Mark Scully liked his campus home.

Bill Stacy talked about the people he met.

Kala Stroup was thrilled with the fountain whose construction she helped finance.

They were among six former presidents at Southeast Missouri State University who were honored at a reception Friday afternoon at the Show Me Center. The others were Robert Leestamper, Robert Foster and Bill Atchley.

Atchley drove all the way from his home in South Carolina to attend the event.

The former presidents spanned four decades in the history of the university: Scully served from 1956 to 1975; Leestamper from 1975 to 1979; Stacy from 1979 to 1989; Foster from 1989 to 1990; Stroup from 1990 to 1995; and Atchley from 1995 to 1996.

Southeast President Dale Nitzschke greeted his predecessors at the reception held prior to the university's Copper Dome Society dinner. The school is celebrating 125 years this year.

Nitzschke said the successes of every Southeast president have been built on the shoulders of those who previously ran the institution. "Whatever successes we have had as an institution are not the result of one man or one woman," he said.

Nitzschke said each of them has run the university in their own way and been successful.

"You can get to point A or B in a whole lot of different ways," he said.

Some at the reception were strangers to the past. A student photographer with the campus newspaper approached a man sitting in a chair. "What's your name?" he asked. "Mark Scully," the man replied with a firm voice.

Scully has fond memories of living in Wildwood, the president's university home. Scully said he hopes the university keeps Wildwood as the president's home and doesn't turn it into an alumni center.

"I would be very regretful to see that happen," said Scully.

Having the president live on campus has its advantages, he said. It allows for interaction with college students.

"We had dozens of kids in our house when we were there," he recalled.

"I think it is important to teach them something besides using the right knife and fork," said Scully.

Leestamper said he enjoyed his time at Wildwood. "It is a nice home," he said.

Leestamper lives in Waterloo, where he was one of the top administrators at the University of Northern Iowa before retiring in 1995.

Stacy fondly recalled his days at Southeast.

What he remembers most are the people. "I cared about those students an awful lot," said Stacy, who currently is president of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

Stroup, who left Southeast to become Missouri's commissioner of higher education, said she likes the new fountain in front of Kent Library. "I thought it was wonderful," she said.

Stroup suggested the fountain makes a good birthday present for the institution.

Foster has retired to the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights to be closer to his children. But he remains an ardent university booster as a member of the school's fund-raising foundation.

Foster remains excited about the continued improvements to the school. "Changes are just taking place day by day," he said.