Southeast Missouri State University
Southeast Missouri State University, sometimes known as Southeast or SEMO, is a public institution of higher education located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The university includes a secondary campus that is home to the Holland College of Arts and Media. In addition to the main campus, the institution offers four regional campuses that each provide complete degree programmes. The Higher Learning Commission has granted the institution its accreditation.
Southeast has almost 12,000 students enrolled and provides more than 175 undergraduate degree programmes in addition to 75 graduate degree programmes. The university has a long-standing reputation for excellence in the field of education for teachers since it was first established in 1873 as a normal school. In recent years, the university's reputation and focus have shifted towards the arts. With the construction of the River Campus, creating the state's only campus that is entirely dedicated to the visual and performing arts, this shift has coincided with the university's shifting reputation and focus. In the region of Southeast Missouri, it is the only higher education school that offers all four years of study.
The thirteen sports programmes of Southeast Missouri State University are all members of the Ohio Valley Conference and play at the Division I level of the NCAA. The Redhawks are the school's mascot. The football team competes in the Football Championship Subdivision of Division I on the collegiate level.
In 1873, a group of important local merchants and officials successfully petitioned the state of Missouri to select Cape Girardeau as the location of the Third District Normal School. As a result of their efforts, Southeast Missouri State University was established that same year. When the university first opened its doors in 1875, it was known as Southeast Missouri State Normal School. The initial sessions were held at the Lorimier School, which was located nearby, until April of the same year, when the first university building was finished.