In a letter addressed to all on campus, Southern Methodist University's president has tried to allay concerns about the Bush presidential library and a related policy institute, which SMU is expected to land.

President Gerald Turner sent the letter Friday as faculty members prepared for a meeting on the library scheduled for today. It's the SMU administration's first major communication on the topic since the university learned in December that it's the lone finalist to host George W. Bush's library.

"I wanted to start the new year by communicating directly with you, based on some common questions arising about this project," Dr. Turner wrote in the e-mail to the faculty, staff and students.

Some professors have called for more public debate on the library and what it would mean for SMU. Few details were made public while the library search committee was still considering three finalists: SMU, Baylor University and the University of Dallas.

There's concern over reports that Mr. Bush wants a conservative think tank similar to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Some faculty members and students worry that such an institution could promote partisan, pro-Bush politics on campus.

In his letter, Dr. Turner tries to allay some of those concerns. He said "a key difference" is that while the Hoover Institution reports to Stanford, a Bush institute would report to a separate Bush library foundation.

Dr. Turner also noted there could be joint efforts between SMU and the library institute, such as shared scholars or visiting professors. Such appointments would be made through the university's standard hiring procedures, he wrote.

Dr. Turner will not attend today's meeting, sponsored by the Faculty Senate. Rather, concerns, recommendations and requests that arise will be taken to him, Senate president Rhonda Blair said.

Dr. Blair cited a "heightened level of faculty interest" when she sent out a notice of the meeting.

For instance, two professors from the Perkins School of Theology wrote an op-ed piece in the SMU campus newspaper in November called, "The George W. Bush Library: asset or albatross?" It raised several questions, such as, "Do we want SMU to benefit financially from a legacy of massive violence, destruction and death brought about by the Bush presidency in dismissal of broad international opinion?"

One of the authors, professor emeritus William McElvaney, said he still has questions after reading Dr. Turner's letter.

"I'd like to hear more about the Bush institute that would report to the Bush foundation," he said. "What might that be about, and will that be beyond SMU's control?"

Dr. McElvaney, an ordained Methodist clergyman, said he also wants to know whether the institute's plans will respect United Methodist social principles. He said the Iraq war and what he called the Bush administration's authorization of torture go against those principles.

SMU spokeswoman Patti LaSalle said that Dr. Turner sent the letter because he wanted to share information about the library and that the letter was not prompted by faculty concerns.

"He would have given that information, no matter what," Ms. LaSalle said.

The announcement of SMU's sole finalist status came Dec. 21, after the fall semester ended and many faculty members and others had left campus.

"He wanted to make sure that faculty and staff coming back into town would have the correct general information," Ms. LaSalle said.

The library selection committee, led by former Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, outlined the library's mission in a 2005 letter to contenders.

It said the library would include a public policy institute, separately managed by the Bush library foundation, to further "domestic and international goals" that include "compassionate conservatism, the spread of freedom and democracy throughout the world, and defeating terrorism."

Presidential libraries and museums are run by the National Archives and Records Administration. There are currently 12 libraries, each with a supporting foundation.

Three have a separate center or institute: The Carter Center, through a partnership with Emory University, works to promote human rights and peace and fight disease; the William J. Clinton Foundation has a separate building next to that library that supports various causes, including economic empowerment and fighting HIV and AIDS; and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute seeks to keep the ideals of the FDR administration alive.

Texas already has the George Bush library at Texas A&M University and the Lyndon B. Johnson library at the University of Texas at Austin. In each case, there is an academic program tied to the library – the Bush School of Government and Public Service at A&M and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT. The George W. Bush institute would operate more independently of SMU.

Dr. Turner wrote in his letter that if SMU wins the new Bush library, "it would be part of a historic triumvirate of presidential resources in Texas."

SMU law professor Tom Mayo said Dr. Turner's letter and today's meeting are good steps to encourage more public debate.

He said, "There's still a need for open discussion with the faculty regardless of one's position on the library at SMU."

Students have talked about the pros and cons of the library, too, student body president Taylor Russ said.

"There are some students who disagree with [Mr. Bush], so they fear the library will be an opportunity for the promotion of President Bush's politics," he said.

Personally, Mr. Russ said, he doesn't see that happening and sees the library as a learning opportunity for students.

"It has nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats," he said. "It's about history; it's about our country."

E-mail hhacker@dallasnews.com