys an annual July 4th tradition: fireworks at the Bush Library.

SEPT. 19, 2000 Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu discusses serving as White House chief of staff for Bush.

NOV. 1, 2000 James A. Baker III, secretary of state and chief of staff for Bush, lays out his former boss’ legacy.

NOV. 4, 2000 An event focusing on Ukraine features cultural displays, performances and a panel discussion with dignitaries and experts, including Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States.

NOV. 27, 2000 Carl Anthony, author of books on presidential wives and families, discusses how each First Lady wields power as a presidential adviser.

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DEC. 4, 2000 Michael R. Beschloss – an expert on the U.S. presidency who wrote a book on the liberation of Europe and reunification of Germany – tells a Bush Foundation crowd about how events unfolded quickly.

FEB. 23, 2001 The 10th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm is examined in panel discussions and lectures at the Bush School, especially the decision to not attempt to remove of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power.

Bush is joined by Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, who led Operation Desert Storm in removing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait.

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APRIL 25, 2001 Mikhail S. Gorbachev receives the George H.W. Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service.

APRIL 24, 2001 John Major, former British prime minister, discusses his country’s support in the Persian Gulf War and what responsibilities Europe had in the cause.

SEPT. 28, 2001 Lech Walesa, former president of Poland and the country’s first elected head of state, tells how Bush helped his country form a democracy.

OCT. 26, 2001 James A. Baker III, former chief of staff and secretary of state under Bush, shares stories about his longtime friend and tennis partner, while giving examples of how they worked together with a divided Congress.

OCT. 30, 2001 Dan Quayle, Bush’s vice president, discusses the job’s evolution and how the role of VP had developed into a critical part of the daily operations of the executive branch of government.

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NOV. 12, 2001 Bush turns the spotlight away from himself and onto those with whom he served in the military in a program on the legacy of World War II.

2002 The Bush School’s masters program in international affairs takes its first students and establishes a Public Service Leadership program.

FEB. 28, 2002 Bush Leadership Forum features James Bradley, author of “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Flyboys.”

APRIL 4, 2002 David McCullough, historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, discusses Bush’s ability to use personal diplomacy for the good of the country.

APRIL 7, 2002 Bush Leadership Forum hosts Tony Blair, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Blair arrives in Aggieland a day after meeting with President George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas, where they discussed strategy to combat global terrorism.

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APRIL 8, 2002 President George W. Bush’s National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice lectures on the U.S. government’s response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, stressing the importance of global education to prevent terrorism. At the end of the Cold War, Rice served on Bush 41’s National Security Council as the Soviet and Eastern Europe affairs adviser.

APRIL 24, 2002 First Lady Laura Bush – a former librarian and teacher - highlights her education initiatives while encouraging volunteerism and civic participation.

APRIL 26, 2002 George H.W. Bush gives a museum tour to Prince Abdullah, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (left) after they arrived by train from Houston. Later in the day, he shows his museum to King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

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MAY 11, 2002 Karen Hughes, counselor to President George W. Bush, gives a commencement speech at Texas A&M. She advises graduates to choose their bosses wisely.

OCT. 2, 2002 Less than 13 months after the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, a flag that flew in the plaza of the World Trade Center is brought to the Bush Museum to be displayed for two weeks. More than 600 people come to watch that morning as Officer Danny Diprimo of the Port Authority of New York delivers the tattered cloth to George H.W. Bush.

OCT. 24, 2002 (facing page) Bush Leadership Forum hosts Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who earlier in the year had met with President George W. Bush in China. Jiang had accepted the president’s invitation to his father’s library to discuss how the two countries can work together to settle their differences.

OCT. 30, 2002 George Bush School Lecture Series features the program’s namesake.

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NOV. 6, 2002 Wells Fargo CEO and Chairman Richard Kovacevich speaks about the U.S. financial industry.

NOV. 15, 2002 U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao speaks on the importance of volunteering. She served as deputy secretary of transportation and director of the Peace Corps under the 41st president and credits the elder Bush with seeing the need for the Western world to assist the former republics of the Soviet Union to ensure that freedom and democracy prevailed.

NOV. 18, 2002 Andrew Card, deputy chief of staff under Bush and chief of staff for George W. Bush for five years, details how the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, unfolded. He recounts that he had to inform the president – who was chatting with schoolchildren in a Florida classroom – that the United States was under attack.

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DEC. 13, 2002 Republican strategist Karl Rove discusses the challenges facing the GOP. A senior adviser to George W. Bush, Rove’s political consulting during the 2000 and 2004 campaigns led to him being dubbed “The Architect.”

FEB. 28, 2003 Bush Leadership Forum features husband-and-wife political strategists James Carville and Mary Matalin, who entertain the audience with a spirited conversation about their devotion to different political parties.

MARCH 17, 2003 Bush Leadership Forum features, from left, actor Tom Selleck, NASA astronaut Steve Lindsey, casino mogul Steve Wynn and TV journalist Diane Sawyer.

OCT. 1, 2003 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service is presented to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who oversaw the reunification of Germany.

OCT. 9, 2003 Historical writer James Bradley shares where he gets his best ideas for his books.

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OCT. 15, 2003 “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert and Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis discuss politics amid the backdrop of the inaugural George H.W. Bush Promise of America Award, which honors efforts to improve the lives of young people.

OCT. 24, 2003 Bush Leadership Forum features Gen. Tommy Franks, who as commander of the U.S. Central Command led the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and overthrow of the Taliban government in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, and New York Times reporter John F. Burns.

NOV. 5, 2003 A “China-U.S. Relations” conference features Dr. Henry Kissinger, secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford; Thomas Kean, chairman of the 9/11 Commission; Secretary of State Colin Powell; and Qian Qichen, former foreign minister in China and vice premier. The four-day event focuses on economic issues and threats posed by global terrorism, as well as North Korea’s development of weapons of mass destruction.

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2003 A portrait of the Bush presidents is unveiled at the library.

NOV. 7, 2003 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service is presented to U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the first American to receive the honor.

DEC. 1, 2003 U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans talks about how a president builds his Cabinet.

FEB. 17, 2004 (facing page) Barbara Bush talks about being married to a former president and mother to a current president.

MARCH 8, 2004 U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte tells a standing-room-only crowd that the U.S. needs many allies in the war against terrorism.

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MARCH 22, 2004 Bush Leadership Forum hosts sportscaster Jim Nantz, former Houston Astros manager Larry Dierker, Houston Texans quarterback David Carr and Texans coach Dom Capers.

MARCH 31, 2004 Thomas C. Reed, former secretary of the U.S. Air Force, discusses his book, “At the Abyss: An Insider’s History of the Cold War.” The book, for which Bush wrote the introduction, delves into the lives of those who fought in and ended the Cold War without a nuclear shot being fired.

APRIL 30, 2004 Barbara Bush hosts a discussion with Anna Perez, her former press secretary; journalist Liz Carpenter; Mary Hoyt, former press secretary for Rosalynn Carter; Sheila Tate, press secretary to president-elect George H.W. Bush during his transition; Lisa Caputo, press secretary to Hillary Clinton; and Noelia Rodriguez, press secretary to Laura Bush.

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JUNE 4, 2004 Bush’s 80th birthday (June 12) celebration kicks off with an exhibit called “41@80.” Items include a box of Wheaties with a picture of Bush skydiving as the “Breakfast of Champions” image. His message to seniors: Stay active.

JUNE 13, 2004 Bush celebrates his 80th with another skydiving adventure on the grounds of his library and museum.

Weather demands that he perform a tandem jump with a member of the U.S. Army Golden Knights.

SEPT. 22, 2004 Bush School Lecture Series hosts former Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps, who was appointed to the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the Bush Administration.

OCT. 7, 2004 A discussion on diversity features Jacqueline Adams, former White House correspondent at CBS; Audrey Shabbas, teacher at the Middle East Policy Council; and Victor Arizpe, professor of Spanish and head of the Department of Hispanic Studies at Texas A&M University.

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OCT. 30, 2004 Robert K. Goodwin, president of the non-profit Points of Light organization started by Bush in his first year as president, lectures on why Americans should take the time to help others.

NOV. 5, 2004 Dale A. Petroskey, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, talks about competing and winning.

NOV. 30, 2004 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service is presented to California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

DEC. 6, 2004 Gen. Charles C. Krulak, a U.S. Marine officer who served in the Gulf War, shares stories from the front.

JAN. 26, 2005 Bush Leadership Forum hosts Mary Beth Cahill (left), campaign manager for Sen. John Kerry, and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman (right).

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JAN. 31, 2005 Ethics discussion features Thomas DeFrank, Washington bureau chief for New York Daily News and an Aggie, and Reuters White House correspondent Gene Gibbons.

FEB. 14, 2005 Col. Patrick Lang, a former intelligence officer who briefed Bush on Middle East matters, details what goes into delivering information to the commander-in-chief.

MARCH 4, 2005 Richard Holbrooke, a former ambassador to the United Nations and special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, discusses his career in public service.

MARCH 27, 2005 The Bush Library and the College Station Police Department partner on an event patterned after the White House Easter Egg Roll.

MARCH 31, 2005 Wiffenpoofs, Yale’s a cappella singing group, perform with the Texas A&M Singing Cadets. Bush, a Yale graduate whose father was a member of the Wiffenpoofs, enjoys both groups.

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APRIL 12, 2005 Two months after being sworn in as U.S. secretary of commerce, Carlos Gutierrez receives the McLane Leadership in Business Award, which honors individuals who have succeeded in dealing with local, national and global issues.

APRIL 20, 2005 Jack Kemp, 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Bush, discusses strides made in bringing jobs, investments and opportunity to depressed areas.

APRIL 25, 2005 Bush Leadership Forum features Duke University basketball coach Mike “Coach K� Krzyzewski.

MAY 5, 2005 Roughly 1,000 attendees hear from Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who criticizes judges who use modern values to shape their decisions on constitutional matters.

JUNE 9, 2005 George H.W. (June 12) and Barbara Bush (June 8) have plenty of well wishers for their joint birthday celebration.

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ALL ABOARD The 2005-2006 ‘Trains: Tracks of the Iron Horse’ exhibit was the most ambitious yet for the Bush Library and Museum. It included discussions of the role railroads played in connecting Americans and strengthening the economy. The Union Pacific Railroad assisted the museum with displays of documents, photos and artifacts of the nation’s rail system.

Among the items showcased were an extensive collection of railroad clocks and pocket watches, as well as selections from Frank Sinatra’s model railroad collection. Outside, a mini-train – dubbed the U.P. Goodwill Ambassador – carried children around the complex.

U.P.’s surprise tribute to Bush captured the imagination of the community: a 15-foot, 11-inch tall locomotive weighing 420,000 pounds with a 4,300 horsepower engine that operates up to 950 rpm. Numbered 4141 in honor of the 41st president, the locomotive entered service hauling freight between Houston and Ft. Worth and eventually traveled across the entire Union Pacific System. U.P. 4141, with vintage train cars in tow, picked up travelers in College Station and made a four-hour trek to Dallas.

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“If we had the U.P. 4141 back when I was still in office, I might have left Air Force One behind more often.”

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2006 The Bush School begins its five-year joint degree program with the Department of Political Science.

FEB. 24, 2006 Sir David Manning, Britain’s ambassador to the United States, discusses working closely with allies to fight terrorism.

MARCH 6, 2006 Louis J. Freeh, former director of the FBI and federal judge in New York appointed by Bush, chats about his book, “My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton and Fighting the War on Terror.”

APRIL 3, 2006 Former POW and Arizona Sen. John McCain shares details from his life in Congress.

APRIL 10, 2006 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service is presented to evangelist William “Billy” F. Graham, a spiritual leader to presidents spanning more than seven decades.

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MAY 12, 2006 Bush tells graduating seniors to enrich their lives through learning and helping others.

OCT. 16, 2006 At a public affairs forum, Tennessee Sen. William H. “Bill” Frist defends his decision to fight judicial filibusters and predicts Republicans will keep control of the Senate in the November 2006 elections.

OCT. 26, 2006 (top) Doro Bush Koch, author, philanthropist and youngest of the six Bush children, joins her father for a relaxed chat about her new memoir, “My Father, My President.”

OCT. 30, 2006 Bush and U.S. Navy Capt. Kevin O’Flaherty, who was selected to command the USS George H.W. Bush, discuss life at sea. Bush recounts being plucked from the ocean by a submarine crew after his plane was shot down during World War II.

NOV. 3, 2006 An audience hears from Robert E. Rich Jr., chairman of the largest family-owned frozen foods manufacturer in the U.S.

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NOV. 10, 2006 George P. Bush, the 41st president’s grandson, talks about his public service that includes teaching, serving in the U.S. Navy Reserves in Afghanistan and clerking for a federal judge.

JAN. 16, 2007 Brig. Gen. Daniel Bolger, commander of the Joint Readiness Training Center, tells Bush School students why he wrote the book, “Work Hard, Study and Keep Out of Politics!”

JAN. 18, 2007 A. Denis Clift, president of the Joint Military Intelligence College, discusses the U.S.-Russia joint commission on service personnel who are prisoners of war or missing in action.

JAN. 23, 2007 Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III talks foreign policy and international relations. He also discusses his work as co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, a 10-member bipartisan independent committee.

MARCH 2, 2007 White House Press Secretary Robert Anthony “Tony” Snow discusses why his job is the most fun he’s ever had.

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MARCH 3, 2007 Bush Leadership Forum features White House counsel Harriet Miers; Desperate Housewives actress Teri Hatcher; Chris Evert, tennis pro; and Eileen Collins, retired astronaut and first woman to command a NASA space shuttle mission.

APRIL 10, 2007 (facing page) Two months after announcing he was running for the GOP presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, is invited by Bush to speak at his conference center.

Romney, accompanied by his wife, Ann, lays out his platform.

APRIL 27, 2007 Laurie Firestone, who served as White House social secretary under the Bush administration, lectures on how she coordinated all official social engagements.

JUNE 2007 The library and museum joins the College Station Juneteenth celebration by hosting a historical storytelling program.

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OCT. 15, 2007 Jenna Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush, discusses a nine-month internship with UNICEF in Latin America where she met – and later wrote a book about – a girl trying to break free from a cycle of abuse, poverty and AIDS.

OCT. 26, 2007 The George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service is presented to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, former CIA director and former Bush School dean and Texas A&M president.

OCT. 30, 2007 A&M graduate Lowry Mays, creator and CEO of Clear Channel Communications and former regent at Texas A&M, receives the McLane Leadership in Business Award.

NOV. 10, 2007 The Bush complex is rededicated on its 10th anniversary.

NOV. 8, 2007 An international speaker program features retired Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, Bush’s former national security adviser.

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NOV. 13, 2007 Thomas DeFrank, Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News and a former reporter for Newsweek, discusses “Write It When I’m Gone” — a book about conversations with former President Gerald Ford between 1992 and his death in 2006. DeFrank, a 1967 graduate of Texas A&M, covered every president going back to Nixon.

DEC. 6, 2007 (facing page) Closing in on the March 2008 Texas presidential primary, Mitt Romney delivers a speech about religion. He talks about his views on religious liberty, tolerance and how his faith would inform his presidency.

DECEMBER 2007 Christmastime at the Bush Library and Museum includes free events in the rotunda.

2008 Bush School begins a five-year joint degree program with the A&M Department of Economics.

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UNENDING LOVE OF THE GAME The itinerary for Mikhail Gorbachev’s trip to College Station was mostly set: Receive a prestigious award for excellence in public service, lecture at Texas A&M University and visit with George H.W. Bush, his U.S. counterpart from their days at the end of the Cold War. But Bush also wanted Gorbachev to enjoy a genuine American experience.

He did what many hosts in Texas might do on a Thursday in April: The former U.S. president took the ex-Soviet premier to a high school baseball game. Sporting a baseball cap from the respective teams, each threw out ceremonial opening pitches at the game between the A&M Consolidated Tigers and Cy-Fair Bobcats.

The event in 2001 illustrates how Bush uses his museum and events at his school to share his lifelong love for baseball, a sport that reinforces the lessons of leadership and teamwork for which Bush is widely known. Bush – who has sometimes been called the most sporting president in U.S. history – shows his love of baseball in the various exhibits displayed over the years at the museum that bears his name.

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MARCH 3, 2008 Baseball Leadership Forum features sportscaster Bob Costas; baseball Hall of Fame member Joe Morgan (left); Tommy Lasorda, former Los Angeles Dodgers manager (right); Drayton McLane, former Astros owner; and Jeff Bagwell, former Astros first baseman.

“Baseball is just the great American pastime.

There’s something for everyone in the game.

It never gets old.”

- George H.W. Bush, May 1999, after getting his own baseball card

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Bush has called upon professional athletes and coaches to lecture on leadership and strategy at the Bush School. A devout Astros fan, he has been spotted at Houston’s Minute Maid Park in an orange and navy or white jersey, sitting behind home plate with Barbara, also clad in team colors.

Some say Bush’s appreciation for America’s favorite pastime came from his father, Prescott Bush, who batted cleanup forYale’s 1917 baseball team.

His mother, notoriously competitive, was a nationally ranked tennis player.

And his grandfather, George Herbert Walker, was a scratch golfer who served as president of the U.S. Golf Association.

Bush was a baseball standout in high school and enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the outbreak of World War II. After finishing combat duty, he married, started a family and played ball while attending Yale as an economics major.

A left-handed first baseman who batted right-handed, Bush and his teammates played in the College World Series – 1947 and 1948, the first two in history – and finished second.

Bush met Babe Ruth during his senior year with the Bulldogs when the Yankee slugger donated the original

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manuscript of his autobiography to Yale shortly before his death.

Bush’s coach, Ethan Allen, described the lanky player to the Yale student newspaper as being a “one-handed artist at first base.”

While Bush said a scout briefly paid attention to him after a big night, he knew early on that different careers were calling: Oil, political, intelligence and even the battlefield as commander in chief. Through each, he held onto his love of baseball. He played outfield on a company softball team in Midland, Texas – even though he didn’t work at the business – and later was one of the stars of the congressional softball team.

Though he often invited heads of state and friends on fishing excursions, Bush took Queen Elizabeth II to an Orioles game against the Oakland Athletics. Then there’s another family connection: While in the White House, Bush supported his oldest son, George W. Bush, when he became part-owner of the Texas Rangers.

The 1945 George McQuinn-Rawlings mitt that he kept in his desk drawer in the Oval Office has a home in the Bush Presidential Library and Museum. An exhibit replicates the

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office, and the mitt is under glass in the drawer that’s left open for visitors to inspect.

The Bush Library and Museum created a baseball card highlighting his stats at Yale. It featured a black and white photo taken in his college uniform. The cards were handed out to the first 1,000 visitors arriving to see an exhibit about baseball and Bush, and it became an instant collector’s item.

Bush was asked to throw out the first pitch when Yale came to play the Aggies in March 2016, and he met with players of both teams. While he favors Texas A&M against all other opponents, everyone seemed to understand his allegiance when he appeared on the diamond in a Yale baseball jersey with the number “41” on it. Wearing a maroon A&M baseball cap softened the blow for the Aggie Nation, which long ago adopted Bush as one of them.

Asked once what advice he’d give to college players, Bush responded with a quote from his mother, Dorothy: “‘Do your best, share credit, focus on the team.’ It’s not fancy, but it worked for me.”

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MARCH 19, 2008 Australian Prime Minister John Howard discusses his country’s support of the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War.

APRIL 2, 2008 Final Four Forum is host to Texas Tech Coach Bobby Knight and sportscasters Jim Nantz and Billy Packer.

APRIL 27, 2008 The Bush museum hosts Nantz for a signing of his book, “Always by My Side,” about his career and how his father led him to love sports.

NOV. 7, 2008 FBI Special Agent George Piro, who interrogated Saddam Hussein after his capture in 2004, shares the details at an invitation-only event.

DEC. 13, 2008 Giving his last graduation speech as president, George W. Bush is joined by his parents onstage at Texas A&M. An estimated 3,700 Aggies graduate, and 11,000 are in the stands to watch.

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2009 Bush School adds a certificate in China studies.

FEB. 19, 2009 NASA Food Systems Engineer Nani Arce shares his ideas in developing nutritious meals for space that taste like foods eaten on Earth.

FEB. 20, 2009 Lecture series features Bush administration staffers, other government officials and academics assessing the legacy of the 41st president.

FEB. 20-21, 2009 Dinner and seminar is hosted

by Lt. Gen. Richard “Dick” Chilcoat, the Bush School’s first permanent dean and assistant to Colin Powell in the Gulf War.

MARCH 24, 2009 Lockheed Martin World Scholar-inResident program features Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad and Elsa Murano, president of Texas A&M University.

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MARCH 31, 2009 George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce present the McLane Leadership in Business Award to Chuck Norris.

APRIL 23, 2009 White House Lecture Series features Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, authors of “The Presidents Club.”

APRIL 20, 2009 Nation’s economic future is examined

by Maria Bartiromo, host of “The Wall Street Journal Report”; Lawrence Lindsey, former director of the National Economic Council; Wells Fargo Chairman Richard Kovacevich; and Rick Santelli, CNBC personality.

AUG. 19-21, 2009 China-U.S. Relations Conference in Beijing is hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

OCT. 5, 2009 White House Lecture Series features David Valdez, who served as Bush’s personal photographer.

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UNITED EFFORT Barack Obama shared a stage with George H.W. Bush at Texas A&M University in 2009 to recognize the Points of Light Institute for its two decades of success in mobilizing people to solve problems in their communities through voluntary service. The pair spoke to 2,500 invited guests who warmly welcomed Obama in his first trip to Aggieland.

Bush used the event to recognize work

by United We Stand, an effort in which Obama called on Americans to “participate in our nation’s recovery and renewal by serving our communities.”

Obama lauded the Points of Light Institute, founded in response to Bush’s call to service in his 1989 inaugural adress. He cited Bush’s vision to champion volunteerism, saying that “each of us has a role to play, and all of us have something to contribute.

He didn’t call for one blinding light shining from Washington. ... He called for ‘a vast galaxy of people and institutions working together to solve problems in their own backyard.’ ” Two years later at the White House, Obama presented a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Bush for the Points of Light initiative.

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OCT. 16, 2009 Presidential Forum on Service features President Barack Obama as the speaker. The event marks the 20th anniversary of Bush calling for more volunteerism in America, which led to the founding of the Points of Light Institute. Texas A&M’s Big Event – the nation’s large student-driven service organization – receives the institute’s award for its annual effort in which thousands of students pick up assignments one day each spring and fan out throughout the region on service projects.

“Think of the thousands of people and organizations who’ve been named Points of Light — and the countless others he inspired to do their part. ...

That’s the extraordinary ripple effect that one life, lived humbly, with love for one’s country, and in service to one’s fellow citizens, can have.”

- Barack Obama

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NOV. 10, 2009 Dinner honors former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Robert A. Mosbacher for establishing the Mosbacher Institute at the Bush School.

NOV. 30, 2009 Barbara Bush addresses Texas A&M seniors as they gather at Kyle Field for the conclusion of the college’s annual “Elephant Walk” — a tradition in which graduating students wander the campus, reliving good memories.

The crowd is treated to brief remarks from George H.W. Bush, who accompanies his wife to College Station for the event.

2010 Bush School’s Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy opens. School begins five-year joint degree program with Department of International Studies.

MARCH 2, 2010 Dinner hosted by the Bushes honors Ambassador Ryan Crocker, new dean of the Bush School. Within a year Crocker would take a temporary leave of absence to accept an appointment as ambassador to Afghanistan.

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MARCH 5, 2010 (facing page) Public affairs forum is headlined by Roger Ailes, founder and longtime chairman of Fox News. He discusses his time as a political adviser to Bush, including his role in the 1988 political advertisement that featured prisoners in a revolving door while a narrator said Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis was soft on crime.

MARCH 18, 2010 A group of Cub Scouts watches as den leader Bennie Pate burns a flag during a flag retirement ceremony at the George Bush Presidential Library.

Members of the American Legion are also on hand to teach the children about the proper way to dispose of damaged flags.

APRIL 15, 2010 Karl Rove, political strategist for George W. Bush, discusses his book, “Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight,� and signs autographs.

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APRIL 20, 2010 Celebration honoring Bush the outdoorsman features Paul Dixon, of the Anglers Club of New York; Andy Mill, a tarpon angler; Johnny Morris, founder of Pro Bass; and Robert Rich Jr., an author and fisherman. The longtime friends share stories about their “unfailingly modest” fishing buddy.

APRIL 26, 2010 Special forum celebrates the United Service Organization (USO) with its president and CEO, Sloan Gibson; U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffery W. Hammond; actor Gary Sinise; and singer Mayra Veronica. Bush’s father, Prescott Bush, served as the second chairman of the USO under Franklin Roosevelt, and George H.W. Bush visited USOs during World War II. He said the organization plays a significant role in lifting the morale of U.S. troops.

OCT. 14, 2010 George Bush Presidential Library Foundation presents “Going to Winward: A Mosbacher Family Memoir” by Robert A. Mosbacher Jr., son of the onetime secretary of commerce. Other panelists include James G. McGrath, who assisted on the book; Texas First Lady Anita Perry; Robert’s widow, Mica Mosbacher; and Bush School Dean Ryan Crocker.

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OCT. 25, 2010 Lecture underscores the difficulty of predictions with pollster John Zogby.

OCT. 26, 2010 Former Bush speechwriter Curt Smith, award-winning sportscaster Leland “Milo” Hamilton (left), and Roman Popadiuk, director of the Bush Library Foundation, talk about baseball. Smith wrote a book about his former boss, “George Bush: Character to the Core.”

OCT. 28, 2010 Public affairs forum draws attention to a cause that former First Lady Laura Bush is promoting: a heart-healthy lifestyle.

MARCH 10, 2011 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service given posthumously to Ronald Reagan and accepted by James A. Baker III, who served as White House chief of staff for both Reagan and Bush and served in both presidents’ Cabinets.

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APRIL 12, 2011 Newt and Callista Gingrich bring their documentary “Nine Days that Changed the World” to the Bush grounds.

The film looks at Pope John Paul II’s nine-day pilgrimage to Poland and the role the Pope played in the fall of communism in Europe.

OCT. 23, 2011 A conference promoting China-U.S. relations continues a series that began in 2003. Prominent government, business and academic leaders from China and the U.S. participate to promote, strengthen and expand collaborations between the two countries. “By working together, China and the United States can achieve a lot, not only for the two countries, but also for the rest of the world,” Zhang Yesui, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., says in his opening speech.

NOV. 15, 2011 “America’s First Ladies” event allows the audience to listen in on a conversation between Barbara Bush and Laura Bush.

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2012 Bush School begins five-year joint degree program with Department of Sociology.

FEB. 20, 2012 President’s Day celebration features Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader of the U.S. House. She described Bush as a “strong president, confident to speak of a kinder, gentler America. ... His name and his presidency are synonymous with civility.”

2012 Brent Scowcroft Institute celebrates five years at Texas A&M’s Bush School.

2012 (left)

Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell speaks about his experiences on a mission with SEAL Team 10 in a mountain range near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. He was the only member of the team to make it out alive.

DEC. 13, 2012 Married political strategists Mary Matalin, a Republican, and James Carville, a Democrat, entertain students by trading barbs during a repeat trip to the Bush School.

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OCT. 10, 2013 Former World Food Program director Catherine Bertini, a professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, speaks about four Bush administration initiatives that improved nutritional support in the U.S. and abroad.

OCT. 24, 2013 Celia Sandy lectures on public affairs and discusses her new book: “Memories of my grandfather, Winston Churchill.”

SEPT. 19, 2013 The George H.W. Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service is bestowed upon Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar at a ceremony at the University of New England.

JAN. 21, 2014 Robert Gates returns to Texas A&M for the Distinguished Author Series to discuss his book, “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War.” Since leaving as A&M’s president in 2006, he had served as secretary of defense for George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

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JAN. 29, 2014 Former U.S. Sen. Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming and former Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine B. Bowles receive the Mosbacher Award for Good Governance. They discuss the national debt in a lecture series presented by the Mosbacher Institute.

JAN. 28, 2014 Barbara Bush listens to elementary schoolchildren read their favorite books during an event broadcast around the world. The former first lady also read to children during the Virtual Reading Experience, which was broadcast in front of a live audience of schoolchildren from Bryan-College Station.

FEB. 11, 2014 Barbara Hackman Franklin, secretary of commerce under Bush, lectures about women whose involvement in government changed the course of history. Franklin, who served four previous administrations, recruited scores of women to high government positions beginning in the late 1960s.

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25TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRESIDENCY A three-day celebration in 2014 marked the 25th anniversary of George H.W. Bush’s presidency. Bush was an experienced politician with expertise in foreign policy when he was elected. His presidency coincided with the end of the Cold War. “The more you probe into the career, the more impressed you are with his wisdom and his understanding of the importance of restraint,” said Tim Naftali, co-director of the Cold War center at NYU, at an invitation-only event.

Former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham saluted Bush for bringing a nonviolent end to the Cold War and working toward a 1990 budget compromise.

Bush was a master of quiet diplomacy and small gestures, Meacham said, calling him a man who didn’t “spike the football.”

The event also featured LBJ Museum Director Mark Updegrove and Jeffrey Engel, SMU’s director of presidential history projects. Shannon Bream of Fox News moderated discussions.

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APRIL 4-6, 2014 The 25-year anniversary celebration of Bush’s presidency draws familiar figures such as Condoleezza Rice, an adviser in his administration and later national security adviser to George W. Bush. Former Vice President Dan Quayle praises Bush’s leadership style after a statue of the 41st president is unveiled. “He had an uncanny ability to forge consensus,” Quayle said.

Discussions on Bush’s lasting influences include the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Clean Air Act and diplomatic successes across the globe.

“I think there is no doubt he was in the White House during an enormously important time, a crossroads in the history of the world in many respects.”

— Jon Meacham, former Newsweek editor

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APRIL 4, 2014 Neil Bush presides over a ceremony honoring Daily Point of Light award winner Michelle Sollicito at the Bush Library and Museum.

MAY 12, 2014 Bush School graduates its 1,038th student.

JUNE 11, 2014 The Bush Presidential Foundation and the Motion Picture Association of America host a private screening in Washington for “41on41.”

The documentary’s makers interviewed 41 of Bush’s colleagues, former adversaries and family members.

JULY 14, 2014 Bush School’s Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy celebrates the extension of Bush’s North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989.

The measure created 56 wildlife refuges and set aside more than 3 million acres of public land.

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AUG. 6, 2014 Bush Foundation President Fred McClure, who served as Bush’s assistant on legislative affairs, talks about how his former boss worked with Congress. McClure is a former Texas A&M regent who became the university’s first African-American student body president in 1976.

SEPT. 18, 2014 Tony Clement, president of the Treasury Board of Canada, lectures at the Bush School on his government’s modernization.

OCT. 9, 2014 Abdolkarim Soroush, an Iranian reformer named one of Time Magazine’s “most influential people” in 2005, lectures on the relationship between religion and politics.

OCTOBER, 2014 Bush School celebrates receiving nearly $16 million in funded research for 21 projects. Sources of support include the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation.

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OCT. 21, 2014 Panelists from the private and public sectors debate broadband Internet regulation and field questions from FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai.

OCT. 29, 2014 “41on41” is screened in Rudder Theatre. A panel discussion includes documentary producer Mary Kate Cary, former Bush chief of staff John Sununu and George P. Bush — a grandson who a week later would be elected as Texas land commissioner.

NOV. 3, 2014 A discussion of Russia under President Vladimir Putin includes former Ambassador Temuri Yakobashvili. Dr. James Corum and Dr. Gabriela Marin Thornton also speak at the Bush School’s Scowcroft Institute conference.

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NOV. 4, 2014 Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Association, lectures at the Bush School.

NOV. 10, 2014 Bush School hosts conference on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with distinguished scholars, diplomats and key government officials from U.S. and Europe. Bush receives the Schuman Medal from Elmar Brok, chairman of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, for his role in the reunification of Germany.

Ryan Crocker, James Baker and Brent Scowcroft speak at event.

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NOV. 11, 2014 George W. Bush discusses his book, “41: A Portrait of My Father.” He delves into what it was like growing up with the famed public servant and answering the call to service himself.

NOV. 20, 2014 Comic Dennis Miller headlines the annual fundraiser for the Bush Presidential Library Foundation with three generations of the Bush family represented. More than $650,000 is raised for the library and museum, the Bush School and the foundation.

JAN. 16, 2015 Nine Bush School students travel to Germany to present research in the school’s first capstone project for an international client. The project looks at enhancing trilateral relations between Germany, the U.S. and China.

FEB. 12, 2015 Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps, a leading international humanitarian and development organization, speaks at a Bush School program on volunteerism.

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MARCH 6, 2015 Jared Cohen, director of Google Ideas, speaks about how technology is transforming the world.

APRIL 30, 2015 A Bush School lunch conversation on the Middle East features Dean Ryan Crocker, who served as ambassador to six nations in the region.

APRIL 27, 2015 Bush School students attend the 59th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York.

APRIL 21, 2016 Texas A&M President Michael K. Young gives a public policy talk at the Bush School on how freedom of religion is tied to the global growth of democracy.

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SEPT. 11, 2015 Women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem speaks via video at a conference, “National Security and Women’s Insecurity: Why Women Matter in Foreign Policy.” She talks of her work in fighting sex trafficking, the culture of female subjugation and the history of gender relations.

SEPT. 16, 2015 Bush School sponsors the Global Pandemic Policy Summit.

OCT. 17, 2015 H-E-B President Craig Boyan receives the McLane Leadership in Business Award for the grocery chain’s unique business model and investment in local communities.

OCT. 28, 2015 The documentary “Unbranded” is screened and discussed by the cast and crew of the film.

NOV. 9, 2015 The George Bush Distinguished Author Series features Bush biographer Jon Meacham.

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NOV. 11, 2015 Vahid Majidi, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear matters, lectures on efforts to manage the U.S. stockpile of nuclear weapons.

NOV. 12, 2015 Ambassador L. Francis Rooney, former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, speaks on diplomacy and the Vatican’s relationship with the U.S.

NOV. 30, 2015 The 100th anniversary celebration of national parks features documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.

2016 Bush School’s Executive Master of Public Service and Administration program becomes part of curriculum.

JAN. 7, 2016 The Starr Foundation donates $1 million for the Program in Integration of Global Markets at the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy.

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JAN. 27, 2016 Robert Gates returns to the school he oversaw to lecture on leadership.

FEB. 9, 2016 Bush School hosts Bud Philbrook, co-founder and CEO of Global Volunteers, who lectures on what it takes to make a difference.

FEB. 18, 2016 Bush School hosts Symposium on the Gulf War and the liberation of Kuwait, highlighting the lessons learned in the 25 years since the conflict.

MARCH 1, 2016 The European Union Center and the Bush School co-sponsor a seminar on Europe’s refugee crisis.

MARCH 8, 2016 Col. Andrew Budd of NATO gives his perspective on the alliance’s view of Europe.

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MARCH 25, 2016 Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood says the nation needs bipartisan cooperation and creativity to improve the nation’s infrastructure.

He is in town to take part in a Q&A session with Dean Ryan Crocker.

MARCH 30, 2016 (below right) Presidential Library Foundation Lecture Series presents political strategist Karl Rove, who discusses his book, “The Triumph of William McKinley.”

APRIL 8, 2016 (below left) Dean Ryan Crocker leads a Scowcroft Institute panel on Middle East policy within hours of an ISIS attack on a Brussels’ airport and subway station.

APRIL 26, 2016 The Bush School Former Student Network kicks off its first reunion weekend.

MAY 25, 2016 Bush School’s Mosbacher Institute, along with Texans for a Positive Economic Policy, launch TxSmartSchools. org. The program compares school districts to their peers, giving parents the chance to measure the quality of education and the price tag.

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JUNE 30, 2016 Research addresses the importance of Brent Scowcroft’s work as national security adviser to Bush. His lessons include a transparent and inclusive process for bringing issues to the president; maintaining the confidence of national security colleagues; and how to effectively advise the president in private.

JULY 27, 2016 Bush School partners with the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary’s University to host a seminar on extremist elements and cyber intruders.

OCT. 19, 2016 Bush Foundation and the Scowcroft Institute host an evening with author David Priess, right, followed by a forum with former intelligence officials, from left, James Olson, Carmen Medina and Dick Kerr.

OCT. 27, 2016 Presidential Library Foundation Lecture Series features Chase Untermeyer, former assistant to Bush and U.S. ambassador to Qatar.

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75TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEARL HARBOR World War II veterans – 27 members of the “greatest generation” – marked the 75th anniversary of Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Each had stark memories about the heroes they met, the horrors they witnessed, the friends they lost and the strangers who saved them.

Vintage warplanes from Texas Flying Legends Museum flew overhead as 800 people gathered on the grounds of the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. A Navy veteran narrated the events of the “Day of Infamy,” which resulted in the deaths of 2,335 U.S. servicemen.

Panel discussions at the Bush Library focused on World War II’s lessons and the generation of leaders who survived the war to guide the world through the Cold War. Among those leaders were George H.W. Bush and former Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, who received raucous applause and a standing ovation when introduced.

Bush enlisted in the Navy on his 18th birthday, June 12, 1942, and flew 58 combat missions – including one in which his plane was shot down over the Pacific Ocean. Bush was awarded a 138

Distinguished Flying Cross but rarely discusses it without questioning what he could have done to save the lives of his two crew mates.

Dole enlisted in the Army in 1942 and served in Italy as a second lieutenant in the 10th Mountain Division. In April 1945, he was peppered by German machine gun fire, shattering parts of his neck, spine and right shoulder.

He was hospitalized for 39 months and lost the full use of his right arm.

Dole served in the U.S. House from 1961 to 1969 and from 1969 to 1996 in the U.S. Senate, where he was majority leader in 1995-1996. He was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 1976 and presidential nominee in 1996. Bush defeated Dole to win the GOP presidential nomination in 1988.

Bush presented Dole with an Award for Excellence in Public Service and described his old friend and political rival this way: “He is the quintessential reflection of a place, and an era, when American goodness and greatness brought hope to the furthest reaches of the globe, while lifting lives and breaking down barriers to the American dream at home.�

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NOV. 14, 2016 ConocoPhillips White House Lecture Series features Lauren Wright, an expert on White House communications. She says political scientists often overlook the importance of the president’s wife and details how the First Lady’s responsibilities have increased over the last few decades.

JAN. 10, 2017 William Waldo Cameron Forum on Public Affairs features Jeb Bush being interviewed by his son, George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner.

MARCH 13, 2017 The Bush School’s Presidential Leadership Scholars are Andrew Card, Robert Gates, Tim McBride, Constance Berry Newman, Rob Portman and Gen. Mark A. Welch III, former chief of staff for U.S. Air Force and the Bush School’s dean.

MARCH 24, 2017 Former Congressman Bill Archer offers insights about Capitol Hill. Archer took over representing the 7th U.S. District of Texas after Bush left office in 1971.

He served for 30 years, including his last six as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

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APRIL 4, 2017 Veteran U.S. diplomat John Negroponte and Dr. Stephen Krasner, a professor in international relations at Stanford University, discuss challenges to the global power structure.

APRIL 24, 2017 Lauren Bush, daughter of Neil and Sharon Bush, lectures at the Bush School on her 10-year-old program through the United Nations that helps feed the hungry across the globe.

SEPT. 5, 2017 From left, Professor Gregory Gause moderates a discussion on Iraq with Lukman Faily, former Iraqi ambassador to the United States; Trudy Rubin, foreign affairs columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer; and Raad Alkadiri, senior director at BCG’s Center for Energy Impact. Ryan Crocker – an ex-ambassador to Iraq and former Bush School dean – later details work on the Atlantic Council’s Task Force on the Future of Iraq, which he chairs.

SEPT. 8, 2017 Bush School’s newest lecture series, called “What’s Next?”, delves into major events and issues. The first program is “Hurricane Harvey: The Road to Recovery."

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A SHINING PURPOSE

GEORGE H.W. BUSH’S LEGACY OF SERVICE PRESENTED BY

GEORGE H .W. BUSH P R E S I D E N T I A L L I B R A RY C E N T E R

WITH SUPPORT FROM

AND THE C. WILLIAM TROUT CHARITABLE TRUST AND WELLS FARGO BANK The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation thanks the following for their considerable support over the years in helping bring educational, interesting, diverse and memorable speakers and programs to College Station.

BANK OF AMERICA PROGRAM ON VOLUNTEERISM CONOCOPHILLIPS WHITE HOUSE LECTURE SERIES KAY AND BRITT RICE LECTURE SERIES MCLANE LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS AWARD THE LENORE AND FRANCIS HUMPHRYS SPEAKERS PROGRAM TWANNA M. POWELL LECTURE SERIES WELLS FARGO BANK PROGRAM ON ETHICS WILLIAM WALDO CAMERON FORUM ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS

PROJECT LEADER, WRITING AND RESEARCH Kelly Brown, Bryan-College Station Eagle editor EDITING Mike Reilly and Dan Sullivan, Omaha World-Herald DESIGN Christine Zueck-Watkins, Omaha World-Herald PROOF READING Darren Benson and Rob Clark, Bryan-College Station Eagle Thanks to the photo journalists and other photographers whose work documenting life at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum made this book possible.

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION EAGLE PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave McDermand Laura McKenzie Butch Ireland Stuart Villanueva Timothy Hurst Sam Craft Patric Schneider

Gabe Chmielewski Bill Meeks

OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS Brian Wright, Texas A&M University Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle David J. Phillip, Associated Press Charles Krupa, Associated Press Eric Gay, Associated Press David Sams, Associated Press Pat Sullivan, Associated Press Smiley N. Pool, The Dallas Morning News Chandler Arden, Specialties Photography Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University George Bush Presidential Library and Museum The White House Joe Abeln, U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team Special thanks to the Bush Presidential Library and Museum staff, including Warren Finch, director; Susie Cox, supervisory curator; and Mary Finch, audiovisual archivist; as well as the Bush Presidential Library Foundation’s chief executive officer, David Jones, and senior director of programming and communications, Christi Voelkel.

Warren Finch was first assigned to Bush’s presidential materials in 1992 in Washington D.C. His wife, Mary, an audio-visual archivist with the National Archives and Records Administration, started on the Bush team about the same time. She flew on an Air Force C-5 to Texas with the first load of Bush administration materials in early 1993. Warren was deputy director of the museum until 2004, when he was promoted to the top position.

Bush Presidential Library and Museum Executive Directors David Alsobrook: 1993-2000 Douglas Menarchik: 2001-2004 Warren Finch: 2004-present

Bush Presidential Library Foundation Chief Executive Officers Don Wilson: 1993-2000 Roman Popadiuk: 2000-2012 Fred McClure: 2012-2016 David Jones: 2016-present 143

“The Spirit of America,� an original painting by John Ross Palmer of Houston for the 20th anniversary of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center.

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A SHINING PURPOSE

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GEORGE H.W. BUSH’S LEGACY OF SERVICE GEORGE H .W. BUSH P R E S I D E N T I A L L I B R A RY C E N T E R

C. WILLIAM TROUT C HA R I TA B L E T RU ST