Donald Dickerson bust to be unveiled

Among the long list of Southeast Missouri State University advocates, Donald L. Dickerson might be the institution's biggest champion.

The 1954 Southeast graduate came back to serve his alma mater as a member of the university's board of regents from 1993 to 2005, much of that time as the board's president.

Dickerson is credited as one of the visionaries behind the River Campus, Southeast's performing arts campus. It was Dickerson who led the long battle for millions of dollars to fund construction of the River Campus.

On Saturday, a ceremony will be held to unveil a bust sculpture of Dickerson, installed at the center of the Donald L. Dickerson River Campus Commons. The commons, named in Dickerson's honor in December, connect the seminary building, original parts of which date from 1845, and the newer portion of the River Campus, finished in 2007.

"Quite obviously I'm very grateful, I feel very honored and I'm excited," Dickerson said of Saturday's ceremony. "This [River Campus] was a long, long project. We had our ups and downs but we got it built, and I think it's the best thing the university and the city have ever done."

Dickerson, 78, recalls the scores of meetings and the funding battles that made the vision a reality. In the end, the River Campus brought together university, city, state, federal and private dollars, a project with a price tag topping $50 million, Dickerson said. But the results were well worth the struggle, he said.

"I think it goes a long way to continue to improve the situation to make Cape Girardeau a destination, and it's a great educational facility for the university," he said.

"Everything about it has exceeded expectations."

Harry Weber, the St. Louis artist who created the Dickerson bust, has created sculptures of Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie and three sculptures of St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster legend Jack Buck.

The ceremony will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Donald L. Dickerson River Campus Commons. The event is part of the university's Family Weekend festivities.

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

River Campus, Cape Girardeau, MO