First Texas Tech lost Chancellor Dr. David Smith. Then Marsha Sharp announced her resignation. Now word comes that Lubbock has been eliminated from the running for the possible sight of the George W. Bush Presidential Library.
Baylor University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Dallas still are in the running for the library.
David Miller, chairman of the West Texas Coalition for the library, received the news from the selection committee last Thursday.
"I am sad and disappointed," Miller said. "I am not sad for me. I am sad for the students at Texas Tech and the citizens of Lubbock. But you have to move on and pick up the pieces."
Miller said the selection committee did not provide a reason why Lubbock was eliminated from the list of contenders.
"I can only speculate that location had to do with the decision," he said. "I think that once the president is out of office, he is going to want to work directly with the library. The president and first lady are more likely to live closely to one of the three other sites."
There are 12 presidential libraries in the United States. Miller said a presidential library in Lubbock would have helped boost the economy, including about 1,400 new construction jobs and 500 permanent staff at the library.
"The economic impact of such a library would be immeasurable," he said.
As an example, Miller said, College Station has received an extra $10 million annually since the George Bush Library was built.
"Anytime you have a library of that stature it would be a big boost to the economy," Mayor Marc McDougal said.
McDougal said he was not surprised by the decision of the selection committee. He said he agrees location was the determining factor.
"It was not because of the presentation we put together," McDougal said. "We had a very good, professional presentation."
Miller said a presidential library would cost between $200 million and $300 million. In October the Lubbock City Council proposed $50 million to help fund the building of the library. McDougal voted against the proposal.
"I voted against the $50 million, not against the library," he said. "My main concern was how to fund the library."
Tech Interim Chancellor Donald Haragan said in a news release that he is proud of the efforts of all of the individuals involved in trying to bring the library to Lubbock.
"We are obviously disappointed by the decision of the selection committee," Haragan said in the news release. "But we are very supportive of its efforts and are proud of the work done by the West Texas Coalition. There is no question that we put or best foot forward and had an outstanding proposal on the table. I believe that an objective look at our proposal will show there is nothing else would could have done."
The West Texas Coalition was the last of the four candidates to throw its hat into the ring for the library. But despite the fact that Lubbock was eliminated, Miller said he would not change anything the coalition did.
"I would not do a single thing differently," he said. "You can always second guess the time frame, but I really believe that the sense of urgency helped us come together more quickly with a better proposal."
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