SOUTHEAST SELECTS ALUMNI, PROFESSOR OF MERIT AWARDS; SEVEN WILL BE HONORED DURING HOMECOMING

Six Southeast Missouri State University alumni and a Southeast associate professor have been selected to receive the university's annual alumni and faculty merit awards.

Each Alumni Merit Award is presented by an academic college at Southeast to honor a distinguished alumna or alumnus.

The award recipients and the academic colleges presenting their awards are: B. Ray Henry, College of Education; W. Eugene Burgess, College of Business; Grace V. Hoover, College of Health and Human Services; J. David and Dale W. College of Science and Technology; and William G. Moll, College of Liberal Arts.

Fred Janzow, associate professor of biology at Southeast, is this year's recipient of the Faculty Merit Award.

The seven will be honored homecoming weekend during a merit award dinner Oct. 11 at the Show Me Center. Tickets for the dinner are $12 and are available by calling the university's alumni office at (314) 651-2259.

This is the third year the alumni merit awards have been given to representatives of each of the five academic colleges, university officials said.

The awards have been given since 1958 to graduates or former students of Southeast who have brought distinction to themselves and the university.

Jane Stacy, director of alumni services, said: "The awards are very important to us as a university, because any time we honor one of our alumni or professors, we honor the university."

Henry of Hillsboro received his bachelor's degree in education from Southeast in 1955. He received his master's and doctoral degrees in education from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

His career spans nearly a half century, including stints as an elementary school teacher and principal in Gideon Elementary Schools from 1949-1955, principal at Gideon High School from 1955-1956, and superintendent of the Gideon School District from 1956-1965. He served as superintendent of the Farmington School District from 1965-1970 and as Jefferson College president from 1970 to 1989.

He has served on the Governor's Committee on Municipal Bonding Practices, the Missouri Corporation for Science and Technology, and the Governor's Council on Adult Literacy.

Burgess earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Southeast in 1961. Upon graduation, he went to work for National Cash Register. He later sold advertising and leased two Shell Oil Co. service stations until 1972.

He then became involved in the restaurant business, opening 10 McDonald's restaurants in El Paso, Texas over the next decade.

In 1982, Burgess sold those restaurants back to McDonald's and bought two Grandy's specialty chicken franchises in the Houston area.

He has bought and sold a number of restaurants since then. He currently has 65 percent ownership and is president and chairman of Westking Restaurant Corp. Under the Westking umbrella, Burgess has bought Burger King restaurants in Midland and Odessa, Texas, and is in the process of purchasing additional Burger King restaurants in the San Antonio area.

Hoover of Cape Girardeau received her lifetime vocational education certification from Southeast Missouri State. In addition, she attended Lindenwood College in St. Charles and received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in home economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

She joined Southeast as a full-time faculty member in 1962 and retired last year as chairperson of the human environmental studies department after nearly 30 years of service to the institution.

As leader of the department, Hoover was instrumental in establishing: the university's Child Study Center, Center for Aging and Gerontology Studies; Workshop on Wheels for child-care providers; Southeast's Elderhostel program for people age 60 and older; and a campus day-care program for the elderly called the Southeast Missouri Eldercare Center.

J. David Margerum of Woodland Hills, Calif., is a 1950 honors graduate of Southeast, with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and chemistry. He earned his doctoral degree in physical chemistry from Northwestern University in 1956.

He has 41 years of research experience. He is a senior scientist and assistant department manager of the exploratory studies department of Hughes Laboratories. He has been employed by the company since 1962.

He is the author of 66 technical papers and holds 16 patents.

Dale W. Margerum is the twin brother of David Margerum. Dale Margerum also graduated from Southeast in 1950. He earned his doctoral degree in 1955 from Iowa State University. He is currently a chemistry professor at Purdue University.

He is the author of 196 research publications and is the research director for Purdue students pursuing doctoral and master's degrees. He has served as a visiting professor and lecturer in Switzerland, Brazil, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. In addition to his duties at Purdue, where he has served for 37 years, Margerum is a consultant to Eastman Kodak Co.

Moll is a 1960 graduate of Southeast and holds a master's degree from the University of Texas.

He has been vice president and general manager of WNBC-TV in New York City since October 1989. Previously, he served as president of the New York-based Television Bureau of Advertising from 1987 to 1989, and, prior to that, as president of Harte-Hanks Television from 1979 to 1987.

He served as president and general manager of a San Antonio television station from 1972 to 1979. He began his career in broadcasting in 1954 and has held various positions in television production, sales, news and programming.

Moll has served as a board member for numerous industry organizations, including the National Association of Broadcasters and the International Radio and Television Foundation.

Janzow, winner of the Faculty Merit Award, has been on the science faculty at Southeast since 1975. A native of Minnesota, Janzow received his master's and doctoral degrees from Oklahoma State University.

Janzow teaches biology and university studies courses, and is coordinator of the freshman year experience program. He also is a former chairman and vice chairman of the Faculty Senate and has served on several university committees.