Southeastern Oklahoma State University

History

On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an act designating Durant as the location for a normal school to serve the following 12-county region: Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Latimer, LeFlore, Love, Marshall, McCurtain, McIntosh, Pittsburg, and Pushmataha. Southeastern Oklahoma State University first opened its doors to students on June 14, 1909, as Southeastern State Normal School. The early program of instruction consisted of four years of high school and the freshman and sophomore college years. The first sessions of the school were held in temporary quarters pending completion of Morrison Hall in January, 1911, long known as the Administration Building.

The original purpose of Southeastern was the education of teachers for the public schools of Oklahoma. The two-year graduates were awarded life teaching certificates. In 1921, the institution became a four-year college and was renamed Southeastern State Teachers College. Construction on the college's library, now the Henry G. Bennett Memorial Library, was completed in 1928. The primary function remained that of teacher education and the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Education and Bachelor of Science in Education were authorized.

The purpose of the college was expanded in 1939. Courses leading to two newly authorized non-education degrees - Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science - were added. At this time, the college was renamed Southeastern State College. In 1954, the curriculum was enlarged by the addition of a graduate program leading to the Master of Teaching degree. In 1969, the name of the degree was changed to Master of Education.

On May 27, 1968, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education designated Southeastern as an Area Community College. While retaining previous functions, the college moved in the direction of providing greater post-secondary educational opportunities by expanding its curriculum to include new programs in areas such as business, technology, aviation, and conservation.

In 1971, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education requested that the state supported institutions of higher education review and evaluate their functions as members of the State System of Higher Education. Upon completion of the review, a comprehensive “Plan for the Seventies” was prepared by each institution and submitted to the Regents. On June 1, 1972, Southeastern submitted its plan to the Regents which was, subsequently, approved on March 29, 1973. The Master of Education degree was changed to the Master of Behavioral Studies and, subsequently, the University was approved to offer a graduate program in business which culminated in the degree of Master of Administrative Studies. Four options of the Master of Behavioral Studies degree were renamed Master of Education in August, 1979. The Master of Administrative Studies degree was revised and renamed Master of Business Administration in August, 1996.

On August 15, 1974, the name of Southeastern State College was changed to Southeastern Oklahoma State University by an act of the Oklahoma State Legislature. Since 1974, Southeastern, through institutional reorganizations, has continued to diversify, so that, presently, there are three academic schools: Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education and Behavioral Science.

After the long 20-year tenure of President Leon Hibbs, Dr. Larry Williams served ten years as Southeastern's President. Dr. Glen D. Johnson served Southeastern for 9 years then in 2007 assumed the duties of Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System for Higher Education. Dr. Jesse Snowden succeeded Johnson as interim president. Dr. Michael Turner was selected as SE president in 2008 and inaugurated in January 2009. He announced his resignation June 2009, and Regents named Dr. Larry Minks as interim then permanent president. Minks served as president through June 30, 2014, and Sean Burrage began duties as the 20th president on July 1, 2014.

Academics

Southeastern offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degree in a variety of disciplines. The top five most popular majors at SE are Elementary Education, Biology; Occupational Safety and Health; Psychology; Health and Physical Education. The Safety department at Southeastern is ranked four out of five stars in a national ranking. The Aviation program is also one of six colleges, nationwide, that received a Letter of Authorization from the FAA saying that Southeastern Aviation students had to complete 1000 hours instead of 1500 hours for cheaper educational experiences; SE is the only Oklahoman university able to offer this ‘reduced aeronautical experience’. The award enables Southeastern aviation majors to take less hours thus spend less money on tuition; also, this authorization shows that the SE aviation program is able to teach the needed material in less time than most schools. Southeastern Oklahoma State University offers educations to students from 32 states and 40 countries outside of the U.S.

Graduate programs

Graduate programs are offered at Southeastern Oklahoma State University through the School of Education, School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Business. In studies conducted in 2014, the Southeastern School of Education had eighty-five students, the School of Arts and Sciences had seventy-nine students, the School of Business had thirty-five, the Department of Aviation Sciences had sixty-nine, and the Department of Behavioral Sciences had thirty-six. The Music Department has recently inaugurated a Master of Music Education degree, with the first graduates expected in May 2017.

Class size

The number of students enrolled is listed from 3,900 to 4,100. Each year, approximately 1,100 people apply to the university and about 860 are accepted; out of the accepted, in 2013, eighteen percent were in the top ten percent of their high school class, forty-one percent were in the top twenty-five percent, and seventy-three percent were in the top fifty percent of their class. The student to faculty ratio is 19:1.

Additional facilities

SE has additional teaching facilities in the following location:

Campus services

SE's campus services include: Student Support Services, Learning Center, Student Health Services, Academic Advising and Outreach Center, Wellness Center, and Counseling Center.

Tuition

The tuition at Southeastern for instate students is around $4,427, with out of state being around $12,162, these numbers do not included fees; $633 are charged for fees to all students plus an additional $4,970 for room and board. Living on campus is a requirement for incoming freshmen so they must pay the additional $4,970. All students that choose to live on campus have the choice between four living facilities: Shearer Hall, North Hall, Choctaw Tower and Chickasaw Tower.

Campus safety

This university's Campus Police Department operates 24/7 on campus along with emergency call boxes in various locations on campus, emergency alters such as disaster or weather, and its own phone line for direct calls to protect the students of the university. Southeastern received a B-minus safety rating in the American School Search College Factual 2014.

Organizations

The student body at Southeastern Oklahoma State University has the opportunity to become a part of 68 student organizations.

Greek life

Southeastern currently has three fraternities and two sororities on campus.

Fraternities: Lambda Chi Alpha, Sigma Tau Gamma, and Tau Kappa Epsilon

Sororities: Alpha Sigma Tau and Sigma Sigma Sigma

Southeastern also has honorary fraternities on campus. Kappa Kappa Psi, Alpha Eta Rho, Alpha Psi Omega, and Sigma Tau Delta

Athletics

SE is currently a member of the NCAA Division II Great American Conference. The Savage Storm participate in baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, men's and women's tennis, men's golf, rodeo, women's cross country, softball, cheerleading and women's volleyball.

Conduct policy

Southeastern has a zero tolerance policy regarding student conduct. Punishments occur for violations of campus regulations including punishments of alleged violations which cannot be appealed, as per the guidelines set by the Regional University System of Oklahoma. Controversy occurred after football player Justin Pitrucha was suspended following felony charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute within 2,000 feet of a school. However, instead of upholding the policy, Pitrucha was fully reinstated after the charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor.

Due process

SE generated media attention in 2013 when the NAACP and Reverends Marshall Hatch and Ira Acree of the National Action Network spoke on behalf of five African-American college football students attending Southeastern, one of whom was from Chicago, Illinois, regarding an incident which occurred in April 2, 2013. According to Durant Police, several people reported masked men came to their residences and demanded money and cell phones. The students were suspended and scholarships revoked. All five were charged in June 2013 with felony conspiracy to engage in a pattern of criminal offenses plus misdemeanor charges of wearing a mask, hood or covering for the purposes of coercion, intimidation or harassment, and four counts of assault and battery. During a preliminary hearing on October 16, 2013 all five men entered no-contest pleas to misdemeanor charges. The felony charges against them were dismissed as part of a plea agreement and each was given three-year deferred sentences on the misdemeanor charges and also sentenced to 90 days in jail. Arlene Barnum of the NAACP contested their suspensions from SE under grounds based on the denial of the right to an attorney during disciplinary proceedings. Five members of the NAACP protested on the SE campus in May 2013 outside graduation ceremonies.

Tenure denial controversy for transgender professor

In April 2011, Dr. Rachel Tudor, an Assistant Professor of English, Humanities and Literature was denied tenure despite having been recommended for promotion and tenure twice in the prior two years by the Faculty Tenure and Promotion Committee, based on the university's criteria of teaching, scholarship and service. The Committee, whose positive recommendations for tenure routinely approved by the Administration was overruled by the vice president of academic affairs Dr. Douglas McMillan, who had previously inquired with the university's Human Resources Department whether Dr. Tudor could be terminated because her lifestyle "offends his Baptist beliefs." Justifying the tenure denial, McMillan has claimed that Tudor was unqualified, despite the original Tenure and Promotion Committee's findings, those of the Faculty Appeals Committee, and a resolution by the Faculty Senate in support of Tudor's application. Dr. Tudor has not worked at SE since May 2011, and has brought her case to the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission, the U.S. Department of Education, and the EEOC. On September 5, 2012, the EEOC issued a "Determination" that states Southeastern Oklahoma State University terminated Dr. Tudor's employment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. The EEOC specifically cited sex discrimination, religious discrimination, and retaliation. Although Dr. Tudor welcomed the EEOC's conciliation offers, Southeastern rejected the EEOC's best efforts. The EEOC forwarded the case to the Department of Justice for consideration. On March 30, 2015, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the university.

Notable alumni

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger (Captain - Miracle on the Hudson)

Pauline Hanna Sullenberger (mother of Chesley)

Notable faculty