DALLAS (AP) — Southern Methodist University plans to ask church leaders next week for approval to lease campus land for the George W. Bush presidential library, officials said Wednesday.
SMU will seek permission from a 23-member council of the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church at a meeting in Dallas next week, said Stephen Drachler, a spokesman for the Oklahoma City-based jurisdiction. The council will vote that day after SMU's presentation, he said.
The university needs permission because the parcel was part of the original campus when it was founded in 1911, Drachler said. He said he did not know the exact location or how many acres, referring those questions to SMU officials.
Brad Cheves, SMU's vice president for external affairs and development, confirmed today that the university would seek the jurisdiction's approval but declined to disclose specifics about the land. He said SMU and the site selection committee still are considering other locations that do not require church approval.
"We have not yet shared in the public square all of our site options, just because we don't know what's going to be chosen," Cheves said.
One of the Methodist ministers sponsoring an online petition drive against the library at SMU, the Rev. Andrew Weaver, said today that he was trying to be placed on the agenda for next week's meeting. The petition had more than 10,700 signatures as of tonight.
"I'm sure the Methodist church wants to be fair and hear both sides of the issue," Weaver said.
SMU became the apparent winner in the library competition in December when the site selection committee said it was entering into further talks with the 11,000-student private university, which is first lady Laura Bush's alma mater. Bush has said he is leaning toward SMU.
A final decision is expected after Bush receives a recommendation from the committee, which started detailed discussions with SMU's president last month.
But the process has not been without headaches for the administration and trustees.
Although many students seem to support the project, grumbling started among some professors late last year when they found out the library and museum complex would include an institute, or think tank, that would further the views of the Bush administration.
Later today, the faculty senate rejected — with a tie vote — a resolution calling for the institute to either be under SMU's control or for the school to sever all ties to the think tank by not allowing it to use SMU's name or be on campus.
Professors said the group almost unanimously passed a resolution, which will be presented to SMU President R. Gerald Turner, on concurrent appointments to SMU and the institute, which will be run by a separate, privately held foundation. The appointments and funding will be separate.
The group has had several votes about the library issue the past few months.
Last month, the faculty senate voted to ask the school to request that Bush rescind his order allowing former presidents to keep White House documents secret forever.
That action was part of the faculty group's endorsement of a letter from SMU's history professors opposing the executive order, which Bush issued nearly two months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying he was protecting national security.
The faculty senate last month also approved a resolution outlining their issues and concerns about the library, museum and institute.
If negotiations with SMU fail, the other finalist is Baylor University in Waco, near the Bushes' Crawford ranch. The University of Dallas withdrew its bid in January.
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