Missouri Southern State University - Crossroads Yearbook (Joplin, MO)

Page 6 text:

Governor visits campus (Right) Gov. John Ashcroft speaks at a reception Dec. 3 in the Billingsly Student Center. (Below left) Ashcroft visits with Dr. Julio Leon at the Missouri Southern Drury College basket¬ ball game. (Below right) At halftime of the basketball game Ashcroft presents a proclamation to Leon. (Bottom) Ashcroft began his visit to the College by participating in Matthews Hall ground-breaking ceremonies — Photos by Martin Oetting Ashcroft ★

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T his was the year of Halleys Comet. Rather than the spectacular fireball reported in 1910, this time around it was farther away from Earth, and it was dimmer. But it returned, just as it has every 76 years since the first recorded sighting in 239 B.C. Well, a shooting star is not a comet, but the luminosity of a shooting star and the dependability of a comet are also attributes of the young, vital college which is Missouri Southern. Much as a shooting star bursts into brightness as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere, Missouri Southerns fame and reputation gain in enhancement as the decade of the 80s approaches an end. And like the comet which returns in regular cycles to light up the skies, so Missouri Southern establishes the fact that it is here to stay. Unlike the shooting star, its luminosity will not fade. In its brief history as a four-year college, Southern has become a phenomenon of sorts in higher education. Steady development, careful addition of new programs in an atmosphere of controlled growth, increasing attention to quality, awareness of public needs and sensitivity to student desires mark Southern’s increasing reputation. But Southern is more. It is a galaxy of stars—of students who work to excel, of faculty and staff who strive to encourage, of alumni who seek to honor the past, and of area residents who continue to support. Not for one brief shining moment but for decades to come, Southern builds. It is a shooting star yet to gain its ultimate brightness, and it is “Southern: Shooting Star of the 80s” we salute in this book. i Opening ★ O

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(Top left) Gov. Ashcroft congratulates Dr. Conrad Gubera, associate professor of sociology, for his work in the College’s United Way drive. (Top right) Ashcroft speaks during Matthews Hall ground-breaking ceremonies. (Left) The Governor prepares to turn a shovel of dirt. (Above) Athletic Director Jim Frazier presents Ashcroft with an official Missouri Southern jacket and cap — Photos by Martin Oetting Ashcroft