Marita Malone
Dr. Marita Malone is a retired Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Subsequent to her retirement from the FBI, she was a lecturer at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and University of Virginia-Charlottesville, and an assistant professor at Saint Louis University.
Dr. Malone was born in Germany and spent the first years of her life in an orphanage after the end of World War II. She was adopted by a family from Ferguson, Missouri and brought to the United States at the age of four. Dr. Malone is an accomplished author, having described her experiences in a memoir entitled My Mother, My Daughter. Dr. Malone is quick to explain that she understands first-hand the power of education, having received a scholarship that allowed her to progress in her studies. Both her work in criminal justice and her teaching at the post-secondary level have made her well familiar with the challenges young people face navigating their way beyond high school.
Impact
Dr. Malone has established a generous fund for full scholarships (covering tuition, room, board and incidentals) for African American students from the City of St. Louis. The scholarship will be awarded to students who meet the selection criteria of The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, commit to attend a school at least 135 miles away from St. Louis, and will live in university housing while they are in school. All of these stipulations are responsive to Dr. Malone’s vision that students will be best able to focus on their studies and succeed in their goals if they are fully supported financially and distant enough from home to be fully immersed in the college experience.