Friday’s announcement that President Obama had created a foundation to pick a site for his presidential library has set off a new round of speculation over where the facility might end up, with universities in Chicago, New York, Hawaii, and California expressing interest.
The University of Chicago’s president, Robert J. Zimmer, immediately released a statement saying that his institution was “committed to working in partnership with the City of Chicago, our neighbors, civic leaders, and cultural and educational institutions” to locate the library on the city’s South Side. Accompanying the statement was an FAQ laying out a “Rationale for Chicago” and describing what the university’s role would be. Mr. Obama taught law at the university from 1992 to 2004, and Michelle Obama worked for the university’s hospital system as vice president for community and external affairs.
Also believed to be interested, according to Politico, are Chicago State University; the University of Illinois at Chicago; the University of Hawaii, where the president’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, is employed; Occidental College, where the president started as an undergraduate; and Columbia University, from which he earned his bachelor’s degree.
The new foundation said it expected to name a site for the library in 2016, but nothing requires that it be on a college campus. Among recent presidents, George W. Bush’s presidential library is at Southern Methodist University, and George H.W. Bush’s is at Texas A&M University at College Station, but Bill Clinton’s library is a stand-alone institution in Little Rock, Ark., Ronald Reagan’s stands alone in Simi Valley, Calif., and Jimmy Carter’s is in Atlanta.
“I strongly believe the Obama Presidential Library would be ideal for one of our neighboring communities on the South Side of Chicago,” said Mr. Zimmer. “Such a location would reflect the personal and professional lives of the Obamas, as well as their commitments to society. A presidential library would mark a watershed moment for the South Side, catalyzing significant and sustained economic opportunity in an area poised to make the most of such promise. It would bring cultural and programmatic opportunities for all of Chicago’s residents and visitors.”
Read more at: news.uchicago.edu
