The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes SIUC alumni who have achieved success and recognition since their graduation. Former recipients include leaders in the business industry, famous actors, and world-class athletes. Pictures and biographies of the selected alumni are located on the Wall of Distinguished Alumni across from the natatorium on the lower level of the Student Recreation Center. We want to congratulate all of the Alumni who have been recognized and thank the many others who bring prestige and recognition to SIUC every day.

Ted Cunningham

BS '68 Management

A former Saluki football player, Ted Cunningham initially joined the Chrysler Corporation as an administrative trainee in its Chicago office one week after graduating from Southern in 1968. He is currently an Executive Vice President of Chrysler Corporation and CEO and President of Chrysler Mexico, a six-billion dollar business which is the third largest in Mexico. He previously served as the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, directing Chrysler's U.S. and Canadian sales, fleet, marketing, and service and parts organizations. Cunningham has served on the College of Business's Advisory Board. In 1994, he received the SIU Alumni Association Alumni Achievement Award and was the graduation speaker for COBA.

Larry R. DeJarnett and
Mary Cotton DeJarnett

BS'62, Management BS'62, Education

MS'63, Business Administration

Larry and Mary DeJarnett met as new students at Freshman Orientation and were married four years later following their graduation from SIU. Larry DeJarnett, who began his professional career as a faculty member at SIU, moved on to careers in business and management consulting. He is Managing Director of The LAMAR Group, which provides independent advisory services for organizations, senior executives, and Boards of Directors in transition. Mary DeJarnett, an educational philanthropist, has devoted her life to helping children. After a career in education, she now works in resource development for the Assistance League of San Pedro-South Bay, an organization that provides family services to the working poor in the harbor area of Los Angeles County. She is Director and Treasurer of The LAMAR Group, which she co-founded with her husband. The DeJarnetts are charter members of the Chancellor's Council at SIU and founding members of the Henry J. Rehn Society. Larry DeJarnett is a member and past chair of the College of Business External Advisory Board, and is a Director and member of the Executive Committee of the SIU Foundation. He is a former SIU Alumni Association board member. Mary DeJarnett is a founding member and co-chair of the Morris Library Board of Visitors. The DeJarnetts are lifetime members of the SIU Alumni Association.

Charles W. Groennert

BS'58, Accounting

While serving as a senior executive for a well-known electrical manufacturing company from 1965 to 1998, Charles Groennert never forgot his SIU roots. He retired as Vice President of Organization Development with Emerson in St. Louis, which has revenues of over $15 billion per year. Groennert was instrumental in encouraging Emerson Electric to include Southern on its job recruitment trail. The company now regularly hires SIU graduates. He also contributed to and arranged for a $150,000 gift from Emerson to support the Charles W. Groennert/Emerson Electric Endowment for Excellence in the Teaching of Accountancy, which provides annual research fellowships for School of Accountancy faculty members. He received the St. Louis College of Business Alumni Society "Alumnus of the Year" award in 1989, SIU College of Business Alumni Achievement Award in 1992, and the college's Business Executive of the Year honor in 1996. Prior to and during his retirement, Groennert has served as a volunteer board member of the SIU Foundation, College of Business, School of Accountancy, and the St. Louis College of Business Alumni Society. He is also active in various Lutheran organizations in St. Louis such as the Lutheran High School Association. He is a lifetime member of the SIU Alumni Association.

Most memorable experiences at Southern .....

"I lived with 15 other male students in an off-campus house on West College Street known as 'The Brown Jug.' Several of my business classes were conducted in the old barracks, which at that time housed the College of Business. The two professors who most influenced my career were Ralph Zwick and Susie Ogden, and I will always remember them. I attended SIU during the Delyte Morris years and did not fully appreciate what he did for SIU until after I had graduated. I am proud to say I am an SIU alum."

Burnell Kraft

BS '56 Accounting

Burnell Kraft is the Senior Vice President of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Company, a major food processor and exporter that produces enough food ingredients to feed over 130 million people a day. ADM plants and offices can be found on four continents and in 43 countries. The company conducts over $15 billion in sales and employs over 23,000 people. He recently donated $100,000 to the College of Business where he also started a scholarship and internship program.

Ken Pontikes

BS '63, Marketing

Ken Pontikes was the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Comdisco Inc., one of the world's leading providers of solutions to reduce technology cost and risk. The company's services include asset management, business continuity, network services and leasing. Comdisco was started by Pontikes in 1969 with a loan of $5,000 from his father. Under his leadership, the company grew from a one-person, one-office operation into a worldwide corporation employing more than 2,000 people in over 100 locations. Comdisco, which currently has a market value of more than $2 billion, was recently ranked the world's seventh largest information technology services company by an international trade publication. Pontikes, who died in 1994, was a successful and respected entrepreneur, philanthropist, industry visionary and family man. In 1991, he was named Executive of the Year by Crain's Chicago Business. He always found time to support his alma mater. His $1.4 million gift to SIUC several years ago established the Pontikes Center for Management of Information in the College of Business. He was also active in his community and supportive of programs to help disadvantaged youth in the Chicago area.Pontikes was a life member of the SIU Alumni Association.