WASHBURN UNIV.

TOPEKA –  Former U.S. senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole will be in attendance with Jerry Farley, president, Washburn University, and other dignitaries to unveil a bronze statue celebrating the lifetime achievements of Bob Dole, a proud Washburn graduate and Russell native.

This is the first commissioned bronze statue of him ever created. It is a gift to Washburn University from John Pinegar, BA ’82, and the Doug and Kathleen, BA ’84, Smith family.

The statue will be unveiled in a ceremony at 11 a.m., Fri., Sept. 28, north of Carnegie Hall, Washburn University, 1700 SW College Ave.

Sen. Bob Dole, a native of Russell, graduated from Washburn University in 1952 earning both a bachelor of arts and a juris doctorate in the same year because of credits he earned before enlisting in the U.S. Army during World War II.

He has developed a worldwide reputation for public service, holding elected positions in the Kansas House of Representatives, as Russell County (Kan.) attorney and as a U.S. congressman before spending nearly 30 years as a U.S. senator. He was chair of the Republican National Committee, Senate Minority Leader and Senate Majority Leader, where he set a record as the longest-serving Republican leader. Dole was President Gerald Ford’s vice presidential running mate in 1976 and a Republican presidential candidate in both 1988 and 1996, earning the GOP nomination in 1996.

A World War II veteran, he served as national chair of the World War II Memorial Campaign and authored the autobiographical “One Soldier’s Story,” among other books.

Washburn conferred on him an honorary doctorate of laws in 1969 and an honorary doctorate of civil law in 1985. He received the Washburn Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 1966. The Washburn University School of Law Alumni Association honored him with the Distinguished Service Award in 1981 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.