UNIVERSITY HONORS DENNIS WITH DINNER

Southeast Missouri State University will host a recognition dinner for former Missouri Sen. John Dennis Feb. 11 at the Show Me Center.

Dennis, who retired from the Missouri Senate at the end of the 1992 term, served the 27th Senatorial District for 16 years. Prior to his election to the Senate in 1976, Dennis was sheriff of Scott County for 24 years.

"John Dennis has been a great champion of the interests of the people of this region throughout his distinguished career in public service," said Dr. Kala M. Stroup, president of Southeast Missouri State University, "and he has been a strong ally for the university at the state capitol.

"His support in the General Assembly was instrumental in every capital improvement project for the University during the 1980s projects such as Rhodes Hall of Science, the Crisp Hall of Nursing addition, the Show Me Center and others, appropriations for which totaled over $19 million.

"Sen. Dennis was a strong voice in favor of expanding opportunities for higher education in the Bootheel through creation of the Harry L. Crisp Bootheel Education Center in Malden, and he played a major role in bringing about the Cottonwood Regional Mental Health Treatment Center on Southeast's campus.

"We at the University are especially grateful for his tireless efforts to secure funding for our proposed College of Business Administration building funding which we are hopeful will be allocated during this legislative session," Stroup said.

During his tenure in the Missouri Senate, Dennis served in a number of leadership roles. He was chair of the Election and General Laws Committee, the Ethics Committee, the Joint Senate and House Corrections Committee, and the Senate Democratic Caucus.

He was vice chair of the Local Government and Economic Development Committee, as well as the Transportation and Senate Administration committees. He was also vice chair of the Senate Gubernatorial Appointments Committee, which reviews appointments made by the governor to various state departments, boards and commissions.

Dennis is a former president of the Missouri Sheriffs Association and the Missouri Peace Officers Association. He was awarded lifetime membership in the National Sheriffs Association, and in 1988 the Missouri Sheriffs Association created a scholarship in his honor to help needy students interested in studying law enforcement.

Reservations to attend the Feb. 11 dinner at the Show Me Center can be made by calling 651-2578 no later than Feb. 5. The cost of the dinner is $15 per person. Persons who cannot attend but who would like to make a contribution to the John Dennis Scholarship Fund through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation can do so by sending a check to: University Relations, Southeast Missouri State University, One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701.