ST. LOUIS • On his campaign website, Republican Dave Spence, the plastics guru running for governor, says he "earned a degree in Economics" from the University of Missouri. 

That may be true — but it is not entirely accurate.

According to the university, Spence's degree is not in economics. It is in home economics.

The school says that Spence majored in family economics and management — also called consumer economics —which earned him a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Home Economics in 1981.

The university does offer a degree in economics, currently through the College of Arts and Science.

Spence said Monday that, while at Mizzou, his grades did not meet the threshold to enter the Business School. So he chose a different academic path that would allow him to graduate on time.

"I was not the greatest student in the world," Spence said. "I'll make fun of myself: I was a 60-watt bulb in a 100-watt society."

Mizzou's home economics program, which has been around for over a century, became its own college in 1973. In 1988, the name was changed to the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

Spence has made jobs and the economy a key part of his bid to be the state's top elected official.

He acknowledged that the description of his degree on the campaign's website may be misleading — "If you want me to change it, I will," Spence said Monday — but as of Tuesday afternoon, the biography section was unchanged. 

Of course, a business degree is not required for success after graduation.

Four years after leaving Mizzou, Spence used a small business loan to purchase Alpha Packaging, which grew exponentially under his watch.

After about 25 years at the helm, Spence sold the company, which produces more than a billion plastic containers a year, for a reported $260 million.

He also serves as a real-word model for the business school that wouldn't let him in as an undergraduate: Spence helped create the "entrepreneurship alliance" that offers Mizzou business students the chance to interact with actual executives.

"I had a great time in school," said Spence, who was rush chair of his fraternity. "But I think my record out of school speaks for itself."