The 43rd president of the United States was the surprise guest of honor at a colorful, music-filled, ceremony welcoming the George W. Bush Presidential Center to campus on Founders’ Day April 19. More than 3,000 SMU alumni, students, faculty and staff applauded as Bush walked down the steps of Dallas Hall to the speaker’s platform.

History marched onto the SMU state April 25, 2013. It came in the form of five presidents, including President Barack Obama. It was the first gathering of the so-called President’s Club in several years, bringing together Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the center of their attention and expressed admiration on this day. They came to help dedicate the George W. Bush Presidential Center, housing the first presidential library and museum of the 21st century, the first such facility of the social media age, and the third to be located in Texas.

In an interview with SMU Magazine and The Daily Campus student newspaper, former President George W. Bush reflects on his hopes for the library, museum and institute, and the selection of SMU as the site of the Bush Center.

How many terabytes of electronic information does the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum house? An incredible 80 terabytes! Find out more fascinating facts about the nation's 13th Presidential library here ...

Over the past half-century and more, presidential libraries have become our nation’s public squares beyond the confines of Washington’s Beltway. They are places where great minds gather to discuss, and, yes, often to debate the central political and cultural questions of our day.