NEW RIVER CAMPUS BOARD FILLED

Three university representatives were appointed to a six-member committee that will oversee the River Campus project.

The appointments were made during the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents meeting Thursday.

Dr. Pauline Fox, Thomas Swayne Byrd and Jerrianne Wyman will serve one-, two- and three-year terms, respectively, on the River Campus Board of Managers. Their terms expire on Dec. 1 in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

Fox is vice president of administration and enrollment management at the university. Byrd, an architect and resident of Charleston, participated in early River Campus designs. Wyman is a Cape Girardeau resident who owns businesses in the downtown area.

The university plans to convert St. Vincent's Seminary into a school for the performing arts.

"That project is moving along quite well and we felt it was time to seat the Board of Managers," said university President Ken Dobbins. "This group will look at the policies for the common-use areas for the River Campus and work on the schematic designs for the campus."

The university representatives join others previously appointed to the six-member committee by the Cape Girardeau City Council.

The city's representatives are Jerry Ford, a former state representative who is a musician and lobbyist in Jefferson City; Dennis Vollink, an engineer with Drury Southwest Inc. and former member of the city Planning and Zoning Commission; and Ruth Knote, who has worked for 36 years with the now-defunct Community Concert Association.

In a report, Wayne Davenport, executive director of the University Foundation, said he and Chancellor Dale Nitzschke are working closely to coordinate fund-raising activities. Nitzschke is contacting corporations, foundations and other groups seeking additional funding for the River Campus and Polytechnic Institute.

In other business, Dobbins said enrollment figures are up in virtually every area for the fall semester. Combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment at the end of the first week of classes was 8,360 students, up 4 percent from the 7,781 combined enrollment in the fall 1998 semester.

Separately, undergraduate and graduate enrollments also posted gains this semester, and enrollment for black and Hispanic students also increases over previous years.

"A combination of admissions, academics and faculty made the difference," Dobbins said. "We worked hard, and it's very gratifying to see the increases this year."