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, 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.

• Assist traditional and nontraditional students in the processes of identifying and achieving appropriate goals, in developing and maintaining a sense of self-esteem and confidence, in increasing their desire for self-directed learning, and in expressing themselves as thoughtful citizens.

• Offer an undergraduate program that extends students' abilities by providing academic and experiential learning opportunities, as well as co-curricular programs, leading to certificates or the associate or baccalaureate degree. Students will be prepared with academic degrees amenable to work situations, advanced education, and life-long learning.

• Provide multi-faceted graduate education leading to the master's, specialist's, or cooperative doctor's degree in academic disciplines with resources of sufficient quality and quantity to support the needs of students. The graduate faculty and students, through research, teaching, and service, work to both create and disseminate current and relevant knowledge in their respective academic disciplines.

• Provide increased access to the University's educational resources through the use of technology, campus centers and on-site instruction for the purpose of acquiring new knowledge and skills, updating knowledge and skills, and satisfying the need for life-long learning.

• Provide a global perspective in its programs that prepares citizens to respond to the challenges of a diverse society. This goal will be accomplished through the integration of international students in academic and student-service programs, the establishment of a variety of exchange programs, the worldwide promotion of the University and its programs, and the development of a global perspective in the community and region.

• Contribute to the general advancement of knowledge and student learning by stimulating and supporting research and other scholarly and creative endeavors consistent with the mission and other academic purposes of the University.

• Exercise leadership in the region by providing services, by offering the expertise of the faculty and staff, and by encouraging participation of students, alumni, and the general community in addressing the diverse needs of the region.

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:

• NORTH CENTRAL ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS
  30 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 2400
  Chicago, IL 60602-2504
  PHONE (312) 263-0456; (800) 621-7440
  FAX (312) 263-7462
• NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION

The University holds specific program accreditations from:

• AACSB - THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
• AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
• AMERICAN PARKS AND RECREATION SOCIETY
• AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATION
• COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION OF ALLIED HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS
• COMMISSION ON COLLEGIATE NURSING EDUCATION
• COUNCIL ON SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION
• COUNCIL FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF COUNSELING AND RELATED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
• ENGINEERING ACCREDITATION COMMISSION OF THE ACCREDITATION BOARD FOR ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
• NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY
• NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES OF MUSIC
• NATIONAL RECREATION AND PARK ASSOCIATION/AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR LEISURE AND RECREATION

The University holds specific program approval from:

• COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION FOR DIETETICS EDUCATION

The institution is a member of:

• AMERICAN ALUMNI COUNCIL
• AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES FOR TEACHER EDUCATION
• AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGIATE REGISTRARS AND ADMISSIONS OFFICERS
• AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN
• AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH ASSOCIATION
• COUNCIL OF GRADUATE SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES
• NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CAMPUS ACTIVITIES
• NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE ADMISSIONS COUNSELORS
• NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STUDENT PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATORS
• NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
• NATIONAL COLLEGIATE HONORS COUNCIL

BOARD OF REGENTS, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

Donald L. Dickerson, Cape Girardeau

President of the Board of Regents
Term Expires January 1, 2005

Kimberly V. Mothershead, Scott City

Vice President of the Board of Regents
Term Expires January 1, 2003

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

Doyle L. Privett, Kennett

Member, Board of Regents
Term Expires January 1, 2003

John C. Tlapek, Cape Girardeau

Member, Board of Regents
Term Expires January 1, 2007

Laura E. Hockensmith, St. Louis

Student Representative to the Board of Regents
Term Expires May 1, 2003

D. Kent King, Jefferson City

Commissioner of Education
Ex Officio

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Membership in the Southeast Missouri State University Alumni Association is available to all individuals who have attended the University. The Alumni Association exists for three primary purposes:

1. To perpetuate desirable customs, spirit and ideals of the University.
2. To promote in every way the interest of the University and thereby the educational interests of the region.
3. To establish acquaintances and maintain good fellowship among alumni.

The policy-making and planning group is called the National Alumni Council. It is composed of an executive committee and alumni representatives who conduct the business of the Association within the framework of the constitution.

The present council officers are:

Robert Cox .........................................President
Mike Parker ................................Vice-President
Jane Stacy .............................................Secretary

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

Organized in 1983, the Southeast Missouri University Foundation is responsible for raising and managing private financial resources to further the educational purposes of Southeast Missouri State University.

The Foundation assists the University in seeking the resources that will significantly enhance the education of students, including support of scholarships, capital construction and endowments.

Governing the Foundation is a Board of Directors composed of four Foundation officers and a minimum of 30 members-at-large. At least half of the members-at-large must be Southeast Missouri State University alumni.

The Southeast Missouri University Foundation solicits funds "only for the purposes in keeping with established and approved policies and objectives of the University." Contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

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