THE  HOLDEN  PUBLIC  POLICY  FORUM @  WEBSTER  UNIVERSITY

Since completing a career in elective office that culminated in 12 years in statewide office as Treasurer and then Governor of Missouri, Bob Holden has focused on working to increase public understanding of the impact of Globalization on the Midwest and what the Midwest needs to do to maintain its influence in the world economy.

He is the founder and leader of the Holden Public Policy Forum @ Webster University and is a member of Webster’s teaching faculty.  He serves as Chairman of the Midwest US-China Association.  He established the One Bright Future Foundation, a not-for-profit public policy organization, as a vehicle for his continuing public policy work, and also provides business consulting services through The Holden Group, LLC.

The Holden Public Policy Forum @ Webster University brings distinguished public policy experts together in a global Internet Town Hall Meeting format. More than 40 international, national and local leaders have participated, including Governor Mike Huckabee, Columnist Paul Krugman, President of the Woodrow Wilson Institute Lee Hamilton, Environmentalist Peter Raven and former Agricultural Secretary and Governor Mike Johanns. These forums are webcast internationally and feature questions that come from a global audience.

Webster University is an ideal university for these far-reaching global dialogues. It has 109 campuses around the world and in 22 states. It was the first American university to offer a Masters program in China.
In 2009, Governor Holden became the Chairman of the Midwest US-China Association. This appointment followed his ground-breaking trip to China in 2004 to establish Missouri’s first trade office in China.

Since that historic trip, Governor Holden has traveled to China several times on education and trade-related missions. Most recently, Governor Holden was part of the delegation including Missouri’s Governor, two United States Senators and several other key elected officials and business leaders with the mission to promote St. Louis as an Air Cargo and Commercial hub for China.

In addition, Governor Holden led the effort to establish a Confucius Institute at Webster University. Currently, it is the only Confucius Institute in Missouri.

He has also been a leader for the Midwest US-China Association at the Xiamen International Trade and Investment Fair and a speaker at the China International Language conference.

Governor Holden is one of ten members of the Chicago Global Institute’s Task Force on National Energy Policy and Midwestern Regional Competitiveness, looking at how the Midwest can regain global influence.

Governor Holden’s career in elective office began with his election as State Representative in Springfield, MO.  He served three terms in the Legislature followed by two terms as State Treasurer and one term as Governor.  During his time in office, he:

• led efforts to pass the MOST college tuition savings program, now considered one of the best such programs in the country
• chaired the State Housing Commission and worked to expand affordable housing
• enacted a program to help Missouri’s elderly citizens purchase prescription drugs, one of the first such programs in the United States
• increased Missouri’s commitment to Elementary and Secondary education by more than $250 million, expanded the A+ program, and reduced the drop-out rate
• was the first Governor to establish a cabinet level Homeland Security Secretary after 9/11
• moved Missouri from 41st to 5th in national ranking of states with women in leadership positions in government
• worked to protect over 80,000 children from losing their health insurance and expanded the SChip program
• enacted Missouri’s first comprehensive Women’s Health Initiative and passed Mental Health Parity
• significantly increased the number of African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities in key state leadership positions
• Led job creation and economic development initiatives that made Missouri one of the top ten states in job creation during a period in which overall employment in the United States declined

Governor Holden served as Chairman of the Midwest Governor’s Association, as a member of the Governor’s committee that negotiated with the White House on Medicaid reform, and as a Dole Fellow at the University of Kansas.  He has long been active in Missouri Boys and Girls State. 

Governor Holden was born in Kansas City.  He was raised on a farm near Birch Tree, Missouri, where he attended grade school in a one-room country schoolhouse, earned his degree from Missouri State University and attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University for Government Executives.

Bob met his wife, Lori Hauser Holden, early in his political career, and they have two children, Robert and John D. Holden

For event information please contact the Holden Public Policy Forum, (314) 246 -7423 or jsstrothmann@gmail.com