SWB GIVES TO UNIVERSITY

Southwestern Bell Foundation has donated $3,000 for Southeast Missouri State University to develop an interactive television classroom at the proposed River Campus.

"We are grateful for the Southwestern Bell Foundation's support of what will become one of the finest schools of visual and performing arts in the nation," said Wayne Davenport, vice president of university advancement and executive director of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.

The university wants to turn a former Catholic seminary in Cape Girardeau into a school of visual and performing arts.

Southeast currently has two interactive television classrooms on its main campus. The university also plans to construct such classrooms in its new polytechnic building and Sikeston Higher Education Center.

The ITV classroom at the River Campus will give students at remote, off-campus sites the opportunity to participate in music, art, theater and dance courses offered at the school.

Southeast is seeking to secure state funding to help develop the River Campus.

Donna Burk, director of external affairs at Southwestern Bell, said her company believes in the River Campus. "It's going to be a great addition to the community and the region," she said.

ITV classrooms feature a small video camera that is controlled by an infrared beam, which follows the movement of a microphone worn by the professor.