Eight individuals have been named Honorary Knights of St. Patrick for 2007 by the University of Missouri-Rolla committee that helps organize St. Pat’s events in Rolla.         

The 2007 Honorary Knights are UMR Chancellor John F. Carney III, William Jenks, Davis Haas, Shelley Klossner, Dr. Frances “Dee” Montgomery, Dr. William Schonberg, Jeff Steinhart and Gary White. The group will be honored during coronation ceremonies at 9 p.m. Friday, March 16, in Leach Theatre of Castleman Hall on the UMR campus.         

The ceremonies are part of UMR’s annual St. Pat’s Celebration, which culminates with a parade through downtown Rolla. This year’s parade will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 17. The 2007 St. Pat’s Parade Marshal will be Mary Williams.        

In addition to Honorary Knights and a parade marshal, UMR traditionally names an Honorary St. Patrick. That seat will be left open this year in memory of Dr. Jim C. Pogue, a former professor of English and interim chancellor at UMR. Pogue died in April of 2006.        

“Dr. Pogue was a very strong supporter of St. Pat’s and the Honorary Knights of St. Patrick,” says Dr. Lance Haynes, St. Pat’s advisor and professor of speech and media studies at UMR. “The St. Pat’s Board wanted to pay special tribute to him this year.” 

Biographies of the 2007 Honorary Knights and the 2007 Parade Marshal follow: 

2007 Honorary Knight 

Dr. John F. Carney III earned a bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., in 1963. Carney then went to Northwestern University, where he earned a master’s degree in 1964 and a Ph.D. in 1966. All of his degrees are in civil engineering. Carney began his academic career in 1966 as a member of the University of Connecticut’s civil engineering faculty. After 15 years of service at the University of Connecticut, he joined Auburn University as a professor and head of the civil engineering department. In 1983, he moved to Vanderbilt University, where he was a professor of civil engineering and associate dean for graduate affairs. Later, he became Vanderbilt’s associate dean for research and graduate affairs. Carney then served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Worcester Polytechnic Institute from 1996 through 2004. He became UMR’s Chancellor in 2005. Widely recognized in the research community for his work in the area of impact mechanics, Carney holds 10 patents. Recently, his research has focused on maintenance-free impact attenuation devices for transportation safety applications. The devices are constructed with “smart” materials that restore themselves to their original shapes following an impact. These reusable devices are now used extensively throughout the United States and around the world. Carney is the author of more than 140 technical publications in the area of structural mechanics. He is the 2007 recipient of the Kenneth A. Stonex award from the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences for his contributions to the field of roadside safety. 

2007 Honorary Knight 

Davis R. Haas is a lifelong Phelps County resident who farmed in partnership with his father, Floyd, until he was elected Phelps County Commissioner in 1988. Since 1990, Haas has served as Phelps County Collector of Revenue. Under his leadership, Phelps County became the first county in Missouri to provide records electronically to the Department of Revenue for taxpayer convenience in vehicle licensing. Phelps County was also one of the first counties in the state to accept payment for taxes via the internet. Haas recently completed his fourth term as director of the Missouri Association of Counties. He is a member and past president of Rolla Lions Club. He is also a member the Rolla Public School Foundation and the Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce. 

2007 Honorary Knight 

William S. Jenks III received a bachelor’s degree from Westminster College in 1967. Jenks was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1968 and served with the 1st Air Cavalry in Vietnam. He later attended the Army War College and retired from the Army Reserve with the rank of colonel in 1996. Jenks was one of the founders of the Rolla Rural Fire Department and was the second fire chief of that organization. He is the owner of Jenks/Long Insurance Agency in Rolla. Jenks has also served in many civic organizations, including City Council, United Way and Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Friends of the Fort, the Rolla Ambassadors, and many other civic organizations. Jenks currently serves as mayor of Rolla. 

2007 Honorary Knight 

A native of Rolla, Shelley Klossner is a member of the St. Pat’s Advisory Committee. Klossner graduated from Rolla High School and Drury University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She taught first grade at Truman Elementary from 1997 to 2001.  In 2001, Klossner then joined her mother, Joyce Thomas, at RE/MAX Heart of America Real Estate. Since getting her real estate license, Klossner has also graduated from the Realtor’s Institute and earned the designation of Accredited Buyer’s Representative. In 2005 and 2006, readers of the Rolla Daily News named Shelley and Joyce the best realtors and best real estate company in Rolla. Klossner was a Page to the Court of St. Patrick in 1985, and her mother was an Honorary Knight in 2006. They are only the second mother-and-daughter duo to become Honorary Knights.

2007 Honorary Knight 

Dr. Frances “Dee” H. Montgomery is Curators’ Teaching Professor of psychology and associate dean for undergraduate affairs in the UMR College of Arts and Sciences. Montgomery became an assistant professor of psychology at UMR in 1978 after earning a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Florida State University. In 1995, she became the first woman faculty member at UMR to become a named professor. In her 28-year career at UMR, Montgomery has taught more than 4,200 students. She has published or presented more than 150 research papers (57 with UMR students). She has also earned nine Faculty Excellence Awards and more than 25 awards or letters of recognition related to teaching.  Montgomery was UMR’s 2005 Woman of the Year. 

2007 Honorary Knight

Dr. William P. Schonberg is currently interim dean of the UMR School of Engineering. From 1999 to 2006, Schonberg served as professor and chair of the UMR civil, architectural and environmental engineering department. He received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Princeton University in 1981. He earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1982 and 1986, respectively. Schonberg has published approximately 60 papers in academic journals. He has also presented more than 55 papers at professional meetings and international scientific conferences. He is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1997, Schonberg was a member of the National Research Council’s Committee on Space Shuttle Meteoroid/Orbital Debris Risk Management, and in 2004 he served on NASA’s Independent Meteoroid/Orbital Debris Risk Assessment Tool Validation and Verification Committee. Schonberg has taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses in civil, mechanical, and aerospace engineering.

2007 Honorary Knight

Jeff Steinhart is vice president of engineering for Anheuser-Busch Inc. Steinhart graduated from UMR with a bachelor’s degree in engineering management in 1979. In 1982, he earned a master’s of business administration from Southern Illinois University. That same year, he joined Anheuser-Busch, where he now holds what many St Pat’s Board members regard as one of the most important positions in the world today. Steinhart’s responsibilities include managing the engineer
ing and environmental department for the company’s domestic and international beer operations. His engineering group is responsible for the design and execution of capital projects. His environmental affairs group provides management and technical expertise to support the company’s business goals and to manage the company’s commitment to environmental excellence. 

2007 Honorary Knight 

Gary White is co-founder and executive director of WaterPartners International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people in the developing world gain access to safe water supplies and sanitation. After leaving UMR in 1986 with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering, White joined Catholic Relief Services in New York. There, he oversaw water and sanitation programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. White also received a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1994. As WaterPartners’ executive director, White has led the organization during a period of rapid expansion, growing revenue by an annual average rate of 50 percent since 1994 and positioning WaterPartners as a leader in the global water supply space. White also advises other organizations on responses to the global water crisis, including the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Coca-Cola and the Agora Foundation. He has traveled to more than 40 countries since leaving UMR. 

2007 St. Pat’s Parade Marshal 

Mary Farrar Williams has been Royal Florist to the Court of St. Patrick since 1957. She moved to Rolla with her family in 1945 and entered the eighth grade in the school building at 6th and Cedar streets. Her father was director of the Veteran’s Guidance Center in Parker Hall at UMR. A member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, Williams majored in merchandising at the University of Missouri-Columbia before returning to Rolla to marry a UMR mining engineer and raise a family. Mary’s son, John, a UMR graduate, escorted the St. Pat’s flower girl in 1958 at the age of 4. Williams was made an Honorary Knight of St. Patrick in 1981.