About the Archive

The Robert J. Dole Archive at the University of Kansas is one of the nation's most significant collections of papers and artifacts relating to politics in the 20th Century.

The Archive contains materials documenting Senator Dole's remarkable career of public service which spanned 35 years on Capitol Hill (1961-1996) and continues to his present roles in the World War II Memorial Commission, Families of Freedom Scholarship Co-Chair, and as the author of One Soldier's Story: A Memoir.

The Institute houses, preserves and makes available (subject to restrictions) Senator Dole's House of Representatives papers, Senate papers, and post-Senate papers. The related papers and oral histories of Dole staffers (over 900 individuals between 1961 and 1996) and other close associates who played an important part in Senator Dole's career and campaigns are included in the collection.

The Archive is comprised of almost 4,000 boxes of papers, 25,000 photographs, and several thousand artifacts, all housed on over two miles of steel archival shelving in the lower level of the Dole Institute of Politics. Senator Dole's extensive legislative career and his many leadership roles in the Republican Party make this collection among the largest groupings of one politician's papers outside of the presidential library system.

The terms under which The University of Kansas acquired the Dole gift will determine when each record group becomes open and available to researchers. Senator Dole's House of Representatives papers, House and Senate press releases, all speeches, broadcasts and photographs are processed and available for research use.

State-of-the-art environmental controls, such as intrusion detection systems and water, smoke, and fire detection equipment, were incorporated into the building's mechanical design. These protection systems ensure the continued safekeeping and availability of the collections.

Researchers work with original documents in the Reading Room on the main level of the building. Resources available to the public in the Reading Room include:

For More Information, contact:
Senior Archivist, Morgan Davis, mrd@ku.edu 785-864-1405