Building a Permanent Home for the Institute

Congress and the President have transferred to the U.S. Institute of Peace one of the last building sites next to the historic National Mall in Washington.

Right: The Institute will build a permanent home at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue N.W., within view of the nation's most important war memorials.

he U.S. Institute of Peace will build a permanent home on a three-acre site at the northwest corner of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. "The Institute's headquarters will serve as a symbol to reflect our nation's dedication to peace and democracy," says Max M. Kampelman, vice chairman of the Institute's board of directors. Congress--under the leadership of former senator Sam Nunn and Senator John Warner, and with the encouragement of former senator Nancy Kassebaum--enacted legislation in 1996 transferring to the Institute the site, located at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue N.W., within view of the nation's most important war memorials.

Kampelman, chairman of a subcommittee of the Institute's board of directors overseeing the building project, announced the Institute's Capital Campaign to raise funds for a permanent home at a dinner held as part of the Institute's recent "Virtual Diplomacy" conference. (See the June issue of Peace Watch for a full report on the conference.) The banquet featured a talk on international diplomacy by George Shultz, former secretary of state, who will serve as the honorary chair of the Capital Campaign Committee. Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, Institute board member and president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, is honorary co-chair of the campaign committee. He joined Kampelman in launching the campaign at the dinner.

In his talk, Hesburgh noted that the world is concluding the bloodiest century in human history, one in which more than 150 million people have been killed in wars, revolutions, and civil violence. "Today, we have a unique opportunity to build a permanent monument to peace," he said. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if our citizens and foreign visitors could come to the capital area and visit an institution where people are working night and day to train our diplomats, our military, our voluntary aid workers and scholars in the techniques of conflict resolution . . . a center of top research, of dedicated teaching about a variety of ways of managing international conflict without war . . . a place that is a living monument to people working for peace and justice."

The Capital Campaign and the Building

The Institute's building site offers a sweeping vista of national memorials to war and peace, including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Korean War and Vietnam Veterans Memorials, and, just across the river, Arlington National Cemetery, notes Institute president Richard H. Solomon. The site is also located near the government agencies most directly involved in international relations and national security issues--the White House, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and Congress--as well as the many national and international private humanitarian and conflict resolution organizations headquartered in the Washington metropolitan area.

The Capital Campaign will solicit major leadership gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations, and community groups, Solomon says. The building design will involve a national competition to create an architecturally distinctive facility that is harmonious with this unique and important site. The building will be designed to facilitate increased public education activities and new and enhanced program initiatives, including:
an exterior design that will make the building a symbol of the nation's commitment to peace
an auditorium and interactive exhibit spaces that will engage the public as they visit Mall sites related to peace and war
state-of-the-art telecommunications facilities that can electronically link classrooms, seminar facilities, and government offices around the world in support of Institute programs
an expanded training center for conflict management and negotiating skills

For further information about the Institute's programs and the Capital Campaign, contact the Development Office, U.S. Institute of Peace, 1550 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20005.

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