Merry Mosbacher ’80 and Hardika Shah ’92 will receive Alumni Achievement Awards during Knox College’s Homecoming at a ceremony on May 13. During the same event, Shane Fogerty ’09 will receive the Young Alumni Achievement Award. The awards recognize notable alumni for their achievements and for their contributions to Knox and the community. The event will also recognize recipients of the 2021 Knox Service Award and 2021 Scroll of Honor.

Merry L. Sloan Mosbacher ’80 began what was to become a 38-year career at Edward Jones after graduating from Knox with a degree in economics and business administration. In 1982, she became a full-time member of the investment-banking department, and she was named a principal in 1986, leading the insurance and annuity products area. She later became a general partner at the company, only the fifth woman to do so.

She is a role model for others and participated in the firm’s leadership development of associates and financial advisers from underrepresented groups. She is a trustee of the firm’s Bridge Builder Mutual Funds.

Throughout her career, Mosbacher found time to give back to her community, and she has been involved as a leader in a number of St. Louis-area charitable organizations, including the United Way, St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, the YWCA, and STAGES St. Louis. Even in retirement, she remains active in these organizations. In 2007, Mosbacher was named one of St. Louis’ 25 most influential businesswomen by The St. Louis Business Journal and in 2013 she was designated a St. Louis Woman of Achievement in the area of Community Betterment.

Hardika Shah ’92 is the founder and CEO of Kinara Capital, a socially responsible financial technology firm that provides collateral-free, cost-flexible loans to small business entrepreneurs in India. Kinara Capital is ranked 64 out of 500 Top High-Growth Companies in Asia-Pacific by The Financial Times and as one of India's Growth Champions 2020 by The Economic Times.

Shah spent two decades as a management consultant with Accenture, driving billion-dollar client projects across multiple industries around the globe. She has a decade of involvement in the social entrepreneurship field as a mentor with Santa Clara University, Stanford University, Accenture Development Partnerships, the Acumen Fund, and Columbia Business School.

Recognized for her innovative and pioneering work with Kinara, Shah was honored as an Ashoka Fellow by the prestigious Ashoka Foundation, received the Financial Inclusion award from the Sankalp Foundation, and won the People’s Choice Live Audience award at the Wall Street Journal's Financial Inclusion event.

The recipient of the Young Alumni Achievement Award, Shane Fogerty ’09, is a dedicated scientist and educator who is committed to increasing gender and racial diversity in the sciences. As a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, he leads teams of researchers and students in large, innovative projects.

Fogerty’s research encompasses many academic disciplines, including observational and theoretical astrophysics, computer science and supercomputing, and physics. Such a wide-ranging approach is notable in modern science, where most researchers tend to specialize more as their careers unfold.

A talented educator, he has earned multiple teaching commendations. While a graduate student, he was selected for the University of Rochester’s Curtis Teaching Award, which goes to the most highly rated graduate student teacher on campus. As a scientist, he has mentored students—most of them from underrepresented groups—in successful research projects in physics, astronomy, and computer science. These students have continued their scientific education at highly rated graduate schools and in postdoctoral positions.

Scroll of Honor  

The Scroll of Honor award is presented to Fifty Year Club members, including honorary members, to recognize lifetime achievements in the service of their community, society, or humanity. The 2021 recipients are Aiyoung Choi ’63, Sheila Ann Hegy ’63, and Rodney A. Ross ’65. Read more about the recipients here.

Knox Service Awards

The Knox Service Award, established in 1987, is given to members of the Knox community in recognition of outstanding volunteer service benefiting Knox College. The 2021 recipients are David Bates ’78, Howell “Chip” Evans ’68, and James Foley ’78. Read more about the Service Award recipients here.