Dr. Dale F. Nitzschke became the 16th president of Southeast Missouri State University on July 1, 1996, and accepted the newly created position of chancellor for development of the River Campus and Polytechnic Institute on July 1, 1999.  

Chancellor Nitzschke has had a distinguished career in higher education. Before accepting the Southeast position, he served as president of Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., for six years, and as president of the University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H., for four years.  

During the three years of his presidency at Southeast University: 

• Implemented the strategic plan approved by the Board of Regents in February 1996; 
• Developed an enhanced mission of regional outreach, telecommunications-based delivery of instruction, and new academic programs with emphasis on advanced technology, supported by a significant increase in state funding;  
• Created a Polytechnic Institute with a Center of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology and began construction on a new building to house the Institute and related programs after securing state capital appropriations and private gifts for the project;
• Secured private gifts, a commitment from the City of Cape Girardeau, and the first phase of a state appropriation to develop Cape Girardeau's historic St. Vincent Seminary site overlooking the Mississippi River into a River Campus to house a proposed new School of Visual and Performing Arts;  
• Opened the Sikeston Area Higher Education Center in temporary quarters, secured state and local funding for a permanent building, and began construction on the latter facility;  
• Identified a building to be the site of a new Kennett Area Higher Education Center to serve the extreme southern part of the Bootheel;  
• Completed an expansion of the Student Recreation Center and development of an outdoor complex for intramural athletics and women's varsity sports;  
• Launched a multi-million dollar renovation of Greek Housing and expansion of the Towers Residence Hall central service facility;  
• Completed and dedicated Robert A. Dempster Hall, home of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business;  
• Completed a multi-million dollar renovation of the Social Science Building and renamed the facility A.S.J. Carnahan Hall;  
• Developed a campus master plan, a revised master plan, and a plan for renovation of Kent Library;  
• Developed several new degree programs, ranging from a cooperative doctorate in education to an associate degree in physical therapy;  
• Inaugurated the Southeast P.M. program; 
• Began development of SEE-NET, a regional telecommunications network for the delivery of instruction;  
• Installed high-technology computerized classrooms available to each college;  
• Led in the creation of the Southeast Missouri Educational Consortium, a partnership among five higher education institutions serving Southeast Missouri;  
• Established a Regional Public Service Institute to coordinate the University's outreach efforts;  
• Launched a major campaign of private fund-raising, "125 Years -- Prologue to the 21st Century."  

Dr. Nitzschke is a graduate of Loras College, where he earned a B.A. degree with honors in education, and holds the Master of Education and Ph.D. degrees in guidance and counseling from Ohio University.