NEW SEMO BOSS TAKES OVER

Southeast Missouri State University's new president says the regents shouldn't rush to approve a campus master plan.

The school's 16th president, Dr. Dale Nitzschke, officially takes over Monday.

He replaces Dr. Bill Atchley, who served as the university's 15th president while a search was under way for a permanent president to replace Dr. Kala Stroup. Stroup resigned last year to take a job as Missouri's commissioner of higher education.

On June 21, Atchley and his top administrators asked the regents to approve a wide-ranging campus master plan, drawn up by consultants and a university committee.

But the regents tabled it, saying they needed more time to go over the details of the plan, which maps out major changes in the physical campus for the next two decades.

Regent Don Dickerson objected to plans to move the Child Study Center from the Scully Building to the little-used and aging Dearmont building.

Nitzschke was at his Milford, Ohio, home last week preparing to move to Cape Girardeau.

He said the regents were right to go slow in approving the plan.

"I have dealt with a lot of master plans," said the former president of the University of New Hampshire.

"I think a lot of times campuses in their zeal to move the institution forward tend to try to move too fast," Nitzschke said.

"It is very important to have that fresh and objective look away from the campus and that is what the board provides," he said.

Nitzschke said the support of the regents is critical to implementing any master plan.

If it is hastily approved without solid backing from the board, the institution will find it difficult to implement, he said.

The regents said school administrators need to give them more time to discuss major issues rather than seek their immediate approval.

Regents suggested major issues shouldn't be discussed and voted on at the same meeting.

Nitzschke said the suggestion is a good one, although time constraints make that difficult in some cases.

The 58-year-old Nitzschke, his wife, Linda, and Golden retriever, Linus, will be moving to Cape Girardeau this week.

But Nitzschke said they likely won't arrive in Cape Girardeau until late in the week.

He said he plans to stop in St. Louis and areas in Southeast Missouri on his journey to Cape Girardeau.

Nitzschke said he plans to visit with a number of persons in the media, business, industry and education.

The Nitzschkes plan to keep their home at Milford, near Cincinnati.

"I am not under any pressure to sell," he said.

That is because in Cape Girardeau, the Nitzschkes will live at Wildwood, which has long served as the campus home for Southeast's presidents.

While he likely won't be in his Academic Hall office until late in the week, Nitzschke said he will be in constant touch with university officials by telephone.

He has taken care of some business already, interviewing candidates for various Southeast jobs by telephone.

Nitzschke said such interviews are important because the president is the person who takes hiring requests to the regents for their approval.

Nitzschke said one of his first tasks as president will be to help the school finalize its plans for a well-defined mission under Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education guidelines that could lead to increased state funding.

The new president plans to travel extensively throughout the university's service region to promote the institution as he did as president of the University of New Hampshire.

Nitzschke already is scheduled to speak to numerous civic groups. "I am going to be booked solid," he said.