1910-1919
Continue to main content1910
An extension department is formed allowing students to earn credit through correspondence or by attending monthly meetings at an extension center.
Sadie Kent accepts position as full-time librarian.
Students are required to pass a gym class during their first two years to continue their studies.
"The first name is chalked-in on the Academic Hall dome."
1911
February 1
The first edition of the student newspaper, the Capaha Arrow, is printed.
The first intercollegiate debate occurred in 1911 with a Southeast team debating teams from Southwest Missouri State College and Marvin College. Rush Limbaugh and Edward Roberts were members of the Southeast team. Early successful debaters included Earl Abernathy, Clyde Harbison, Rush Limbaugh, Alison Reppy, Robert Howard, Harvey Cox, Joe Mathews, Roy Thornburgh, and Walter Schlueter. In 1915, Robert Howard was the winner of the state contest, going on to represent Missouri at the Inter-State Oratorical Contest in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Southeast’s success led to an expansion that later included a freshman team and a girls’ or women’s team.
1912
Southeast helps found the 14-team Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
1913
January
The Third District Normal School purchases Albert and Leming residence halls on the south side of Normal Avenue. The school previously leased them from the Normal Dormitory Association.
The Missouri state flag was first created in Cape Girardeau, very near the University campus. The flag was designed and created by Mrs. Marie Elizabeth Watkins Oliver, wife of former State Senator R.B. Oliver. It was adopted as the official state flag by the state legislature in 1913.
"The first edition of the Sagamore yearbook is published."
1914
Entering students were required to have a high school diploma.
1915
Textbook Rental system is piloted during the 1915-1916 academic year.
Col. Thomas Beckwith of Charleston, Missouri, donates his collection of Mound Builder artifacts to the Third District Normal School. The pieces – ceramic vessels and lithics -- were excavated at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries from mounds on his property in southeast Missouri and provide insights into the culture and lives of prehistoric Native peoples of this region. Today, the collection is housed in the Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum at the River Campus.
1916
Textbook Rental system continues on a permanent basis.
1918
October 1
Formal military training for men begins at the school, and the first members of the Student Army Training Corps take oath of allegiance.
October 15
The Normal School closes for almost a month due to the influenza epidemic. Classes are suspended by order of the city health board.
November 25
The Normal School reopens following its closure to stem the influenza epidemic.
1919
Southeast Missouri Normal School becomes Southeast Missouri State Teachers College by legislative enactment and is authorized to grant degrees.
World Events
1910
Boy Scouts of America is founded.
1911
Chevrolet Motor Co. is founded in Detroit, Michigan.
1912
Sinking of the Titanic.
1913
Creation of the Federal Reserve System.
1914
World War I begins.
Panama Canal opens.
1917
The National Hockey League is formed.
The first Pulitzer Prizes are announced.
1918
Armistice of November 11 ends World War I. (Becomes known as Armistice Day.)
1919
The proton is discovered.