SEMO MARKS START OF POLYTECHNIC BUILDING

An artist's rendering of the Otto and Della Seabaugh Polytechnic Building.

Southeast Missouri State University officials praised Gov. Mel Carnahan's "vision" of technical education at a groundbreaking Friday for the school's new Otto and Della Seabaugh Polytechnic Building.

The governor, who helped secure $5.6 million in state funding for the project, was the featured speaker at the ceremony.

About 120 people attended the event, including members of the Board of Regents. Among the dignitaries was Dr. Kala Stroup, commissioner of higher education in Missouri and a former president of Southeast.

The 60,000-square-foot building is named for Otto and Della Seabaugh. The Cape Girardeau couple donated more than $1 million toward the project.

The Seabaughs received a standing ovation at the ceremony. Carnahan unveiled a large portrait of the Seabaughs. It will be displayed in the new building.

Otto Seabaugh graduated from Southeast in 1936 with an industrial education degree. His wife, Della, graduated from Southeast in 1941 with a teaching degree.

Designed by the St. Louis architectural firm of William B. Ittner Inc., the building is slated to be completed by spring 2001.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held in a front room of the Greek dining hall, which used to serve meals to fraternities and sororities.

The crowd spilled out through an open area in the front of the building. Many stood outside on the lawn.

The old dining hall will be reworked and incorporated into the $7.9 million Polytechnic Building that will be constructed at that site. The area is north of the Towers Complex, near the science buildings.

The Polytechnic Building will house the school's industrial technology department, which is part of the university's new Polytechnic Institute.

School officials said the building would boost the university's role in technical education in Missouri.

Dr. Dale Nitzschke, Southeast's president, credited Carnahan for his commitment to improving technical training in the state.

Shortly after he became university president three years ago, Nitzschke attended a meeting where Carnahan talked about the need for better technical training.

"We heard the vision of the governor. We witnessed his leadership," said Nitzschke.

In its Polytechnic Building, Southeast plans to train students for high-tech manufacturing jobs.

Southeast is one of three baccalaureate institutions in Missouri that has been given a technical training mission by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

Nitzschke said the Polytechnic Building and the proposed River Campus school for the visual and performing arts would elevate the university to a new level.

Don Dickerson, president of the university's Board of Regents, is a close friend of the governor.

Dickerson said Carnahan has made education a priority since becoming governor in 1992.

Dickerson said Carnahan has been instrumental in helping secure state funding for several building projects at the school.

The Cape Girardeau lawyer said it is "a torturous path to steer money through the Legislature."

Carnahan said the state must invest in technical education. Manufacturing industries are important to the state's economy, he said.

Dr. Ken Dobbins, Southeast's executive vice president who will become the school's 17th president on July 1, said the Polytechnic Building is needed.

The industrial technology department currently is housed in the Serena Building, which was built in 1906.

Otto Seabaugh attended classes in the Serena Building when he was a student. When the windows were open, soot from the power plant would blow into the classrooms, Dobbins said.

A quality education involves more than good teachers and willing students. It takes first-rate facilities too, Dobbins said.

Dobbins said the Polytechnic Building would put the university in "a league that many will envy."

He said state-of-the-art equipment and robotics would be installed in the building.

The three-story structure will have labs and classrooms on the first and second floors and administrative offices on the third floor. Faculty offices will be in one area to promote interaction among faculty.

The building will have three networked computer labs and five high-tech classrooms. Southwestern Bell Foundation has provided a $200,000 grant for an interactive television classroom for long-distance learning.

Rockwell Automation is donating $150,000 in equipment for the industrial controls lab.

The building has been designed for easy expansion, school officials said.

The Manufacturing Technology Resource Center, established with assistance from AmerenUE, will take up 1,500 square feet of space. At the center, students and area manufacturers will be introduced to new manufacturing and energy-efficient technologies.

Another 1,500 square feet of space will be leased to area industries for training, testing or research.