Source: Yar Ebadi, 785-532-7227, yebadi@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Melanie Horton, 785-532-7227, mhorton@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

COMMERCE BANCSHARES CEO DAVID W. KEMPER TO DELIVER DISTINGUISHED LECTURE NOV. 12 FOR K-STATE'S COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

MANHATTAN -- David W. Kemper, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Commerce Bancshares Inc., will be the fall speaker for the College of Business Administration's Distinguished Lecture Series at Kansas State University.

Kemper's presentation will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, in the K-State Student Union's Forum Hall. The lecture, sponsored by Commerce Bank and The William T. Kemper Foundation, is free and the public is welcome.

"K-State's College of Business Administration enjoys a long, mutually beneficial academic partnership with Commerce Bancshares and Commerce Bank, as well as the philanthropic endeavors of the Kemper family, which include the College of Business Administration's Distinguished Lecture Series," said Yar Ebadi, dean of the college.

"It is a great privilege to welcome David Kemper to campus as he is an accomplished leader in the banking industry whose insights on its current issues will greatly enhance our students' academic experience this semester," Ebadi said.

Kemper started his career in 1975 with New York-based Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. He joined Commerce Bancshares in 1978. The $17.9 billion regional bank holding company is based in Missouri.

Kemper also is a director of Tower Properties Company and Ralcorp Holdings Inc., and serves as an advisory director for Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Bunge North America. He is on the board of Washington University in St. Louis, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. He is the past president of the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve and is a director of The Financial Services Roundtable. He also is a member of Civic Progress in St. Louis.

Kemper graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1972. He received a master's in English literature from Oxford University in 1974 and a master's in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1976.