SEMO, Mercy Southeast & Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine to Bring Next Generation of Physicians to Southeast Missouri

Today, we announced an innovative collaboration with Mercy Southeast and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) that will bring medical students to Southeast Missouri and turn Mercy Hospital Southeast into a teaching hospital. LECOM is the nation’s largest medical college, and SEMO students are now part of its Early Acceptance Program with a select number of SEMO students receiving early acceptance to LECOM’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Pharmacy, School of Dental Medicine, or School of Podiatric Medicine. Students can apply at the same time they apply to SEMO and can start the professional program before they have completed their bachelor’s degree.

LECOM’s partnership with Mercy means its medical students will be able to begin clinical rotations in Cape Girardeau in the near future. It is well known that medical students learn to love the communities they train in since they are in the same area for several years. Once the students become physicians, they frequently choose to stay in the community where they trained, so this partnership is laying the foundation to attract physicians to our region as well as provide opportunities for our students.

SEMO Educators Advantage

This week, SEMO also added five more school districts to our SEMO Educators Advantage program. Advance, Bell City, Central R-III, Chaffee, and Gideon schools partnered with SEMO so their faculty and staff will benefit from a tuition discount on SEMO’s online programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and pathways for paraprofessionals programs. The SEMO Educators Advantage program is part of our strong commitment to educational excellence and workforce development across the region. This support enables both staff and educators to elevate their qualifications affordably and conveniently, ultimately benefiting the district’s students and broader community. We are proud to partner with and serve these districts.

Enrollment Update

Nationally, freshmen enrollment declined five percent while SEMO saw a seven percent increase. That is a success story for us; even though, our overall enrollment declined two percent. We also saw success with a seven percent increase in transfer enrollment, a five percent increase in online enrollment, and an eight percent increase in international enrollment. As we continue to work on our enrollment strategies, I would like to provide updates on a few areas where we are making progress.

Online Growth Partner – The impact of online enrollment in higher education cannot be understated. While SEMO saw a five percent increase in online enrollment this fall, we identified and prioritized this as an area for growth. SEMO has partnered with Archer Education to work on this strategy. Archer is not an online program manager (OPM) and will not be sharing in revenue. Archer’s role will be as a strategic partner to help us assess our readiness for growth, our technology, our marketing and admissions processes, and our student services. Representatives from Archer were on campus in October and met with many groups to learn more about us. They will return to campus Nov. 14 to share some of their findings and recommendations.

One of the questions that came up during some of the Archer conversations was if online was going to be a University focus moving forward. The answer is yes. Online offerings will be a focus. SEMO is a University with a mission to serve many types of students. As a residential campus, we will continue to serve the students who attend and seek that college experience, but certainly, any enrollment plan must include online growth as a strategy in the 21^st century.

Brand & Messaging Platform – As part of our enrollment plan, we also identified the need to research our market and our brand platform. This includes ensuring we know what our unique value proposition is--what SEMO offers to students--and how we can consistently share what we offer to students, so they achieve their goals. Representatives from Simpson Scarborough also visited campus in October and talked to a variety of faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, and community members as the first step in this research. Surveys will also be conducted with constituent groups. We will continue to keep campus updated as this work continues.

Strategic Enrollment Plan Progress – The partnerships outlined above are just two of the strategies that campus identified to reach our enrollment goals. The full plan includes various priorities the University is investing in, including restructuring several offices on campus. We previously announced that Southeast Online was restructuring to become Online and Graduate Services and reporting to the Enrollment Management and Student Success division. We are also working to restructure our Center for Teaching and Learning. The Strategic Enrollment Plan calls for adding additional staff to those areas as well as both Information Technology and Marketing and Communications. You can find the full plan as well as the latest progress report shared with the Board of Governors by visiting the mySEMO portal and searching Enrollment Transformation.

Modern Campus Update

The Modern Campus Transformational Project provides a comprehensive vision for the future to address aging facilities, but also to improve the student experience, academic quality, space utilization, and safety. I wanted to provide updates on two of the components included in this project as it stands currently.

Health Sciences Building – I made the announcement at Homecoming (fall 2023) that we had received an $18.5 million capital appropriation from the State of Missouri and a $10 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) made possible by former U.S. Senator Roy Blunt. 

The Health Sciences Building, 55,000-square-foot facility, will provide new academic and lab space for the Department of Allied Health, Kinesiology, and Sport Sciences as well as collaborative study areas for students, faculty offices, a gymnasium, and a large conference room. The new building will be built on the site currently occupied by Dearmont Hall, which will be demolished. Once complete, the new building will allow us to end the use of Parker Hall for academic purposes.  

Initially, we had hoped the new Health Sciences Building would be open by fall 2026; however, we are still working through one remaining initial grant condition with HRSA and the State of Missouri before gaining final approval to proceed. Until we get that approval, we cannot take any action on the project. Currently, we hope we can begin work on the Dearmont site by the coming spring semester with a project completion date anticipated in 2027.  

Houck Multipurpose Facility - The schematic design for the next phase of the Houck Multipurpose project was finished a couple of weeks ago.

The initial design includes 40,000 square feet on six floors. Included in the facility will be football and soccer locker rooms, coaches’ offices, meeting rooms, Athletics administration offices, a sports medicine facility, club level premium space, which can also be used for a variety of special events. 

We are finalizing floor layouts, beginning graphic design concepts, and have developed a list of naming opportunities. Work will continue through early spring on design and construction documents. 

Last week, we announced temporary removable updates to Houck Field in preparation to make a bid to host an FCS playoff game for Redhawks Football this fall. A platform was constructed on Houck Field’s south side to host the expanded media needs for a playoff game. Construction of the structure was fully funded by private donations. SEMO Football has stayed at #6 for the third straight week in both the American Coaches Association and Stats Perform Media Top-25 Polls. While our team is currently poised to make the FCS Playoffs, when and if we play will ultimately be determined by end of season rankings. But, we hope this new construction can help to host a game and give the Redhawks home field advantage.

MLK Speaker Announced

I am pleased that SEMO alumnus Zaki Ali has accepted our invitation to keynote the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Dinner on January 23, 2025, at the Show Me Center. The theme for this year’s event is “Against All Odds, Through Courage & Resilience.” Zaki has an impressive story, and I hope you will join us for the event. More information available at semo.edu/mlk.

Aviation at SEMO

SEMO has built several successful aviation programs, including our Professional Pilot, Unmanned Aircraft System, and Aviation Management majors. We are hoping to build on these successes and establish SEMO as a true aviation destination school. We are working to establish an FAA-approved aviation maintenance and air traffic controller, or airframe and powerplant technician, program. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows there are less than 50 aircraft mechanics in all of southeast Missouri. Right now, there is only one other Missouri institution offering the program. The program would provide multiple pathways for students to pursue as well as enhance our partnership with the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Additionally, we are working to add one more aviation-related program to our inventory: air-traffic controllers. This is a job that is in very high demand in the nation, and we are well positioned to incorporate it into our offerings. We have already submitted a letter of intent to FAA. We will keep you updated on any progress in this front.

Nursing Fundraising Initiative

The Southeast Missouri University Foundation is working on a targeted fundraising initiative with alumni from our Department of Nursing to fund replacements for seven low-fidelity nursing mannequins in the Simulation Lab. These vital learning tools provide our nursing students with realistic patient scenarios with mannequins that replicate human anatomy and physiological responses. We are excited to partner with alumni so students continue to have the opportunity to practice many essential skills as they gain confidence and further their knowledge through the use of the latest medical training mannequins.

SEMO Faculty Training with IBM

Following the recent official opening of our new Stamp Cyber Command Center in collaboration with IBM, faculty from the Departments of Engineering and Technology and Computer Science and Cybersecurity, along with staff from Information Technology began training with IBM on resources available through our agreement. Additional training with those groups will be held next week. This collaboration is important not only for how it impacts SEMO but also for the benefits it can provide for workforce development in this field. A recent article in University Business references a statewide initiative in Maryland to use cyber ranges to assist in training for the vast number of roles available in keeping organizations and data secure. We plan to provide cybersecurity training to other universities and businesses at our Stamp Cyber Command Center beginning in 2025.

Show Me Center Board of Managers

You may have read a recent newspaper article that focused on our Show Me Center Board of Managers. The Board, which previously met regularly, had not met since the COVID pandemic. The Board was established when the Show Me Center was constructed and includes both representatives appointed by the City of Cape Girardeau and the University. The Show Me Center Board of Managers has begun to meet again. Day-to-day operations of the Show Me Center continue to lie with the University and the Show Me Center staff, but we are pleased to foster our relationship with city representatives and serve our community. 

Strategic Action Plan Update

I invite you to our next update session on the Strategic Action Plan on Friday, Dec. 6 at noon. This session will provide an update on the University budget. An email invitation to campus will follow once details are complete. I hope to see you there.