WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The committee selecting a site for President Bush's future presidential library has narrowed its focus to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the alma mater of first lady Laura Bush, although a final decision has not yet been made.

Donald Evans, the former Bush commerce secretary who heads the selection committee, and SMU President Gerald Turner both announced Thursday that the committee would enter into exclusive negotiations with the university for the project after the first of the year.

"We do not know how long these discussions will take," Turner said a statement. "We are obviously delighted to have reached this final stage of the selection process."

The committee had been looking at possible sites at SMU, the University of Dallas and Baylor University in Waco, which is near the president's ranch in Crawford. Mrs. Bush, who earned bachelor's degree in education from SMU in 1968, serves on the university's board of trustees.

The Bush library, which will be built with private funds but operated by the National Archives, will be the third presidential library in the Lone Star State. George H.W. Bush's library is located at Texas A&M University in College Station; Lyndon B. Johnson's is in Austin.