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Overview


Overview

HISTORY AND LOCATION

The University was established in 1873 as the Southeast Missouri Normal School. By legislative enactment in 1919, the institution became "Southeast Missouri State Teachers' College" and was authorized to grant degrees. The name "Southeast Missouri State College" was adopted on September 21, 1946, by permission of the Missouri General Assembly. The changing curricula and educational mission of the school were reflected in the latest modification on August 24, 1972, when the Board of Regents, acting under authority from the Missouri Legislature, approved the name "Southeast Missouri State University."

Cape Girardeau, the home of Southeast Missouri State University, is situated on the Mississippi River and is one of the oldest cities in Missouri. The city offers a variety of cultural, recreational, educational and health facilities to its nearly 40,000 residents. There are also numerous part-time employment opportunities for students. The University's main campus consists of over 200 acres situated on a hill overlooking the city and the river. A second campus, located on the river in southern Cape Girardeau, is presently under development to house a proposed School of Visual and Performing Arts. In addition, the University administers four outreach facilities - the Harry L. Crisp Bootheel Education Center at Malden, the Sikeston Area Higher Education Center at Sikeston, the Kennett Area Higher Education Center at Kennett, and the Perryville Area Higher Education Center at Perryville - where classes are offered by the University and other members of the Southeast Missouri Educational Consortium.

MISSION, ROLE AND SCOPE

Southeast Missouri State University is a regional comprehensive institution of higher education that derives its authority from the people of Missouri through the Missouri State Legislature. While serving the region, state, nation and world, the University maintains a strong commitment to the diverse twenty-five counties of the rural, urban, and suburban areas of Southeast Missouri. As a multi-purpose institution, the University achieves its educational goals through the offering of degree programs and other learning experiences to its varied constituents. Recognizing its responsibility for excellence in teaching and student learning, the University supports a wide array of on- and off-campus instructional, research, and public service programs that address the intellectual, professional, personal, social, and cultural needs of its constituent groups.

Southeast Missouri State University, recognizing its overall responsibility to provide high quality educational services in the region, the state, the nation, and the world, maintains the following purposes consistent with its mission as a basis for planning. To fulfill its mission and its purpose to pursue excellence in teaching and student learning, the University will:

Encourage the development of an intellectual orientation by offering a core undergraduate program that stimulates student learning, specifically to think critically; to locate and synthesize knowledge; to develop the capacity for written, oral, and mathematical communication; to understand human experiences and relate them to the present; to integrate the breadth and diversity of knowledge and experience; to make informed value judgments; to appreciate critically their own culture and behavior, as well as the cultures, behaviors, and value systems of others; to make informed aesthetic responses; and to function responsibly in the natural, social, and political environment.

To achieve these purposes, the University strives to create and nurture a diverse and global community which fosters mutual trust and respect among students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, and other University constituents and which provides for open and amicable expression of differences. It seeks to provide an environment that facilitates involvement in intellectual and cultural activities and fosters informal interaction among students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, and other University constituents.

To achieve these purposes, the University encourages and seeks to attract and retain a faculty and staff committed to them, sensitive to the variety of ways in which they can be realized, and competent in achieving them. To this end, the University assists in the further education and professional development of its personnel. It seeks to maintain and encourage an administrative cadre which sees as its primary leadership responsibility to create and foster a climate for the realization of these purposes.

Through an active University Foundation, the University strives also to provide the necessary resources, both human and material, to enable the faculty, students, and staff to carry out their responsibilities. In all its activities, the University encourages the achievement of excellence by all members of its various constituencies.

ACCREDITATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS

Southeast Missouri State University is fully accredited by:
The University holds specific program accreditations from:
The institution is a member of:

BOARD OF REGENTS, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

Donald L. Dickerson, Cape Girardeau
President of the Board of Regents
Term Expires January 1, 2005
Donald B. (Brad) Bedell, Sikeston
Member, Board of Regents
Term Expires January 1, 2007
Sandra M. Moore, St. Louis
Member, Board of Regents
Term Expires January 1, 2005
Edward C. Matthews, III, Sikeston
Member, Board of Regents
Term Expires January 1, 2009
Gail Robertson, Poplar Bluff
Term Expires January 1, 2009
John C. Tlapek, Cape Girardeau
Member, Board of Regents
Term Expires January 1, 2007
India D. Jeffery, St. Louis
Student Representative to the Board of Regents
Term Expires May 1, 2005
D. Kent King, Jefferson City
Commissioner of Education
Ex Officio

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Alumni and former students show pride for their alma mater than through membership in the Southeast Missouri State Alumni Association. The 50,000-person alumni network remains strong because of Alumni Association members worldwide.

The Alumni Association serves as the advocate for all Southeast alumni as it strives to perpetuate the spirit and customs of the University, build strong alumni fellowship, and support the high-quality Southeast education.

Alumni Association members receive benefits including discounts on goods and services from local and national vendors, special campus privileges, and invitations to Association and University events. Membership in the Association is available to all graduates and former students. Alumni can join online and find more information about the Alumni Association at http://www.semoalumni.com.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

A state-assisted institution, Southeast Missouri State University receives only a portion of its funding from state revenue, tuition and auxiliaries. The remainder is raised by the Southeast Missouri University Foundation in the form of private gifts by alumni and friends who believe in its mission of bringing students a high-quality education that ensures students experience success in our global society.

Since its founding in 1983, Foundation has worked diligently to raise and manage funds for the betterment of Southeast Missouri State University and its students that support:

Thanks to students, faculty and staff, alumni, and friends, the Foundation raised more than $4.6 million in 2002-2003. This generous support makes a real difference in the lives of students. For more information on the Foundation and ways to support Southeast, visit http://www.semofoundation.org.



Office of the Registrar
http://www2.semo.edu/registrar
Voice: 573-651-2250
Fax: 573-651-5155
registrar@semo.edu
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