The 42nd President Bill Clinton accepted the 2015 Dole Leadership Prize this afternoon in front of packed Lied Center that included LHS students and teachers.

The annually-awarded recognition for excellence in public service and political leadership is awarded in the name of former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who lost the presidential race to Clinton in 1996. Past recipients include Nelson Mandela, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Congressman John Lewis and former President George H.W. Bush.

It was the second time this year the University of Kansas hosted White House company for a speech free to the community, following President Barack Obama’s visit in Janaury.

“I was really excited [to see Clinton speak], I couldn’t believe it,” senior Gabe Mullen said. “I went and saw President Obama in 2013 over in Warrensburg…To see president Clinton is really exciting.”

Tickets were originally distributed on Nov. 9. Although many were reserved for KU students, remaining seats were claimed by community members who queued up at the Dole Center as early as 8 a.m.

LHS juniors Bridget Smith, Abby Treff and Alexis Creigh headed the line, showing up to west campus three hours before ticket distribution began.  

“I think it’s just cool having that interaction with…someone that like dictating international policy and domestic policy that you also have seen,” Smith said. “It’s having an interaction with democracy.”

Students have talked about Clinton in their classes, so listening to him speak in person supplemented their classroom knowledge.

“He’s…a really good speaker,” Creigh said. “In [Shannon] Draper’s class we studied his rhetoric.”

During his acceptance speech, Clinton talked about the importance of bipartisanship in “the great age of interdependence.”

He brought up initiatives like the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program as well as the budget he passed in 1998 with bipartisan support, which gave millions of dollars to support the Human Genome Project, which he referenced throughout the speech.

“I think that everyone should really take his message of an attempt of bipartisan cooperation to heart,” senior Elliott Abromeit said. “He obviously has a ton of wisdom left to share and is an amazing speaker. It was a huge privilege to hear him speak.”

Eric Martinez, a KU sophomore who graduated from LHS in 2014, is one of the founding members of Hawks for Hillary, a student organization supporting Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency. He was one of more than 600 KU students who attended the speech.

“It is fabulous,” Martinez said of Bill Clinton coming to KU. “Last time I was actually first in line to see President Obama speak, so getting to see two presidents in one year is really awesome.”

Clinton received the award for his long-standing career in politics. He is credited for fostering economic stability during his two terms in office, as he was the first president in decades to balance the national budget and bring it to a surplus four times. His administration also saw the lowest unemployment and crime rates in recent history.

He is known for his bipartisan efforts, as he worked with both Democratic and Republican majorities in Congress while he was in office. And after his presidency he founded the Clinton Foundation with the aim of improving global health and developing economies and environments.

Students weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the opportunity to see the former chief executive.

“Bill Clinton was the first president I voted for,” English teacher Shannon Draper said.  “I was living in Florida at the time, and I got to vote in the re-election in ‘96.”

The Dole Leadership prize comes with $25,000, which Clinton then donated back to the Dole Institute for Women in Leadership programs. The former president’s visit ended the Institute’s month-long promotion of civic engagement.  

“I think what we are seeing is that we have a thriving university population that really cares about politics, which is exemplified by the Dole Institute,” Draper said. “And to make it free to the public means that all of the voting populace has access to hearing what a world leader has to say, and I think that’s really important especially for people…who will vote for the first time in November.”