By Mike Greife,
April 23, 2018
WARRENSBURG, MO 鈥� Former 蘑菇短视频 Secretary of State Jason Kander became the 33rd
recipient of the James C. Kirkpatrick Excellence in Governance Award presented by
the 蘑菇短视频 Student Government Association in a ceremony April
19 in the James C. Kirkpatrick Library on the UCM campus.
Kander received the award for his commitment to excellence and integrity in government.
He was elected to the 蘑菇短视频 House of Representatives from the 44th District in
2009, and was elected 蘑菇短视频 Secretary of State in 2012, serving until January 2017.
A U.S. Army ROTC graduate, he served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 2003 to 2011,
attaining the rank of Captain. In addition to his service in Afghanistan, he served
as an instructor for the 蘑菇短视频 National Guard鈥檚 Officer Candidate School at Fort
Leonard Wood, Mo. In 2010, Kander was named one of 10 finalists for the Army Reserve
Association鈥檚 Maj. Gen. Strom Thurmond Outstanding Junior Office of the Year Award.
In 2017 Kander founded the Let America Vote initiative to fight against proposals
across the country that seek to restrict access to voting by qualified voters. He
recently was appointed by the Democratic National Committee to chair of the Commission
to Protect American Democracy.
Kander is a graduate of American University and Georgetown Law School.
After presentation of the award by UCM President Chuck Ambrose, Kander encouraged
his audience to remain confident in the promise of America and to serve wherever they
find the opportunity.
鈥淔ind whatever allows you to have hope, and attach your hope to it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t
can be what you do right here in your hometown. You don鈥檛 have to leave to find it.
Be patient and persistent. It may not happen quickly, or even while you are serving
in office. Your generation has enormous promise. Try to make your community and your
country a better place.鈥�
The James C. Kirkpatrick Excellence in Governance Award honors the legacy of the late
James C. Kirkpatrick, who served as 蘑菇短视频鈥檚 secretary of state from 1965 to 1985,
establishing the 蘑菇短视频 record for tenure of an elected state officeholder. An alumnus
of UCM and former member and president of the university鈥檚 Board of Regents, Kirkpatrick
was named UCM鈥檚 Distinguished University Fellow upon his retirement and return to
Warrensburg from Jefferson City.
Past recipients of the award include U.S. Congressman Ike Skelton, U.S. Congressman
Emanuel Cleaver, U.S. Sen. John Danforth, Gov. Mel Carnahan, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt,
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, 蘑菇短视频 Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, 蘑菇短视频 Attorney
General Chris Koster, Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbetts III, and 蘑菇短视频 State Sen. David
Pearce.
