6A
NEWS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY APRIL 1 2008
POLITICS
TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2008
Lacy returns to Dole Institute after Thompson's campaign loss
BY JESSICA WICKS
wicks@kansan.com
Kristin Honda/KANSAN
Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute of Politics, settles back into his office Monday after taking a leave of absence to head former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson's exploratory presidential campaign. Lacy said he was glad to be back and missed the interaction with students the most.
Bill Lacy, former Fred Thompson campaign manager, returned to the University of Kansas Monday to resume his job as director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.
Lacy said that he had offers to continue his career in Washington, but was eager to get back to the University.
"KU is the best job in my career," Lacy said. "I was reluctant to leave it in the first place."
Lacy said he brought back two valuable lessons for KU students: up-to-date political readiness, and an example of service to country. But the most important thing Lacy said he brought back were contacts.
Lacy said students can look forward to new guest speakers as a result of his journey on the campaign trail.
"We want to give students a real opportunity to interact with people actually doing things in politics," Lacy said.
Lacy left Jonathan Earle, Dole Institute associate director for programming, in charge during his leave.
Lacy said he really appreciated Earle keeping the Dole Institute on track and adding to the programming.
"I had a lot of fun running this place, but I'm glad Bill is back," Earle said, adding that he is more of a history guru than a politics person like Lacy.
"Jonathan really stayed true to our original vision of the Institute," Lacy said.
When asked about Thompson's loss of the Republican nomination, Lacy compared the campaign to being thrown into the NCAA playoffs without playing any preseason games.
"We were up against teams like
Clinton and Obama who had much more time to practice"
Lacy, who also ran Thompson's 1994 senatorial campaign, said they had to accomplish in five months what they had done in a year during his previous campaign.
"And I'm not as young as I used to be," Lacy added.
Lacy took a month vacation with his wife before returning to the Dole Institute.
"I was a zombie when that campaig was over," Lacy said.
He said he only had 10 days out of the office during the presidential run.
"I didn't have time to do things like ride my bike or eat right," Lacy said. "That takes a toll on your body."
Before agreeing to work on Thompson's campaign, Lacy had been out of politics for 11 years.
He came to the Dole Institute in 2004 and didn't want to leave until Bob Dole said it would be good for
lecture info
What: 'An Evening with Bill Lacy'
When: Tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Who: Open to the Public
Where: The Dole Institute of Politics
the Dole Institute.
"Fred called in the middle of the time trials for the Tour de France," Lacy said. "I let him leave a message."
Lacy said that he and Dole decided that if he did not take the job in Washington, he would be going against the message of the Dole Institute: to set an example of service in politics.
hidden. Once there, they removed items from the vehicle.
—Edited by Mandy Earles
SUSPECTS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
She also said she did not know Mug was going to steal the vehicle when she dropped him off in Kansas City, Mo.
According to the statement, a witness said Haygood told her that after Epps took the vehicle, Haygood followed him back to Kansas City, Kan., to dispose of the vehicle. The witness said she saw Haygood steal McDowel's laptop and CDs out of his vehicle.
The witness also said Haygood told her that she had a gun during the robbery. The witness said that Epps had told her multiple times that he had shot McDowel in the leg but that he did not mean to kill him. The witness said Epps told her McDowel's vehicle needed to be burned because he had shot McDowel.
Terry Riley, a family friend of McDowell's and a member of the
Kansas City, Mo., City Council,
said McDowel's death was a shock
to everyone who knew McDowel.
"Why would you have to kill someone to take their car?" Riley said. "You can look at this a thousand different ways and you still say, 'Why?' Why did it have to happen like this?"
Riley said the people suspected of murdering McDowel didn't understand that McDowel's family, as well as the suspects' families, will suffer because of their actions.
"This is a cycle and it needs to be broken and there are answers to everything out here other than violence," Riley said.
Riley said he was unsure why McDowel transferred from the
University to UMKC, but said it was probably for financial reasons. He said McDowel's parents lived in Kansas City, Mo., and because of it McDowel had to pay out-of-state tuition to attend the University of Kansas.
Riley said McDowel was supposed to graduate with a master's degree from UMKC in May and had plans to attend law school next fall.
Riley said his wife and McDowel's mother were friends and he and McDowel were members of the same fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, at UMKC though they did not attend the college at the same time.
McDowel's funeral was held Saturday. A prayer vigil originally scheduled at the scene of the crime has been post-poned at the McDowel family's request.
Edited by Nick Mangiaracina