(CLAIR) – The construction of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley has been a topic of much debate for decades. The library and museum was originally planned to be built on the campus of Stanford University, but after a series of protests and disagreements, the location was moved to Simi Valley as a second choice.
In 1984, Stanford University officials agreed to build the library and museum on their campus. This decision was made after the White House separated a proposed public affairs center from the $45 million library project. At the time, the President of Stanford University, Donald Kennedy, said “We’re pleased the president’s papers will come to our campus.”
However, a month before the agreement was made, Kennedy had expressed concern that the university would lose the library due to the White House’s insistence that it include a Center for Public Affairs. The center would not be controlled by the university, but by the Hoover Institution.
An agreement was reached between the White House, Kennedy, and the President of the Stanford board of trustees, William Kimball, following a letter from presidential counselor Edwin Meese III. Meese confirmed that Reagan’s decision to locate the library at Stanford was not influenced by the university trustees’ decision on the proposed public affairs center.
In a letter, Meese suggested that the center be run by an independent President Reagan Foundation. This proposal was opposed by Kimball and Kennedy, with Kennedy stating that a center established “on behalf of a public figure with a particular political philosophy” without university control might endanger “both the fact and the appearance of political neutrality–those characteristics of academic excellence that the university’s mode of governance is designed to ensure.”
As a result, the location of the library was moved to Simi Valley, where it faced resistance from local municipal officials with environmental concerns.
