May 06, 2004
SIUC business college adds 6 to hall of fame
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Six graduates of Southern Illinois University Carbondale's College of Business and Administration are the newest members of their college's Hall of Fame.
The college honored Rodney W. Kinzinger, Gregory Lee, Michael "Mickey" Levitt, Thomas A. Mowatt, Scott M. Pranger and Gus E. Smith during an April awards banquet.
The Hall of Fame, created in 1986, salutes business alumni who have advanced through the ranks to senior-level jobs or who have achieved other noteworthy career goals. The nominations committee also considers contributions to community life and to the University.
Those recognized must have graduated at least 10 years ago. Hall of Fame inductees often return to campus to give lectures and take part in other college activities where they can help students.
Kinzinger earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from SIUC in 1987, and his master's of business administration from St. Louis University in 1992. He is a partner in the Enterprise Risk Services Division of Deloitte & Touche. Headquartered in New York City, Deloitte is one of the world's largest accounting firms, serving more than one-half of the world's largest companies. The firm specializes in audit, tax consulting and advisory services. Kinzinger has more than 16 years experience serving multi-national clients.
Levitt earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from SIUC in 1961. After his discharge from the Army in 1964, Levitt joined the accounting department for Intercraft, a manufacturer of picture frames/framed art. In 1968, he joined Gotham Industries, a plastic housewares manufacturer, as sales manager. He started Consolidated Foam Inc., in 1972, and is owner and CEO of the Lincolnshire manufacturer of lawn and garden products for consumer and commercial use.Lee earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from SIUC in 1972. He is senior vice president of human resources at Sears, Roebuck and Co., headquartered in Hoffman Estates. From 1983 to 1992, Lee was vice president of human resources for PepsiCo. He then became senior vice president for human resources for the Saint Paul Companies. In 1998, he joined the Whirlpool team and served as senior vice president of the human resources department until joining Sears in 2000.
Pranger earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from SIUC in 1986. He is senior vice president and general manager of Digital Insight Corp., a leader in Internet banking services. Pranger has more than 17 years of information technology, sales, marketing and executive management experience. As general manager of Digital Insight, he oversees the company's sales, business development, service bureau, product management, research and development, professional services, customer support and quality assurance functions.Mowatt earned his bachelor's degree in management from SIUC in 1963. He recently retired as president of Champion Laboratories Inc., a provider of filtration products for automotive, industrial, marine, fuel dispensing and hydraulic applications. He is the founder of CST Inc., in Mt. Carmel and is a board member of Gibbs Die Casting Corp. in Henderson, Ky., as well as Red Spot Paint & Varnish Co. Inc., of Evansville, Ind.
Smith earned a bachelor's degree from SIUC in 1977 in financial management and business economics. In 1979, he received his MBA from SIUC, with a concentration in finance. He is a managing partner in the western region of Accenture in San Francisco. Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company with net revenues of $11.8 billion in 2003. Smith began his career with the company 24 years ago, and he has been a partner for the past 15 years.