River Campus turns 10: 20 people who helped the River Campus come to fruition

Cape Girardeau community leaders, Southeast Missouri State University officials, state political leaders and major donors all played key roles in the creation of the River Campus.

Among them:

Then-Cape Girardeau mayor Jay Knudtson, left, and Ken Dobbins, then-president of Southeast Missouri State University, demonstrated the city and university were dancing together with the completion of the River Campus at the dedication Oct. 21, 2007.Fred Lynch

• Don Dickerson -- As then-president of the university's Board of Regents, Dickerson came up with the idea of turning the former Catholic seminary overlooking the Mississippi River into a visual and performing-arts school,
• William "B.W." Harrison -- His $800,000 donation allowed Southeast to buy the former Catholic seminary building and property in 1998 for development of the arts school. Harrison died in 2004.
• Ken Dobbins -- As president of Southeast Missouri State University, he helped direct development of the River Campus and led efforts to secure funding for the project.
• Peter Kinder -- Before his tenure as Missouri's lieutenant governor, Kinder served as president pro tem of the Missouri Senate. In both positions, he played a key political role in helping to secure state funding for the River Campus project.
• Jason Crowell -- As a then-state senator from Cape Girardeau, Crowell helped secure final state funding for the project,
• Jay Knudtson -- In his tenure as mayor of Cape Girardeau, Knudtson orchestrated a settlement of businessman Jim Drury's legal challenges to the city's use of restaurant and hotel-tax revenue to help fund the project.
• Gary Miller -- He served as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and director of the River Campus. An accomplished organist, Miler was instrumental in River Campus programming and getting the arts school up and running. He died in 2011.
• Earl and Margie Holland -- The Hollands gave a seven-figure donation to the River Campus. The visual and performing-arts school bears their names. Earl Holland grew up in Caruthersville, Missouri, but later settled in Fort Myers, Florida. He died in 2016.
• Donald Bedell -- A Sikeston, Missouri, businessman, Bedell donated more than $1 million to the River Campus project in 2001. The performance hall is named after him.
• Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp -- The Marion, Illinois, couple have been major benefactors of the university. The regional museum at the River Campus is named for them.
• John and Betty Glenn -- The Pebble Beach, California, couple attended school at Southeast and made several donations to Southeast. The River Campus convocation center is named after them.
• Wendy Kurka and Gary Rust -- Their donation to the River Campus project is reflected in the naming of the Wendy Kurka Rust Flexible Theatre.
• Robert "Bob" and Marcy Shuck -- The Clearwater, Florida, couple's major donation to the project is reflected in the River Campus music recital hall. Constructed in the space that once held the old seminary chapel, it is named in honor of Robert Shuck's parents, the late Robert F. and Gertrude Shuck, who lived in Cape Girardeau.
• Rhonda C. Weller-Stilson -- As associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and director of the Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts, she plays a major role in the success of the River Campus. She is an alumnus of Southeast, where she majored in art and theater.
• Bob Cerchio -- As assistant director of the River Campus, he is Southeast's "Mr. Entertainment," who is responsible for booking acts. He also oversees operational functions in three venues on the River Campus involving more than 90 performances a year.