As Southeast Missouri State’s 14th president, Dr. Kala Stroup ushered in a number of firsts for the University – the first female president, hiring the first African American deans at Southeast, and moving to the NCAA division one in athletics, which secured an invitation to join the Ohio Valley Conference. From overseeing Dempster Hall’s construction to fostering a shift in the University’s vision, Stroup’s 5-year tenure from 1990 – 1995 proved influential in shaping Southeast's outlook towards the new millennium.
A Kansas native, Stroup earned a Ph.D. in speech communication and human relations from the University of Kansas and served as president of Murray State University from 1983 to 1989 before coming to Southeast. She brought a new mission to the university, one focused on planning to increase and sustain enrollment. To this end, Stroup added three new fraternities to the University (Sigma Nu, Phi Delta Theta, and Lambda Chi Alpha) and one new sorority (Gamma Phi Beta), approved a long-overdue $11 million dollar renovation to Towers Residence Hall, and oversaw the creation of the Robert A. Dempster Hall which opened in 1996 as the home of Harrison College of Business and Computing.
Stroup resigned after announcing her plan to become Missouri’s Commissioner of Higher Education on April 22, 1995. With her departure, Stroup donated $35,000 for a fountain situated outside of Kent Library facing Academic Hall, a tribute to her many firsts during her pioneering leadership of our university.
