PRESIDENT REFLECTS ON FIRST YEAR; STROUP BELIEVES PROGRESS APPARENT

When it comes to Southeast Missouri State University, there's no greater cheerleader than university President Kala Stroup.

The university's 14th president never tires of talking of the university's successes, whether in athletics or in the classroom.

Monday will mark the end of Stroup's first year at Southeast. Stroup took office July 1, 1990, after having been chosen by the university's Board of Regents from a field of 124 applicants.

"Quite frankly, I feel the year has been a very successful one," said Stroup. "We've gotten a lot accomplished."

The university president pointed to a number of successes.

The university's capital campaign is already close to meeting its $25 million goal, having raised $22 million. The public portion of the fund-raising drive was launched last fall.

"I would not have imagined we would have had that much success," said Stroup.

The university has received high marks from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, which has reaccredited the university for a 10-year period, Stroup said.

Enrollment has climbed, reversing a trend of declining enrollments at Southeast.

Stroup also pointed to the fact that the university is attracting academically talented students.

Fifty-eight students from 10 states have received Governor's Scholarships to attend Southeast in the coming school year. The Governor's Scholarship is considered an elite scholarship academically. The 58 Governor's Scholarships are the most ever awarded to Southeast students.

Stroup said the university is also developing close working relationships with community colleges in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and Tennessee in order to make it easier for students to transfer to Southeast Missouri State to complete their college educations.

Stroup also pointed with pride to the hiring of an architect this spring to begin preliminary planning for a new College of Business Administration building.

The university's athletic teams had a banner year. "It was the most successful athletic year that this institution ever had," said Stroup.

Eight of the university's 14 teams were in national Final-Four competition during the just completed school year and the gymnastics team won the national championship. The university won seven MIAA championships and set a record as the first Division II NCAA school to advance eight women's teams to Final-Four competition.

In addition, the university prepared to begin play this fall as a member of the Division I Ohio Valley Conference.

But for Stroup personally, none of those accomplishments can compare to the thrill of watching the April launch of the space shuttle Atlantis with Southeast alumna Linda Godwin aboard.

"I was so proud of the university and so proud of her," said Stroup, who was among the special guests on hand for the shuttle launch. "It was a very nice moment. I won't ever forget it."

Stroup is not one to pat herself on the back. She credits the university's accomplishments to faculty, staff and students.

The job of a university president, she said, is to help guide the institution. "I feel like my responsibility is to keep us focused in several areas, to keep the university moving in a positive direction."

Stroup has been involved in higher education for more than 30 years including serving as president of Murray State University in Kentucky from 1983 to 1989.

In her first year as Southeast's president, Stroup has had to deal with a series of state funding cuts, which forced the university to slash expenses.

Stroup said that when she took office she did not anticipate there would be such massive budget cuts, or that higher education in Missouri was experiencing such serious funding problems. "Until you work with it every day, you don't realize how very tight it is."

As Southeast's president, Stroup has spent a lot of time speaking at community gatherings in cities throughout the region.

She also spent a lot of time in Jefferson City this spring lobbying for a tax-hike-for-education measure, which will be submitted to voters in November.

"I need to be telling our story in our communities, and statewide and nationally," she said.

As president of a state university, Stroup says it's important for her to keep in touch with state lawmakers, who have a hand in funding the institution.

She says it's also important to have a good relationship with the governor, who has ultimate control over state funding with his veto power. "The executive branch is critical to the institution," she noted.

As president, Stroup doesn't try to do everything herself. She said she believes in delegating authority. "When I have people that can do it, I will normally delegate it."

Since taking office, she has expanded the administrative council, a group comprising the institution's top officials, to include all of the university's deans. "It's very important for them to be involved totally in what the university is doing," she said.

Stroup also prides herself on communicating with students. "I've spent many, many hours with students and student leaders."

A year-long review of student services has been completed, said Stroup, and university officials are now discussing ways to make improvements in that area.