SEMO names Holigans as 2023 Friends of the University

Southeast Missouri State University alumni Harold and Hermena Holigan will be honored as the 2023 Friends of the University at the President's Council Dinner on Friday, March 24, at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

According to a news release, the Friends of the University award is the highest honor bestowed by SEMO. It recognizes those who support and who are closely associated with the mission, purposes and programs of the university.

University president Carlos Vargas is quoted as saying, "The impact that Harold and Hermena have on student lives every year is tremendous. Their generosity has been instrumental in helping the University better serve the region and helping our students receive a college education. On behalf of the entire institution, I cannot thank them enough for their continued interest in bettering student lives and bettering our campus."

The release went on to say both Harold and Hermena Holigan grew up in Puxico, Missouri. The two attended SEMO after graduating from Puxico High School in 1959. In Dallas, Harold founded his own business, Just A Math Problem (JAMP) Enterprises, which focused on residential real estate, home building and land development. JAMP has developed more than 100,000 residential lots, constructed more than 8,000 homes and built more than 60 manufactured home communities across the country.

Harold and Hermena Holigan stayed involved with SEMO. Both are members of the President's Council and they have made it a priority to give back to the university and to the town of Puxico, the release said.

"None of it would have happened without SEMO," Harold Holigan said in the release. "That's why we take an interest in helping as much as possible."

The Holigans established the Holigan Family Scholarship through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation, according to the release. The scholarship is awarded to students who are graduates of Puxico High School. So far, the scholarship has helped fund the education of 84 students from Puxico High.

"I think what we're doing is giving them a chance to do well in the future, just like Hermena and I were able to do well," Harold Holigan said.