Southeast Missouri University Foundation and Southeast Missouri State University Alumni Association will kick off Homecoming weekend with the annual Copper Dome Society and Alumni Awards Dinner.

The university will honor members of the Copper Dome Society and the 2020 and 2021 Alumni Awards recipients and Friends of the University at the dinner Oct. 29 at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

The evening will begin with a social at 6 p.m., followed by the program and dinner at 6:30 p.m.

The 2021 Alumni Merit Award recipients are: Scott Giles, Class of 1994; Thomas Meyer, Class of 1975; Janet Brunton Ruopp, Class of 1972; and Patrick Ruopp, Class of 1976.

Steven Hoffman, Southeast professor of history and anthropology, will receive this year's Faculty Merit Award.

Alumni Merit Awards have been presented annually since 1958 to Southeast alumni who have brought distinction to themselves and the university.

Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs, class of 1974, and wife Susan will receive this year's Friends of the University Award.

This year's Distinguished Service Award will be presented to the founding members of the Honorable Young Men's Club in Cape Girardeau: Cantrell Andrews, Class of 2016; Wyky Jean, Class of 2014; Aaron Adeoye, Class of 2015; and Kweku A. Arkoful, Class of 2012. The award was established in 2017 to honor alumni younger than 37 for outstanding service to and support of the university.

Timothy Wencewicz, class of 2006, will receive the Distinguished Young Alumni Award for 2021.

The university presented the 2020 awards during the virtual Copper Dome Celebration last year, and recipients will receive their awards in person at this year's dinner.

The 2020 Alumni Merit Award recipients were Debra Reid, Class of 1982; David Blakemore, Class of 2010; Mirza Nadeem Zafa, Class of 1999; and Roy Thomas, Class of 1961.

Michelle Lyn Brune, Class of 1994, Southeast professor of interior design, received the Faculty Merit Award for excellence in teaching. Her career at Southeast began in 2003, when she was hired as an assistant professor in the interior design program.

Jeremy Loenneke of Oxford, Mississippi, was presented with a Distinguished Young Alumni Award. Loenneke is a 2008 Southeast graduate who, after earning his doctoral degree from The University of Oklahoma, teaches physiology at The University of Mississippi and conducts research on skeletal muscle adaptations to exercise.

For more information, contact the Southeast Alumni Relations Department at (573) 651-2259.