Southeast Missouri State University

infobox University
name= Southeast Missouri State University


established= 1873" [http://www.semo.edu/whyse/history.htm Southeast Missouri State University History and Traditions] ".]
type= Public
endowment= $28 million " [http://www.nacubo.org/documents/about/FY05NESInstitutionsbyTotalAssets.pdf 2005 NACUBO Endowment Study] ". "National Association of College and University Business Officers".]
staff=
president= Dr. Kenneth Dobbins
faculty= 400
students= 10,477(Fall 2006) [http://www4.semo.edu/insresearch/Enrollment%20Statistics/AY2006-07/Fall%202006/fall%2006%204wk.pdf]
undergrad= 8,977
postgrad= 1,500
city= Cape Girardeau
county= Cape Girardeau County
state= Missouri
country= USA
campus= Urban, convert|400|acre|km2
color= Red
nickname= Redhawks, SEMO
mascot= [http://www.semissourian.com/gallery/rowdyredhawk/ Rowdy the Redhawk]
website= http://www.semo.edu

Southeast Missouri State University is a public, accredited university located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, not far from the banks of the Mississippi River. Southeast Missouri State University has had five names in its history, each time attempting to better reflect its mission and identity [Art Mattingly, Normal to University: A Century of Service (Cape Girardeau: Southeast Missouri State University, 1979), 67, 110, 122.] :
:

tudent body and diversity

In Fall 2006, the University had over 10,000 students for the first time. 93.1% of students attended full-time, while 6.9% attended part-time. In Fall 2002, 645 male students and 921 female students enrolled as first-time students (freshmen, typically). Female students made up 58.8% of the student body. Minority enrollment included African-American (6%), Hispanic (1%), and Asian (1%).

History

Southeast Missouri State University was founded in 1873 when a group of prominent businessmen and politicians successfully lobbied the State of Missouri to designate Cape Girardeau as the home of the Third District Normal School. Originally known as Southeast Missouri State Normal School, the first classes were originally taught at the nearby Lorimier School until April 1875 when the first normal school building was completed.

The Normal building was described by Mark Twain in "Life on the Mississippi":
"There was another college higher up on an airy summit--a bright new edifice, picturesquely and peculiarly toweredand pinnacled--a sort of gigantic casters, with the cruets all complete."" [http://www.online-literature.com/view.php/life_mississippi/26?term=cape%20girardeau Life on the Mississippi] ]

The Old Normal Building burned down on April 8, 1902, [http://library.semo.edu/info/building_history.shtml] and was replaced in 1906 by Academic Hall, the school's domed landmark building. It was designed by Jerome Bibb Legg, who also designed the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall, and includes light fixtures from the 1904 World's Fair.

In the 1950s Southeast Missouri State College had an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and steadily increased to more than 7,000 students in the 1970s due to low tuition costs, aggressive recruiting, and the construction of Interstate 55 between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau. The College also moved away from its focus on only training teachers and began to offer courses of study in business, nursing, and the liberal arts. Due to this expansion of curriculum and student body population, the college officially became Southeast Missouri State University in 1972. The physical size of the campus also grew in this same period. In 1956, the institution had ten buildings on campus.

By 1975, the number had increased to twenty-two buildings. In 1998, the university acquired the former [http://apps.lib.depaul.edu/speccoll/guides/CapeGirardeau.htm St. Vincent's Seminary] on the Mississippi river. This property has been redeveloped as a [http://www.semo.edu/svpa/facilities.htm center for the visual and performing arts] , which opened in Fall 2007.

Academics

[http://www.semo.edu/hcb/ Harrison College of Business]

[http://www.semo.edu/education/ College of Education]

[http://www.semo.edu/hhs/ College of Health and Human Services]

[http://www.semo.edu/liberalarts/ College of Liberal Arts]

[http://www2.semo.edu/science/index.html College of Science and Mathematics]

[http://library.semo.edu/ Academic Information Services/Kent Library]

[http://www.semo.edu/extlearn/ece.htm Extended Learning]

[http://www.semo.edu/gradschool/ School of Graduate Studies]

[http://www.semo.edu/polytech/ School of Polytechnic Studies]

[http://www.semo.edu/ustudies/ School of University Studies]

[http://www.semo.edu/svpa/ School of Visual and Performing Arts]

List of Residence Halls

Cheney
Dearmont
Henderson Hall
Myers
Vandiver Hall
Towers East
Towers North
Towers South
Towers West
Greek Housing

Athletics

Southeast has been a member of NCAA Division I (Division I FCS for football) since moving up from Division II in 1991. As a result of the promotion in classifications, Southeast Missouri State left the Division II Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association and joined the Division I Ohio Valley Conference. Though having struggled in the two major college sports (football and men's basketball) since moving up, they have had a few successes over the 15 year run in Division I. The men's basketball team won a share of the regular season OVC title in 2000, and won the conference's tournament as well that year to earn an automatic bid to the 2000 NCAA Tournament. In the team's only appearance in "The Big Dance" to date, the Indians were seeded #13 in the West Region and set to face off against Louisiana State University in the opening round of the tournament. In an exciting game, 4th Seeded LSU narrowly escaped the upset as they held off the Indians 64-61. The football team has also had its struggles since moving up to Division I-AA (now FCS), having only 2 winning seasons (1994 and 2002) since moving up in 1991. The football program finally had some redemption during the 2002 season as the team made it into the I-AA polls for the first time, finishing the season ranked #23 in the ESPN/USA Today I-AA poll and #24 in the Sports Network I-AA poll. That season also produced the school's only win over a I-A opponent since moving to I-AA, as the Indians topped Middle Tennessee 24-14 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Until January 2005, the athletic team nicknames were the "Indians" (men's teams) and "Otahkians" (women's teams). After a movement by Student Government, the Booster Club and the National Alumni Council, those names were officially retired in a ceremony on October 22, 2004 and replaced with "Redhawks." [ [http://www.semissourian.com/story.html$rec=144723 seMissourian.com: Story: SEMO to retire Indian, Otahkian nicknames Oct. 22 ] ] The current mascot is a stylized hawk known as Rowdy Redhawk. The University's original mascot was known as Chief Sagamore and was represented by a student dressed in Native American regalia. Chief Sagamore was retired as mascot in the mid 1980s due to a growing cultural sensitivity to Native American mascots though the team names lasted for nearly twenty more years. The school's athletic teams compete in the Ohio Valley Conference.

List of Fraternities and Sororities

The University has many fraternities and sororities in which students can get involved.
Interfraternal Council Fraternities

Delta Chi

Lambda Chi Alpha

Phi Delta Theta

Pi Kappa Alpha

Sigma Chi

Sigma Nu

Sigma Phi Epsilon

Sigma Tau Gamma

Theta Xi

National Panhellenic Conference Sororities

Alpha Chi Omega

Alpha Delta Pi

Alpha Xi Delta

Delta Delta Delta

Gamma Phi Beta

Sigma Sigma Sigma

National Pan-Hellenic Conference Fraternities and Sororities

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority

Iota Phi Theta Fraternity

Capaha Arrow

The "Capaha Arrow" is the University's student newspaper. Established in 1911, it is currently one of the oldest college newspapers still in publication. Notably, the second editor of the "Capaha Arrow" was Rush Limbaugh, Sr. who became a nationally recognized Missouri attorney and practiced law in Cape Girardeau until just before his passing at the age of 104 in 1996. Rush Limbaugh, Sr. is the grandfather of the media personality Rush Limbaugh. After the university changed its mascot from Indians/Otahkians to Redhawks, the newspaper dropped "Capaha" and is now known as simply "The Arrow." It is still run by students in the Department of Mass Communications and publishes a weekly newspaper distributed throughout campus. Sherrie Farabee, instructor of journalism, serves as adviser. The current Editor-in-Chief is Ben Marxer. Co-Managing Editors are Erin Mustain and Cody Snider. Microfilm and print copies of the Capaha Arrow dating back to the first issue are available at [http://library.semo.edu/index.html Kent Library] and [http://library.semo.edu/archives/index.htm Special Collections and Archives] , and some stories are also put on [http://www.capahaarrow.com "The Arrow" website] .

University Schools

Missouri State Normal School--Third District President John Sephus McGhee established the University Schools on June 15, 1896. This allowed prospective teachers to gain real world teaching experience while earning thier degrees. [Special Collections and Archives, Southeast Missouri State University, University Schools Collection, Descriptive Overview. [http://library.semo.edu/archives/collections/Finding%20Aids/University%20Schools/University%20Schools%20Descriptive%20Overview.htm] ] As the university expanded its curriculum and extra-curricular activities so did the University Schools. In 1903, the Normal School as recent construction allowed for more space for university classes, the training school was able to expand its class sizes as well. The University Schools consisted of an elementary, junior high, and high school. The University Schools closed at the end of the 1986-1987 school year, due to increasing costs. [Special Collections and Archives, Guide to the University Schools Collection. [http://library.semo.edu/archives/collections/Finding%20Aids/University%20Schools/University%20Schools%20Title%20Page.htm] ]

List of Notable Alumni

* 1941 Velmer A. Fassel, scientist Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University
* 1960 Dick Hantak, NFL referee
* 1960 Ken Iman, center with NFL's Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams
* 1969 James T. Conway, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps
* 1974 Linda Godwin, NASA astronaut
* 1976 Peter Kinder, politician
* 1987 Cedric Kyles, aka Cedric the Entertainer
* 2000 Jason Witczak, kicker with the AFL's Nashville Kats
* 2001 Neal E. Boyd, 2008 winner of America'a Got Talent
* 2003 Willie Ponder, wide receiver with NFL's St. Louis Rams
* 2004 Eugene Amano, center with the NFL's Tennessee Titans
* 2006 Amanda Woods, security manager for the Arkansas Army National Guard
*2006 Edgar Jones, outside linebacker with NFL's Baltimore Ravens

Trivia

* One of the most widely recognized figures associated with the institution is probably radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who is a Cape Girardeau native and attended the university for a year before dropping out. [http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_10_02_corner-archive.asp#078733]
* The University's fifth president, Willard Duncan Vandiver, was later elected to the Fifty-fifth United States Congress from the State of Missouri. He is credited with originating Missouri's state slogan by saying in a speech, "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me." [ [http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp SOS, Missouri - State Archives Missouri History FAQ - Origin of"Show-Me"Slogan ] ]

External links

* [http://www.semo.edu/ Southeast Missouri State University]
* [http://library.semo.edu/archives/index.htm Special Collections and Archives, Southeast Missouri State University]
* [http://www.capahaarrow.com/ "The Capaha Arrow"]
* [http://www.showmecenter.biz/ Show Me Center]

References