Donald L. Harrison, left, was acknowledged by Gov. Mel Carnahan following Harrison's announcement that he is stepping down as president of the Board of Regents.

Dr. Dale Nitzschke couldn't think of a better birthday present.

The Southeast Missouri State University president celebrated his 59th birthday Monday with the dedication of the school's new business building.

It was a birthday celebration too for Dr. Kala Stroup, Missouri's commissioner of higher education and a former president of Southeast.

Stroup celebrates a birthday Tuesday.

"I think she would agree with me. This is a great birthday present," Nitzschke told the crowd of about 500 at the dedication ceremony.

Having only assumed his position in July, Nitzschke said he couldn't take any credit for the new building.

The $15.8 million Robert A. Dempster Hall sits at the corner of New Madrid and Henderson. The concrete and glass structure was constructed in 13 months.

The building was dedicated during an hour-and-a-half outdoor ceremony that began under gray skies and ended with rain.

Many in the audience took shelter under a tent when the rain came.

But the ceremony continued with those on the podium raising red-and-white university umbrellas.

Wind played havoc with the speaker system, but the crowd didn't seem to mind.

In addition to Stroup, two other former Southeast presidents attended the dedication: Dr. Bill Stacy and Dr. Robert Foster.

School officials credited Carnahan, area lawmakers and Missouri voters with providing the funding to build the high-tech structure.

Gov. Mel Carnahan, whose father graduated from the school, spoke at the ceremony.

"Now Southeast Missouri State University will no longer be Missouri's only business school with no business building," he said.

Carnahan said the building will help attract students and enhance the university's reputation.

For the university and its supporters, Monday's dedication was the culmination of a dream.

Stroup told the crowd that dreams do come true.

"Hey, we did it. We made it," said Stroup. "It was indeed a team effort."

The Southeast Missouri University foundation raised $2.4 million to help construct the business building.

Missouri voters narrowly approved a $250 million bond issue in August 1994 for state projects. Included in the bond package was more than $12 million for the business building.

But more than anything, the dedication was a tribute to two men whose financial donations moved the project forward: Donald L. Harrison, president of the Board of Regents; and the late Robert A. Dempster.

Harrison, a retired Cape Girardeau businessman, gave $1 million to the university's business college and has pledged another $1 million to the school.

The business college is named for him.

Harrison said he plans to step down as president of the Board of Regents. He said it is time for someone else to lead.

Harrison said he will continue to serve as a regent. His term officially ended in 1995, but the governor hasn't replaced him.

Harrison has served on the board since 1989. He has been its president since April 1993.

"I hope we never cease to move forward and progress never stops," he said.

The business building is named for Dempster, who gave $1 million to the university to help boost its capital campaign.

Dempster was a Sikeston lawyer and devoted friend of the school. He died March 24, 1995, at the age of 82.

His widow, Lynn Dempster, attended the dedication. A former regent, Lynn Dempster praised the new building as a legacy to her late husband's commitment to education.

School officials unveiled portraits of Harrison and Dempster, and a plaque that will hang in the new 100,000-square-foot building.

"This is truly a building designed to serve the students of Southeast Missouri well into the next century," said Dr. Gerald McDougall, dean of the business college.