The Alumni Association of Southeast Missouri State University has selected five alumni and a Southeast professor to receive the school's annual Alumni and Faculty Merit awards.

The six will be honored at a dinner at 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Show Me Center.

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

Recipients and the academic college presenting their awards: Charles A. Hunt, Donald L. Harrison College of Business; Dr. Joseph S. Kersting, College of Education; Elizabeth Haley Short, College of Liberal Arts; Patricia S. Joyce, College of Health and Human Services; and Dr. Ronald C. Eaglin, College of Science and Technology. Dr. Bert Kellerman, professor of marketing, will receive the Faculty Merit Award.

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

Hunt of Hillsboro retired from his position as vice president and director of employee benefits planning and compensation at Ralston Purina Co. in June 1994 after 31 years. He now is in the process of forming his own company, C.A. Hunt Associates, and does consulting work for Ralston Purina. He is a member of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation Board of Directors. Hunt received a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Southeast in 1963.

Kersting of Macomb, Ill., is chairman of the educational foundations department at Western Illinois University. In 1963, he became a fellow at the University of Wisconsin's Guidance and Counseling Institute. He returned to St. Louis in 1964 to work as a counselor and health instructor. In 1970, Kersting became a member of the Western Illinois University faculty. He earned his bachelor of science in education from Southeast in 1958.

Short has served as mayor of North Kansas City since 1990 and was re-elected in 1993. Earlier in her professional career, Short was the supervisor of art for the Sikeston Public School District. Short earned her bachelor of science degree from Southeast in 1952.

Joyce of Jefferson City is associate circuit judge for the 19th Judicial Circuit. She received a bachelor of science degree in law enforcement from Southeast in 1976. She was the valedictorian of her class. After graduating from Southeast, Joyce attended St. Louis University, where she earned a law degree in 1980. She worked as a staff attorney at Mid-Missouri Legal Services before being named an assistant prosecuting attorney for Cole County in 1983. In 1988, she became the city prosecutor for Holts Summit,

Eaglin of Morehead, Ky., has served as president of Morehead State University since 1992. He previously was chancellor of the University of South Carolina Coastal Carolina College. He served as a regional director for the American College Testing Program. He earned a bachelor of science degree in biology and mathematics from Southeast in 1962.

Kellerman of Cape Girardeau earned a bachelor of science degree in economics from Southern Illinois University in 1963 and a master's degree in business in 1966. In 1972, he earned a doctorate in business administration from the University of Missouri. Except for three years as a teaching assistant at the University of Missouri, Kellerman has spent his entire professional career at Southeast. He was chairman of the marketing department from 1976 to 1990. He served as an associate to the dean of the College of Business Administration in 1992 and 1993, and became the associate dean of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business in 1994.

Tickets for the dinner are available by calling the alumni office at (314) 651-2259.