2007 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENTS


David A. Balota
B.A. Psychology '76
Professor of Psychology and Neurology, Washington University (St. Louis,MO)
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David A. Balota earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from UMSL in 1976. He received a master's degree in experimental psychology in 1978 and a doctoral degree in 1981, both from
the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. Balota now is professor of psychology and neurology at Washington University in St. Louis.

In his research, Balota works on issues related to visual word recognition, reading, and memory, along with the attentional systems that modulate performance within each of these domains. He investigates these phenomena within young adults, older adults, and individuals who have dementing illnesses such as Alzheimer's.  He has received continual funding from NIH, published two books, over 100 journal articles, and 20 book chapters. His research has been cited over 4,500 times.

Nationally, Balota was president of the Experimental Psychology Division 3 of the American Psychological Association, along with chair of the Governing Board of the Psychonomic Society. He has held invited fellowships in the Netherlands and in New Zealand, and has given invited lectures worldwide.

Balota is married to Janet M. Duchek, an associate professor of psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. Duchek (also a 1976 UMSL graduate) and Balota met while working in the same psychology laboratory at UMSL.  They have two children: Angela, 25, and Joeseph, 18.


Rex Carter
B.S.B.A. Accounting '89
Director of Finance, St. Louis Cardinals (St. Louis, MO) 
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Rex Carter earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from UMSL in 1989. He earned his MBA from St. Louis University in 1996.  

Carter is director of finance for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. In that capacity he manages the Cardinals' participation in Major League Baseball's League Wide Insurance Program, manages the team's relationship with outside brokerage firms, and analyzes insurance claims to minimize costs. He also has responsibility for evaluating and monitoring the St. Louis Cardinals financial controls, provides various types of financial services to the organization and assists the CFO with various financial projects.

Carter's professional affiliations include: the National Association of Black Accountants, for which he formally served as chapter president; the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants; the UMSL Alumni Association African American Chapter; and the UMSL Alumni Association College of Business Chapter.

 
Jerry M. Evensky
M.Ed. Secondary Education '73, M.A. Economics '79
Professor of Economics, Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
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Jerry Evensky is professor of economics and the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence at Syracuse University.  He is author of Adam Smith's  Moral Philosophy: A Historical and Contemporary Perspective on Markets, Law, Ethics, and Culture (2005). In addition, he co-edited Adam Smith and the Philosophy of Law and Economics (1994) with Robin Malloy.  His is also the author of the textbook, Economics: The Ideas, the Issues (2004)

Evensky serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the History of Economic Thought and served on the executive committee of the History of Economics Society from 1997 to 2000. In 1985 he joined the Syracuse University faculty and has been the recipient of numerous faculty awards and honors.  Evensky is married to Celia Kamps.  


Martin G. Mlynczak
B.S. Physics summa cum laude '81
Senior Research Scientist, NASA Langley Research Center (Hampton, Virginia) 
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Martin Mlynczak is a senior research scientist with the science directorate at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.  His research interests focus on calculation, modeling and observation of atmospheric dynamics, energy budgets and structure from satellite, aircraft, balloon and ground-based instruments.
 
Mlynczak is also associate editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research-Space Physics. He is working group leader of the Climate and Weather of the Sun-Earth System, a member of the NASA Scientific Balloon Working Group, and an affiliate scientist and member of the Director's Advisory Committee with the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.  He has also published more than 70 articles in respected scientific journals and is a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

His wife, Pamela E. Mlynczak, is also a  research scientist.  


Margaret G. "Peggy " O'Dell
B.A. History '76
Superintendent,The National Mall (Washington, D.C.) 
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Peggy O'Dell currently serves as the superintendent of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In that position, she oversees the Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Washington, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam Veterans memorials. She has also served as the superintendent of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, better known as the Gateway Arch. 

As superintendent of the Gateway Arch, O'Dell oversaw the Arch, the 91-acre park surrounding it, The Old Courthouse and the Museum of Westward Expansion. She began her career with the National park Service at the Arch, serving as a park technician and became a park ranger in 1975.  As part of her training in the Interior Department's  Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, O'Dell coordinated the first-ever White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation, held in St. Louis in 2005.

O'Dell is married to Ben O'Dell, also a National Park Service employee.