Photo illustration by Blake Dinsdale.
When 5,606 newly minted MU graduates walked across the stage in May, they joined the ranks of more than 305,000 living Mizzou alumni worldwide. The Mizzou Homecoming Hall of Fame annually honors a select few high-achieving alumni who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to excellence in their chosen field. During Homecoming weekend, the Mizzou Alumni Association inducts the new hall of fame class members, who serve as Homecoming grand marshals. “This year’s honorees embody the spirit of the Homecoming Hall of Fame and serve as inspiring examples of how Tigers go on to change the world after they leave campus,” says Todd McCubbin, executive director of the Mizzou Alumni Association. Meet the 2017 class:
Norm Stewart, BS Ed ’56, M Ed ’60
Norm Stewart’s place in Mizzou sports lore would be secure even if he never set foot on campus after graduation. The pride of Shelbyville, Missouri, lettered in basketball and baseball from 1954–56 and pitched for the 1954 MU baseball team that won the NCAA College World Series. After playing in the Baltimore Orioles’ farm system and suiting up for the St. Louis Hawks of the NBA, Stewart got his first coaching job at the State College of Iowa before returning to his alma mater in 1967 to coach the men’s basketball team. During his 32-year head coaching tenure (634-333 overall), “Stormin’ Norman” led MU to eight Big Eight Conference championships, six Big Eight tournament titles and 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the Elite Eight. Following a bout with cancer in 1989, Stewart created the Coaches vs. Cancer program, which has raised more than $100 million for the American Cancer Society. To this day, Stewart remains synonymous with Mizzou hoops; the Tigers play on Mizzou Arena’s Norm Stewart Court.
Andrew Cherng, MS ’72, and Peggy Cherng, MS ’71, PhD ’74
Mizzou students come from across the country and around the world. Born in China, Andrew Cherng lived in Taiwan and Japan before earning a bachelor’s degree from Baker University in Kansas. His wife, Peggy, was born in Myanmar and raised in Hong Kong before attending Baker, where the couple met. The pair then earned graduate degrees at Mizzou. Andrew and Peggy married shortly afterward and in 1983 founded Panda Restaurant Group, which operates the Panda Express chain of more than 1,900 restaurants. Known for its quick-service Asian cuisine, as well as its commitment to employees’ personal development, Forbes named Panda Restaurant Group one of America’s best employers. The Cherngs also are members of the National Restaurant Association’s Hall of Fame. With a Panda Express restaurant just minutes from Jesse Hall at 91 Conley Road, the Cherngs’ spirit is never far from campus.
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