SEMO STATE DEDICATES NEW STROUP FOUNTAIN

Southeast Missouri State University dedicated its waterfall fountain Wednesday, celebrating what school President Dr. Ken Dobbins called the "front door to our university."

About 125 people attended the dedication of the Kala M. Stroup Fountain on the Plaza.

The fountain in front of Kent Library is named for Stroup, Missouri's commissioner of higher education and the university's 14th president.

The Golden Eagles Marching Band provided a musical prelude to the ceremony.

A 350-pound capstone for the fountain was unveiled at the dedication. The capstone carries an inscription that quotes Stroup.

It reads, "We serve to build a community of learners and to search for excellence."

The fountain, which features a waterfall punctuated by boulders, cost $72,000 to construct.

Stroup suggested the project. She and her husband, Joe, donated $38,000. The rest came from the university. Southeast also spent nearly $48,000 on improvements to the area around the fountain, including new steps and handicap ramps for Kent Library.

Last May the new fountain bubbled over with soap suds from a prank.

Dobbins joked that it had started a new university tradition, making the fountain "one of the world's largest bubble baths."

On Wednesday afternoon there was no bubble bath, just the sights and sounds of rushing water falling over the rocks.

Dobbins said the fountain and plaza have added beauty to an area of the campus that long had been unattractive.

"The library really looked like a fortress that you didn't want to go into," he said. "In short, the front door of our campus was really a mess."

Tanya Efken, Student Government president, said the fountain provides a meeting place for students.

Ron Clayton, a Southeast art professor who designed the fountain, said it was a collaborative effort involving the university's facilities management crews and others.

Landscape architect Paul Klaus was one of those who assisted with the project. "Welcome to Little Niagara," he told the crowd. "It kind of reminds you of Niagara Falls."

Stroup praised all of those involved in the project. "I am very, very honored," she said.

She said the plaza should serve to "lift our spirits."