Francis Slay To Deliver QU’s 155th Commencement Address

QUINCY, Ill. – Former St. Louis Mayor, Francis G. Slay, will deliver the keynote address during Quincy University’s 155th Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 12 at 3:00 pm.

Slay served the people of St. Louis as their 45th mayor, from 2001 to 2017. Having been elected to four consecutive four-year terms, he is the longest serving mayor in St. Louis history. Prior to being elected mayor, Slay served as a St. Louis alderman for 10 years, including as president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen from 1995 to 2001. In 2002, Slay was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Public Service from QU.

Slay graduated from Quincy College in 1977, where he received a bachelor’s degree in political science and played on three NAIA National Soccer Championship teams. He was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014 and ¬¬the QU Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the ’73 and ’74 soccer team. After graduating from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1980, Slay served for a year as a law clerk for the Honorable Paul J. Simon of the Missouri Court of Appeals. He then joined a prominent law firm where he practiced for 20 years, specializing in commercial litigation and business law.

Slay is now practicing law again, having recently joined the law firm, Spencer Fane LLP, where he is concentrating on business transactions, real estate and public policy. He and his wife, Kim, have been happily married for 38 years, and have two grown children, Francis, Jr. and Kate.