Public Service, Family Impact

Alumni Award

Raymond T. Wagner, Jr. receives School of Law Alumni Achievement Award

Raymond T. Wagner, Jr. consults regularly with governors and legislators across America, is a vice president for an $18-billion-a-year international company, has served as a municipal judge and teaches courses at a top law school.

But his proudest career achievement traces back to a 15-year-old boy who broke his arm in a sledding accident on a snowy Christmas Eve.

The patient was Wagner’s eldest son, Raymond III. The injury was relatively routine, but did require surgery. Young Raymond contracted a serious, life-threatening infection while in the hospital, however. It took a year’s worth of treatment – including numerous hospital stays and seven additional surgeries – to defeat the infection.

Wagner was determined to try to prevent other patients from suffering similar crises. His efforts led to the Missouri Hospital Infection Control Act. The bill, passed by the Missouri General Assembly as “Raymond’s Law,” aims to reduce the incidence of infection by requiring hospitals to keep track of their rates of infection and submit that information to be publicly posted by the Missouri Department of Health.

That is just one example of Wagner’s leadership and influence on the shaping of public policy in Missouri and across the country. A former chief counsel to then-Governor John Ashcroft of Missouri, he is now vice president of government and public affairs at Enterprise Holdings and an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.

In recognition of his achievements and contributions to civic life, Wagner is the recipient of the UMKC School of Law’s 2015 Alumni Achievement Award. He will be honored, along with the rest of the Alumni Awards class of 2015, at UMKC’s annual Alumni Awards Celebration luncheon on April 23.

Raymond’s Law has been a rousing success, prompting similar bills to be passed by more than 35 other states. But it is hardly Wagner’s only major accomplishment.

“It was an opportunity for me to combine my knowledge and understanding of the legislative process and my passion for success and community service,” Wagner said of the law. “In many ways, I consider it my greatest act of public service. It is rooted in my belief that consumers always have a right to transparency and a right to know.”

In his work for Enterprise Holdings, parent company of the well-known car rental firm, “I engage with the insurance industry, auto manufacturers and auto dealers, to name a few. My primary aim is to create and support laws that protect and benefit our customers, as consumers,” he said.

In addition, Wagner has been involved in legislative efforts relating to adoption, homelessness and the emergency 911 system.

“Woven into all of this has been my engagement in the political process. If society is going to make good public policy, it starts with supporting good public servants for the legislature,” Wagner said. “So, on behalf of my company, I oversee the political action committee to help support a variety of candidates at all levels of government, on both sides of the political aisle.”

Wagner’s wife, Ann, is a former United States Ambassador to the country of Luxembourg. Today, she is a member of the United States Congress, serving as a U.S. Congresswoman from the St. Louis area.

Raymond III, the eldest of their three children, has come a long way from the infection that threatened his life. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2011 and has since served in Afghanistan. He is now a captain in the United States Army.


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