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http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/barack-obama-presidential-library-chicago-110970.html
By JENNIFER EPSTEIN <http://www.politico.com/reporters/JenniferEpstein.html> |
9/15/14 3:46 PM EDT Updated: 9/15/14 5:09 PM EDT

The foundation tasked with planning Barack Obama’s presidential library has
narrowed down the list of potential hosts to four finalists, with the
University of Chicago widely seen as the most likely choice.

The University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University and the
University of Hawaii are the three other finalists that have been asked to
respond to the Barack Obama Foundation’s request for proposal
<http://www.obamapresidentialfoundation.org/pdf/rfp.pdf>, the foundation
said Monday.

The universities have until Dec. 11 to respond to the RFP with detailed
plans for their projects, and the foundation’s board, led by Obama friend
Marty Nesbitt, is expected to share recommendations with the president and
first lady Michelle Obama by early 2015. The Obamas will make the final
decision on where to build the library.

“We were amazed by the quality of responses to our Request for
Qualifications and we are grateful to every institution that expressed
interest in carrying President Obama’s legacy forward,” Nesbitt said in a
statement. “These four potential partners have come the farthest in meeting
our criteria and have each demonstrated a strong vision for the future
Obama Presidential Library.”

(Also on POLITICO: Secrets of the Clinton Library
<http://www.politico.com//story/2014/08/secrets-of-the-clinton-library-110289.html>
)

The foundation is guided by principles that it wants reflected in the
proposals, include that the library represent “ideals of the Obama
campaign: respect, empowerment, inclusivity” and explain “the presidential
legacy.” It also should reflect and reinforce “the Obama legacy” and convey
“a spirit of optimism and hope.”

The proposals should detail how each library will promote “smart and
sustainable economic growth” and contribute more broadly to the community
in which it is situated. Architectural proposals should map out plans for
energy-efficient buildings that exceed LEED platinum standards.
Presidential libraries house White House archives, and the Obama team wants
library proposals to be “technologically advanced” and include capabilities
to adapt to new technologies.

In all, 13 groups and institutions expressed their interest in being
considered for the library. Several were in the president’s adopted
hometown of Chicago but not affiliated with colleges and universities. The
libraries of the three most recent former presidents — George W. Bush, Bill
Clinton and George H.W. Bush — are all affiliated with universities, and
they jointly run academic programs.

“There’s a nice synergy,” Don Evans, a former George W. Bush commerce
secretary who chairs the board of the 43rd president’s foundation, said
earlier this year
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/president-obama-library-location-103341_Page2.html>
.

The RFP includes guidelines for an academic collaboration between Obama and
the host university “that will enhance the pursuit of the president’s
initiatives beyond 2017” and include an institute and, perhaps, a
degree-granting program.

Julianna Smoot, a former Obama White House social secretary and the top
fundraising official on the president’s 2012 campaign, is leading the
library’s fundraising efforts. During the second quarter of 2014 — the
foundation’s first quarter of fundraising — the foundation raised
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/obama-presidential-library-contributions-108926.html>
at
least $850,000 and as much as $1.75 million, according to voluntary
disclosures released by the group.


Read more:
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/barack-obama-presidential-library-chicago-110970.html#ixzz3DRXL7CoC


--
Neil Callahan
Rosemont Seneca Partners
917-945-951