Bush Outlines Plan for SMU Institute

DALLAS - Former President George W. Bush says education will be the first of four areas on which his planned Dallas-based think tank will focus.

Bush announced Thursday that prominent education scholar James Guthrie will leave Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., to become director of education policy studies at the George W. Bush Institute. He'll examine ways to improve the quality of school leaders.

The institute is set to begin in the spring of 2010 at the Southern Methodist University campus.

Bush said he intends the institute to be a nonpartisan and independent policy center researching education, global health, human freedom and economic growth.

Former first lady Laura Bush said it'll also promote social and economic opportunities for women and girls worldwide.

The institute will be part of Bush's presidential center, which includes a library, museum and archives.