Gore to Accept Award, Deliver Fall Commencement Address

ST. LOUIS, MO (December 8, 2023) — St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore will receive the 2023 Government Excellence Award from his alma mater, Missouri State University, on December 15, 2023, in Springfield. The award is given to government officials who exemplify leadership, support the university, and have outstanding achievements.

“We’re grateful for Gabe and his continued support of the university,” said Missouri State President Clif Smart. “His leadership skills and passion for community engagement exemplify the spirit of our public affairs mission.”

“It is an honor to receive this award from the school that was foundational to the development of my character and my values as a person, a citizen, and a public servant,” Gore said. “It is only fitting that I give back to MSU, which has given me so much.”

Gore earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from MSU in 1991. He served on the University Board of Governors from 2015- 2023. During that time, he served as vice chair and chair of the board, making faculty, staff, and student diversity his top priority. The university subsequently hired the first black associate dean of the graduate college and the highest-ranking black faculty member in its history, the first black female basketball coach and the first black female human resources director. To promote student diversity, he laid the foundation for collaborative relationships with St. Louis groups serving marginalized youth, such as College Bound and Wyman Inc.

Gore has a long history of government service, serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, Assistant Special Counsel for the John C. Danforth Office of Special Counsel. He was a member of the Ferguson Commission, created by former Missouri Governor Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon to study and make recommendations on issues surrounding the unrest that followed the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014. He chaired the commission’s criminal justice subcommittee, which recommended municipal court reform. Supported by the Missouri Supreme Court, those reforms helped improve accountability, and eliminate laws that unfairly fined and jailed hundreds of St. Louis area residents on traffic offenses while generating millions of dollars in revenue for municipalities.

Gore had a successful 23-year career in private practice. As a partner at Dowd Bennett LLP, he tried numerous jury trials to verdict, including cases involving breach of contract, securities fraud, employment, and property damage claims.

On May 19, 2023, Gore was appointed Circuit Attorney by Missouri Gov. Mike Person, a previous recipient of the MSU Government Excellence Award, to fill the unexpired term of Circuit Attorney, Kimberly M. Gardner, who resigned. Gore, 54, will run for a full four-year-term as Circuit Attorney in the November 5, 2024, general election.

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