Richard “Rich” McClure has spent a lifetime learning to appreciate the value of learning — not just for young people, but for himself as well.
From his childhood in Springfield, Missouri, through 20 years in public service and a long corporate career to his later work with nonprofit and educational organizations, McClure, 73, has put what he has learned to use.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, McClure will receive the Champion in Education award during the St. Louis American Foundation’s 39th annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel.
The throughline of McClure’s life speaks to the value of learning and utilizing newfound knowledge for the greater good. That philosophy has followed him from government through banking and his leadership of UniGroup to his current position as managing director of Spero Advisors, a strategy and governance advisory firm.
During a 2015 education summit, McClure stunned the audience by shifting the conversation away from increasing college graduation rates to a more somber topic.
Wiley Price | The St. Louis American
Noting that millions of children were living in poverty, McClure said strengthening education beginning at the preschool level was more than an “economic imperative.” It was a “moral imperative, the sleeping civil rights issue of our day.”
Does he still hold those feelings?
“Absolutely,” McClure promptly answered.
“For there to be unequal opportunities and challenges to access quality education for people because of the ZIP code they were born in or because of economic or social circumstances, making things available for some people and not others … that to me is a moral issue.”
Former St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin R. Adams described McClure as “a trusted and confidential confidant, a thought partner, and a genuine friend for many years.”
“He has an incredible ability to see possibilities and solutions when others may only see problems,” Adams said. “At the end of the day, perhaps the most important thing I can say about my friend Rich McClure is very simple: you can trust him.”
McClure grew up in Springfield in an environment, he said, that taught him about “family and faith and the values it takes to serve others.”
His father was a World War II veteran who owned a small appliance shop. His mother was a high school teacher who posted moral or principled quotes on her classroom blackboard and discussed them with students.
“It was her way of transmitting values from one generation to the next as a teacher who loved her students,” McClure said.
After earning degrees from Missouri State University and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, McClure went into public service.
He spent 20 years holding public policy positions, including work in the administrations of Missouri Gov. John Ashcroft and Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson.
McClure ticked off valuable lessons learned from government, including the resources needed to educate children in urban school districts.
“Those dynamics are important if you want to address the racial and social dynamics of education,” he said.
His desire to enter the corporate world led him to banking and later UniGroup, where he eventually became president.
McClure and Sharon, his wife of 48 years, appeared on the CBS reality show “Undercover Boss” during his time at UniGroup. He walked away with a deeper understanding of the value of employees and the importance of understanding “the story behind the story” of people he worked with.
McClure said he also learned invaluable lessons while serving as co-chair of the Ferguson Commission, formed after 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in 2014.
“Those hours of listening to our community across our region, but particularly those in impacted areas, taught me lessons that I never would have learned in any other way,” McClure said.
“One that I needed to learn was whatever breaks God’s heart needs to break my heart, too. It’s about a deep understanding of heartbreaking experiences.”
His community work has included service with World Wide Technology, United Way, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the St. Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and Teach For America.
“If there were more Rich McClures in the world, the world would be a better place,” said Steven H. Lipstein, former president and CEO of BJC HealthCare.
“When Rich serves on a commission or a board of directors, he is all-in,” Lipstein said. “You literally get all of him.”
A deeply religious man, McClure said he has tried to follow a biblical principle: “To whom much is given … much is required.”
“There’s a standard there that says if you’ve been blessed with positions, platforms, relationships, resources, networks, you are required to use them for human flourishing.”
McClure contributed an essay on “identity and authenticity” to “The Inspired Leader: 101 Biblical Reflections for Becoming a Person of Influence.”
“My foundation and my identity come from the following of Jesus, not any position I’ve ever had,” he said. “The authenticity part is the ability to realize these positions are temporal … they are gifts.”
After his years at UniGroup, McClure and Sharon decided “it was time for ‘life three’” and the “great experiences” of the nonprofit world. McClure said he was dedicated to following Sharon’s lead as she had done for him throughout their marriage.
Their goals included transmitting their values to their children and the next generation and having “kingdom impact,” which meant living their lives the “way Jesus calls us to do,” McClure said.
McClure still has an appetite for learning and helping others learn. He said he’s “fascinated” by a new AI startup designed to train and provide resources for “under-resourced entrepreneurs.”
He’s still that disrupter who, more than a decade ago, reminded a crowd that quality, equal education for all children — no matter their background — is a “moral imperative.”
“None of us get a pass on advocacy,” McClure told the American. “We all should be champions of education on behalf of our children.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.