SEMO BUILDING DEPENDS ON VOTE

Tuesday's election on a $250 million, statewide bond issue amounts to almost a crusade for Southeast Missouri State University officials. They eagerly await the chance to secure funding for construction of a College of Business building.

If voters approve Constitutional Amendment 4, the university stands to receive $12.3 million toward construction of a $14 million business building. University supporters have already raised $2.4 million toward the project.

In all, the bond issue would provide $134.2 million for colleges and universities, and $115.8 million for prisons and other correctional facilities.

The bonds would be retired over the next 25 years without a tax increase, assuming there is sufficient state revenue to do so. University and state officials say Missouri is a low-debt state and can afford to pay off the bonds without raising taxes.

The business building project has been talked about for 10 years, but lack of funding has kept it grounded. University officials hope that will change Tuesday.

"It is very important for this university and our efforts to move into the 21st century, " said Kala Stroup, Southeast's president. "We need a business building. We also need a classroom building."

Stroup said Southeast is the only university in Missouri with a College of Business but no business building.

Gerald McDougall, dean of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business, said business departments at the university are scattered on several floors in Academic Hall and in Dempster Hall, a former apartment building.

"Obviously, it makes it inconvenient if you have to walk three blocks to carry on business with an individual that you have day-to-day interaction with," he said.

McDougall's office is on the third floor of Academic Hall along with two of the colleges departments: administrative services, and accounting and finance. The economics department is in the basement of Academic Hall, while the marketing and management departments are housed in Dempster Hall.

The result is an inconvenience for the business faculty and students taking business classes. Approximately 1,200 students are majoring in business at Southeast.

A business building would aid the college in obtaining national accreditation and allow the university to offer classes and seminars via satellite television, McDougall said.

Stroup said such technology would allow students at the Bootheel Education Center in Malden to be linked with classes on the Southeast campus.

Both McDougall and Stroup say the business building would aid economic development in the region. The Small Business Development Center, the Small Business Institute and the Missouri Procurement Assistance Center would move into the business building. The procurement center helps Missouri businesses obtain government contracts.

The building would also help with recruiting new businesses and industries, school and business leaders say.

The L-shaped building would be constructed near the intersection of New Madrid and Henderson.

Classrooms and computer labs would be housed on the first two floors of the masonry and glass structure. Department and administrative offices would be on the third floor. The building would have a 250-seat auditorium.

Stroup said construction of the business building would free up Dempster Hall and space in Academic Hall, which are desperately needed for other academic departments.

Plans for the business building have been completed. "We are ready to go," said Stroup.