Southeast administrator to leave after this semester

A top administrator at Southeast Missouri State University will leave to pursue other career opportunities in higher education, school officials said Friday.

Dr. Ivy Locke, vice president of business and finance, currently is on paid, personal leave. She will be on leave through the end of the year, university president Dr. Ken Dobbins said.

Locke's contract with the university expires on Dec. 31.

Locke requested personal leave, Dobbins said. He said her departure didn't reflect any administrative problems. "There was not a mismanagement of funds or anything of that nature," he said.

Dobbins said he will consider whether to reorganize the business and financial division. He said he will then make a recommendation to the board of regents.

Dobbins said he doesn't plan to eliminate the vice president position. He's uncertain when a search would start and how long it would take.

For now, the directors in the business and finance division are reporting to Dobbins who previously handled the school's finances when he was executive vice president.

Locke couldn't be reached by phone on Friday.

She was hired in December 2000. She previously worked as vice president for fiscal affairs at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

At the time of her hiring, Locke said she became interested in the position at Southeast after hearing Dobbins speak at a National Association of College and Business Officers training program in Chicago.

As vice president for business and finance at Southeast, Locke oversaw a wide range of operations from the budget department to intercollegiate athletics. Her division included payroll, the campus bookstore, printing services and the Show Me Center.