FLORIDA
Rick Scott ’75
Governor of Florida

No Roo road trip would be complete without UMKC’s only sitting governor, graduate Rick Scott (B.A. ’75). Scott has been in the news recently dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, the strongest Atlantic storm in nearly a decade.

Scott grew up in North Kansas City, Mo. His mother was a clerk at J.C. Penney, while his father drove trucks and city buses.

Scott met his wife while attending North Kansas City High School. After graduation, he attended a year of community college, then joined the U.S. Navy.

After two years in the Navy, Scott came to UMKC on the G.I. Bill. During that time, he worked at a grocery store and bought two donut shops, his first foray into the business world.

Following his graduation from UMKC with a management degree, Scott earned his law degree at Southern Methodist University and went to work for Johnson & Swanson, a Dallas law firm specializing in health care, oil and gas.

In 1987, Scott and his wife invested their life savings to start Columbia Hospital Corporation. Ten years later, Columbia operated more than a thousand facilities across the country.

When Scott left Columbia in 1997, it was the world’s largest health-care company with more than 340 hospitals, 135 surgery centers and 550 home health locations. At the time, Columbia employed more than 285,000 people, making it the 7th largest U.S. employer and the 12th largest worldwide.

In 2010, Scott became the 45th governor of Florida, defeating his opponent in one of Florida’s closest gubernatorial races ever. He was elected to a second term in 2014.

Scott lives with his wife and two daughters in Tallahassee, Fla. When they’re able, the family still attends Naples Community Church, which they helped found in 2006.