Featured on November 9, 2023
About Roy Blunt
Missouri S&T is pleased to welcome Senator Roy Blunt as the inaugural speaker of this series. Roy Blunt was born in Niangua, Missouri, and became the first member of his family to graduate from college, earning a Master of Arts in History in 1972. He began his career as a high school history teacher before being chosen the County Clerk and Chief Election Officer for Springfield and Greene County. Blunt won three elections to county office, seven elections to represent the 7th District in Congress, and four statewide elections, serving Missourians as Secretary of State and in the U. S. Senate.
Throughout his time in public service, including serving as a university president, Blunt championed education. He was a leading proponent of increases in the Federal Pell Grant program, an advocate in securing funding for Missouri’s colleges and universities and supported countless projects that continue to benefit Missourians.
A respected bipartisan leader in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, in recent years Blunt is perhaps best known for his focus on expanding access to mental health and spearheading programs in support of cutting-edge biomedical research, including the rapid effort to develop the COVID-19 vaccine. He is responsible for prioritizing funding for dementia and related disorders for which he is recognized both at the National Institutes of Health and by the Alzheimer’s Association.
Blunt’s lifetime of service has garnered him numerous recognitions, including the Missourian in the Arena Award from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the AMA Award for Outstanding Government Service from the American Medical Association, The Bryce Harlow Award for advancing the integrity of government advocacy, the 2022 Henry Paley Memorial Award from the National Association of Colleges and Independent Universities, the 2022 Champion for Charter Schools Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and the 2022 Distinguished Dr. Henry Givens, Jr. Legacy Award for promoting social justice, racial harmony, and civic rights, with a commitment to education and community by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission of Missouri. He was honored with the 2022 Pioneers in Education award by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Retiring from the U.S. Senate in January 2023, Blunt became the President of the State Historical Society of Missouri, returning to his academic passion for history.
