SEMO CHANGES TAKE EVERYONE BY SURPRISE

Shock and surprise were common expressions Thursday as news of Dr. Dale Nitzschke's resignation as president sped around the Southeast Missouri State University campus.

Many students already had left school for the semester break, but word of Nitzschke's resignation and the promotion to president of Dr. Kenneth Dobbins raced through Kent Library and Academic Hall minutes after the 2:30 p.m. announcement.

"I'm sorry to hear it," said graduating senior Jennifer Bush. "He was very involved with the students."

An English and theater major, Bush was involved with the SEMO Powwow and appreciated Nitzschke's support of the event.

Brigitte Stoffer, a South African member of the Southeast tennis team and business management graduate, said Nitzschke "did a lot for international students."

She also likes him because he is a fellow tennis player.

In the Admissions Office, social-work student Wendy Tillmon said Nitzschke was interested in minority recruitment and had a high visibility. "I saw him a lot around campus," she said.

Nursing student Kristen Beckley said Nitzschke was known among students for his helpfulness. "If anybody had a problem, they went in and talked about it," she said.

She said Nitzschke was "a good representative of the school."

That sentiment was shared by Amy Trock, a copy center technician in Academic Hall.

"He is very good at what he does," she said. "He was good for PR for the university."

The community reaction was also one of regret at losing Nitzschke's leadership.

"It's unfortunate we're going to lose him at a critical time," Mayor Al Spradling III said. "I understand his reasons. But we're going to have a loss for a while."

Spradling predicted Dobbins will bring more of a financial perspective to the job than an academic one. "That may rankle the academic side of the university," he said.

Dobbins' different influence could be helpful to the university, he said. "There have been issues about appropriate funding and handling of finances."

Spradling is sorry to see Nitzschke leave the job. "He had a very positive impact on the university and the city in general in his short tenure."

He said some people will applaud; others will have reservations about Nitzschke's performance. He hailed the former president's ideas about the River Campus and the Polytechnic Institute and said the strides he made toward creating them are "an amazing accomplishment."

Judith Anne Lang, a downtown businesswoman and former president of the Downtown Merchants Association, said her first reaction on hearing of Nitzschke's resignation was "Oh, no!

"Obviously Dr. Nitzschke has done some wonderful things to further our efforts in the Main Street Program and downtown area," she said.

"... He has been a big proponent for the community."

Lang doesn't remember other presidents going as far as Nitzschke to be involved in the community. "I'm hoping President Dobbins will have the same desire to be part of the community."

The announcement took members of the faculty by surprise as well. Dr. Nancy Blattner, former chairperson of the Faculty Senate, received a phone call from Nitzschke Thursday while in a meeting in St. Louis.

"I was very surprised," she said. "But I understood his reasons."

Blattner said Nitzschke was well liked by the faculty and easy to work with.

She said she is personally saddened that Nitzschke is stepping down but thinks Dobbins will make an excellent president.

"We have heard repeatedly how effective he has been in Jeff City," she said.

Dobbins was instrumental in securing the $4.6 million appropriation for the River Campus, she said.

The English professor concurred with the Board of Regents' reasoning in naming Dobbins to the post without a search. Board President Don Dickerson said it would have been impossible for the university to hire a provost to replace the departing Dr. Charles Kupchella while led by an interim president.

He also pointed out that Dobbins was a finalist for the job when Nitzschke was selected four years ago.

"He is very well regarded," Blattner said. I'm really not surprised" he was chosen.

Dr. Alan Journet, a biology professor, thinks a selection process should have been undertaken. "I think it's inappropriate," he said. "There's a procedure for hiring upper-level administrators, and it was not followed."

"If we want the system to operate in a collegial fashion ... we should follow the procedures," Journet said.

Some have wondered how the faculty will accept Dobbins, whose expertise is more financial than academic.

"I don't think that his expertise in finance would be held against him," Journet said. "It's actually a strength."

He said he had no inkling that Nitzschke was contemplating a job change. "I have not encountered anybody who saw this coming," he said.