ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 7, 1996 TAG: 9610070093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: Associated Press
Thomas C. Sorensen has spent his life surrounded by politics. Now, dying of cancer, he wants to help others learn about the art of governing.
Sorensen, the son of a crusading attorney general of Nebraska and the brother of President John F. Kennedy's special counsel, has pledged $500,000 to the Virginia Institute of Political Leadership in Charlottesville.
The institute, which trains Virginians in the art of public policy and leadership, is expected to be named for Sorensen.
``I've pledged the money as soon as I kick the bucket,'' Sorensen told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. ``I'm very, very proud to have my name associated with it. I just wish I could give more.''
Sorensen has a rare cancer that affects only about 100 people a year. He was told in January there is no cure.
Sorensen's course in life was set by his upbringing in a politically active family. His father, C.A. Sorensen, took on a corrupt political machine in Nebraska in the 1930s as attorney general. His mother, Annis Chaikin, was an early feminist who was instrumental in getting the vote for women in Nebraska. His brother Ted was President Kennedy's adviser and biographer.
Tom Sorensen joined the U.S. Information Agency, the country's foreign information program, in 1951. He served in Beirut, Baghdad, Cairo and Israel. Eventually, he became the agency's deputy director.
Tom Sorensen's support of the bipartisan Virginia Institute of Political Leadership, on which he serves as a board member, is a final gesture toward the political system he cares so much about.
The institute ``is a jewel,'' Sorensen said. ``I think there will be a governor or senator or president who is a graduate of it someday.''
``The money will be used for an endowment,'' said Bill Wood, the executive director of the institute. ``It will be a big boost.''
He has also donated money for an annual award for the best American reporter covering the Middle East. In addition, Sorensen is donating $150,000 to a UVa trust to train child psychotherapists.
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