UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS LEAD IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD; THIRTEEN MEN AND ONE WOMAN FORGE DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTHEAST SINCE 1873

Over the past 120 years, 13 men and one woman have led Southeast Missouri State University through tough times and good times.

What started as a small, rural teachers college in 1873 with less than 60 students has grown into a full-fledged university with about 8,000 students.

Arthur H. Mattingly, a Southeast history professor who retired from full-time teaching in December, singles out three of the school's presidents as having had the most influence on the institution.

They are Washington Strother Dearmont, the school's seventh president, who served from 1899-1921; Walter Winfield Parker, who served as the ninth president from 1933-1956; and his successor, Mark F. Scully, who presided over the institution from 1956-1975.

When it comes to the university, Mattingly knows his history. He is the author of "Normal to University: A Century of Service," a book published in 1979 that records the school's history.

Mattingly said Dearmont was president of the institution when it moved from being a Normal school to a four-year, degree-granting college. "Before that, it was really designed to train high school teachers," he said.

"From what I have looked at, it seems to me he is the man who really places this institution in the 20th century," said Mattingly.

He singles out Parker for his guidance of the college through the difficult period of the Great Depression and World War II.

"Parker came to the institution in the depth of the Depression and served during very, very difficult times in terms of finances and in the period of the '40s, when the war came," pointed out Mattingly.

"He kept the teachers college on an even keel and was able to expand it somewhat, and was able to take advantage of some of the (government) programs out there," he said.

Alton Bray, a longtime registrar at Southeast who is now retired, worked at the school under four presidents: Parker, Scully, Robert E. Leestamper and Bill W. Stacy.

Bray said Parker was "a gentleman's gentleman."

"He was always neatly dressed. He carried an air about him," said Bray, adding that Parker was "sort of an aristocratic-type gentleman."

Parker's successor, Scully, presided at a time of enormous growth for the school, when the campus was "absolutely swamped by students," Mattingly said.

It was a time when there was a national emphasis on getting a college education. "The feeling was that everybody should have a college education," said Mattingly.

In response to the influx of students, Southeast saw an increase in both staffing and buildings.

When Scully took office, there were 10 buildings on campus. By the time he retired, there were 22. During his tenure, enrollment climbed from around 1,500 to nearly 8,000.

Scully was the first graduate of the institution to serve as its president. The teachers college became a university in 1972, during his administration.

Scully grew up during the Great Depression. It was a central factor in his commitment to keeping college affordable for students, Mattingly said.

Mattingly was teaching at the school during the Scully years. "The thing that I remember most about Dr. Scully in terms of his role at the college was his effort to try to make education available to everyone," recalled Mattingly.

Scully, he said, would often ask area service clubs to help pay the way for financially needy students.

"He would try to find them jobs on and off campus," Mattingly said.

"He believed that education ... was absolutely essential to democracy and he believed that people ought to be educated."

Offering an affordable education has been a "hallmark" of this school from the beginning, Mattingly said.

Southeast was established in 1873 as the Third District Normal School on a nine-acre site. Today, the campus covers 522 acres.

The school's first president, or principal as they used to be called, was Lucius H. Cheney.

Cheney was vice principal of the Warrensburg Normal School before being hired for the head post here at an annual salary of $2,000.

Classes were held the first year and most of the second on the upper floor of the Lorimier Public School in Cape Girardeau.

The first year, 57 students were enrolled 28 women and 29 men. The second year, attendance rose to 164.

Cheney and his wife, Frances, were the entire faculty during the school's first year of operation.

In its early years, students were charged a fee of $3 per term. The school year consisted of 40 weeks, divided into four terms.

By 1885, the cost per term had climbed to $35, which included room and board, washing, books and the incidental fee.

In 1875, the Old Normal School building constructed with $39,000 in private funding was completed.

The author Samuel Clemens once wrote of the building: "There was another college high up on an airy summit a bright new edifice, picturesquely and peculiarly towered and pinnacled a sort of gigantic casters, with the cruets all complete."

Cheney died on July 14, 1876, in a cave-in while helping to excavate an Indian mound as part of a Harvard field camp in Cumberland Gap, Tenn.

One of the school's early presidents was Richard Chapman Norton, who served as president from 1880 to 1893.

During his administration, the school's board of regents changed the title of his office from principal to president.

The school, under Norton's leadership, set forth a list of regulations on student conduct.

"The frequent visiting of each other's rooms, lounging about town during study hours, and all unnecessary gallantry are prohibited," a school catalog said.

Students were also prohibited from using profane or "quarrelsome language."

"Students are prohibited from visiting any saloon, billiard room or other similar place of resort. Also, from drinking intoxicating liquor, unless it is properly prescribed as a medicine by a physician.

"The use of tobacco in or near the Normal Building is prohibited," the school catalog warned.

In addition, students were prohibited from "attending parties, entertainments or other places of amusement to the detriment of their school work."

In 1890, students had to be at least 15 years of age to enroll at Southeast.

The one-building campus was initially surrounded by farms, and plank walks were constructed to make for easier access to the school. "These plank walks were useful in keeping students and faculty out of mud, water, and in spanning the deep gullies on the east side of the hill," Mattingly wrote in his book.

The school's fifth president was Willard Duncan Vandiver, who served from 1893 to 1897. A professor in the school's science department, his selection as president marked the first time that a member of the school's faculty had been chosen to head the institution.

Vandiver subsequently won election to Congress and resigned as university president. He served in the House for eight years before becoming the state commissioner of insurance in 1905.

He is credited with coining the phrase, "I'm from Missouri, you'll have to show me," which led to Missouri being known as the "Show Me State."

John Sephus McGhee served as Southeast's president from 1897-1899. He inaugurated the summer session at the school.

McGhee is credited with the idea of building student dormitories.

During the tenure of his successor, Dearmont, the campus newspaper and yearbook, were started. President William Howard Taft visited the school, the first of two sitting presidents to visit the school in its more-than-a-century of existence.

The Normal Building was destroyed by fire on April 7, 1902. It was replaced by Academic Hall, which still remains the jewel of the campus today.

On Dec. 2, 1905, the building was opened to the public. According to news accounts, at least 5,000 people went through the building during the grand opening.

In 1919, the school's name was officially changed to the Southeast Missouri State Teachers College.

In 1921, the Board of Regents chose not to rehire Dearmont. The dismissal was unpopular with students, who vented their objections by burning the regents in effigy on the steps of Academic Hall on June 8, 1921.

Dearmont later said his opposition to the governor's plan to place all five of the state's teachers colleges under the direction of a single board was to blame for his dismissal.

During the administration of President Joseph A. Serena, Southeast students were expected to attend church and couples were not to attend movies without chaperons.

In the fall 1932, Serena lifted the ban on campus dancing.

But some social changes came slowly to the campus. In 1966, new college rules permitted coeds to wear slacks and Bermuda shorts in the downtown area of Cape Girardeau, and on campus after 4 p.m., except at Kent Library.

Even into the 1970s, the college at least on paper maintained a dress code.

Following is a list of Southeast Missouri State University presidents and the years they served as president:

Lucius H. Cheney, 1873-1876.

Alfred Kirk, 1876-1877.

Charles Henry Dutcher, 1877-1880.

Richard Chapman Norton, 1880-1893.

Willard Duncan Vandiver, 1893-1897.

John Sephus McGhee, 1897-1899.

Washington Strother Dearmont, 1899-1921.

Joseph A. Serena, 1921-1933.

Walter Winfield Parker, 1933-1956.

Mark F. Scully, 1956-1975.

Robert E. Leestamper, 1975-1979.

Bill W. Stacy, 1979-1989.

Robert W. Foster, 1989-1990.

Kala M. Stroup, 1990-present.