Jeanine Larson Dobbins leaves lasting impression as Southeast's first lady

Jeanine Larson Dobbins and Dr. Kenneth W. Dobbins decided to come to Southeast Missouri State University in 1991 when Ken was offered the position of vice president of finance and administration. After making the decision together, the Dobbinses and their son, Paul, headed to Missouri to begin a new life in Cape Girardeau.

Jeanine said she thought Cape Girardeau was a nice fit for the family, and the university community made them feel welcome.

"We loved the feel of the community -- people were very friendly here. And actually, I said to Ken, 'You know, this feels like,' and truly I did make this quote, I said, 'This feels like a community of Midwestern values and Southern hospitality.' So we decided why not? And so we stepped outside of our comfort zone and have never regretted the decision."

When the Dobbinses first came to Southeast, Jeanine worked for the university as a student teaching supervisor. She eventually became more involved on campus teaching block three classes, teaching and developing curricula for the Reading Recovery graduate classes and working to get the program she founded, the Missouri Statewide Literacy Intervention Program, up and running. Reading Recovery is a short-term, intervention-based program focused on helping children who produce the lowest scores in literacy after their first year of school learn how to read more successfully.

"The Missouri Statewide Early Literacy Intervention Program has a long name because it included not only the Read Recovery component, which a lot of people know about, but in order to serve more children statewide, we included other components which included small early literacy support groups for children who might have needed Reading Recovery support in first grade but were unable to get that. So children in first, second and third grade had an opportunity to receive some support in early literacy groups, so we were able to serve so many more children."

Ken gave all the credit for coming to Southeast to Jeanine for this purpose.

"The reason why we came to Southeast wasn't because of me and what I was ultimately going to do as president," Ken said. "It was because of her, and it was because of the Reading Recovery program because she taught, she was a teacher-leader trainer, and she taught faculty how to do this remediation training. She worked with legislature, she worked with the governor's office, in fact, the senator who helped sponsor this said, 'Do you know this guy by the name of Ken Dobbins?' 'Oh yeah, I know him, he's my husband.' 'If you want, you can bring him along.' It wasn't like 'You need to bring him.' No, oh, no no no. It was 'You can bring him along, I guess, if you want.' But it has made a difference in over 275,000 little kids that have had reading issues, and that's a big deal."

Ken said that longevity studies of the Reading Recovery program show that there is a 75 percent success rate among students through the sixth grade.

Jeanine said she had to work to gain funding for the program through a grant application process that took many months of telephone calls, traveling and negotiating her way across the state of Missouri. All the while she was working on getting the grant, she was also working full time for the university.

"Often times the to-be site coordinators who were the direct administrators of the program had to convince their superintendents, sometimes they asked me to come and give presentations, and I still was teaching classes and I thought, I don't know, if I can do this anymore, but I was very committed because I kept thinking of the children who were unable to read and who were so confused about it," Jeanine said. "The needs of those kids kept me going those long hours."

Jeanine retired from her position at the university in 2010.

Jeanine said her relationship with Ken is special because, although they sometimes have what they call "thunderstorms," they always make up and balance each other well.

"I have been so fortunate and blessed beyond belief to be married to my soulmate, my beloved husband," Jeanine said. "I give thanks for him every day, and it is so much fun to talk with him about the work he does, to talk with him about other seemingly minute things. ... It is just special because I think both of us know that we're meant to be husband and wife."

Jeanine said she first noticed Ken while they were both in college and he was in the Air Force ROTC program. She said she became attracted to him instantly because he was down to earth, tall, dark and handsome and she liked the way he spoke.

"I can remember thinking, 'You know, I think I'm going to marry that guy.' And there were some twists and turns in the romantic love plot, and it turned out beautifully and we've lived happily ever after."

Jeanine said all of her fondest memories at Southeast involve its people who welcomed her with open arms.

In terms of being the "First Lady" at Southeast, Jeanine said she wasn't really sure what else she should go by.

"I love it when Ken says to me, 'Well, you know, you've always been my first lady, and now you get to be the first lady of the university.' And that warms my heart, obviously," Jeanine said.

Ken said Jeanine's being the first lady of the university is one of the things he is most proud of her for, considering it is a 24/7 job just as much as being the president.

"Being the first lady is tough because of the demands on the president, the demands on the president and the first lady doing things and sometimes things happen and you have to deal with it," Ken said. "So that has taken away some time that we haven't been able to spend perhaps with our grandsons and our son and daughter-in-law. I'm not saying it's not worth it, I'm just saying that that's one thing. ... She's been a marvelous first lady and a marvelous soulmate for over 43 years."

Jeanine said she was grateful to many people for the experiences and memories she has had and made during her and Ken's time at Southeast.

"I would just like to say thank you to my beloved husband Ken," Jeanine said. "I would like to say thank you to the people of the university community and the community of Cape Girardeau, Jackson and our region. I would like to say thank you to the Board of Regents who donate their time. ... My goodness, what a ride it has been. It's gone by all too fast. I look forward to the future with optimism, with joy in my heart. It's been a great ride, and as Tiny Tim said, 'May God bless us one and all.'"