2026 Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame

Susan Elizabeth Blow was born June 7, 1843, in St. Louis, Missouri. Susie, as her parents called her, found her life’s calling in 1870 when she had the opportunity to observe some of the German kindergartens established by Friedrich Froebel, an educational philosopher. Blow’s experimental public kindergarten opened in the Des Peres School in the Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis in September 1873. In the summer of 1876, visitors at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia saw her conduct classes in Missouri’s kindergarten exhibit, which exposed tens of thousands of fairgoers to this new public experiment in early childhood education. Blow, mother of the American kindergarten, died March 26, 1916. Her work spurred the American kindergarten experiment into a social movement and made it a mainstay of early childhood education in the U.S.

Dr. Ken Rutherford, a political scientist and global humanitarian advocate, built a career devoted to advancing the rights and protection of people affected by armed conflict. Before joining James Madison University, he was a professor of political science at Missouri State University, where he helped establish the university as a United Nations depository library and advanced its public affairs mission as a provost fellow and conference chair. Rutherford co-founded the Landmine Survivors Network and helped lead the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. A landmine survivor injured in Somalia, Rutherford has been named among the 100 most influential people in armed violence reduction.  He has received several honors including the Global Humanitarian Award, presented by Sir Paul McCartney. He holds a PhD from Georgetown University and advanced degrees from the University of Colorado.