DOBBINS TO BE INSTALLED AS UNIVESITY PRESIDENT

Southeast Missouri State University will install Dr. Ken Dobbins as the school's 17th president in a ceremony Dec. 10.

Dobbins, who has served as president since July 1, will be installed in a low-key ceremony at 3 p.m. in Academic Hall Auditorium.

The investiture will feature a procession of about 100 faculty members in academic regalia. Members of the Board of Regents, university deans, administrators and Student Government officers also are scheduled to participate.

There will be little fanfare with this ceremony, in contrast to April 1997 when Dr. Dale Nitzschke became the 16th president. Nitzschke's inauguration was a weeklong affair that included a performance by comedian Bill Cosby and a debate between former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern and conservative commentator William Buckley.

Dobbins argued for a low-key investiture, pointing out that he has worked in the school administration for the past eight years.

Jim Biundo, assistant to the president for university relations, said the event is open to the public. But the event has been planned largely for the campus community.

The investiture is scheduled for Dec. 10 because Academic Hall will be set up for the honors convocation, which will be held the next day in conjunction with winter commencement.