Major decisions from the Board of Governors

The SEMO Board of Governors raised tuition prices, approved the demolition of buildings on campus and approved a new observatory at its meeting on Feb. 28.

Room and board changes

Vice president of enrollment management and student success, Debbie Below, announced that there will be a 3.3% average increase in room and board for the 2025-2026 academic school year.

SEMO News, which is run by SEMO’s marketing team, wrote that the price increases are due to inflation and rising costs in Residence Life operations, debt service obligations, facility maintenance projects and increased food and labor costs.

Below also added that SEMO will switch from having a Starbucks on campus to having We Proudly Serve.

We Proudly Serve is a program in partnership with Starbucks and Nestlé.

Associate vice president of student and campus life Bruce Skinner clarified what switching from Starbucks to We Proudly Serve means for the university.

“We are not eliminating Starbucks from the Southeast Missouri State University campus. This is Starbucks, but they can track with Nestlé. It's the same Starbucks recipe, the same Starbucks cup. The difference is we don't get the same Starbucks merchandise, and we don't get the advantage of their big displays like you would if you were a private store,” Skinner said. “I didn't want anyone to leave thinking they didn't get Starbucks come August.”

To maintain a Starbucks on campus, the university would have to pay for a million-dollar renovation, resulting in a 6% increase in meal plans. By switching Starbucks to We Proudly Serve, the university will only pay $100,000 in renovation costs.

Building Demolition

The Board of Governors agreed to demolish Henderson Hall, across from the University Center and three buildings in the International Village.

SEMO News states both Henderson Hall and the International Village buildings have been vacant since the 2018-2019 academic year

To renovate these buildings, it would cost the university over $13 million, so they opted to demolish them to save costs.

SEMO President Carlos Vargas proposed that the buildings would be replaced with grass lots.

Vargas also mentioned Brandt Hall, home to the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work & Sociology, is getting old and is difficult for faculty to work in.

“We are moving towards vacating that building completely, and then at that point, we will have to decide if this is something we can demolish or replace,” Vargas said.

New Observatory

Vargas also mentioned that the new observatory by the Show-Me-Center be named Vollink Family Observatory after Dennis and Kathy Vollink who donated money to build the observatory.

The observatory features a new 16-inch telescope. Vargas said Dennis Vollink has always supported science.

“He is an engineer. He's been a pilot for a long time at Drury Southwest, and he's an avid Astro photographer. He actually buys time from major telescopes around the world so that he can do Astrophotography. He’s really an amazing individual,” Vargas said.

According to SEMO News, the Vollinks have contributed to construction projects in the past, including the Newman Center and other school expansions. They have also contributed to River Campus performances, KRCU Public Radio, the University Fund, and the pilot program.