Nathan Bullock began serving as the Dean of Extended Studies at Southeast on Feb. 1.

Bullock replaces Marsha Blanchard, previously Dean of Regional Campuses, who is retiring this year after nearly 20 years at Southeast.

Under the new title Dean of Extended Studies, Bullock will supervise the regional campuses, Extended Studies staff, directors of Southeast Online and dual credit programs.

The previous title, Dean of Regional Campuses, was not involved with Southeast Online, or dual credit programs.

Southeast plans to use the new extended studies position as a representative figure for connections between all campuses and platforms.

Other duties include working with non-traditional students to attain their degrees, organizing summer and winter sessions and helping with off-campus distance learning and contract training.

Southeast Provost Mike Godard said Bullock's past involvement in outreach programs at Rutgers University and Delaware Valley University, as well as online extension services, made him the most qualified candidate for the position.

“Nathan really had a firm understanding and handle on what we were looking to expand upon as an institution in terms of our extended offerings,” Godard said. “I thought he kind of brought that complete package together for us. Additionally, Nathan actually grew up in the Bootheel, so he understands who we are and who we serve, and I felt that incredibly advantageous for Southeast Missouri State.”

Godard explained how the University plans to set goals and benefit from Bullock’s new position.

“I'm really optimistic that we're going to be able to look at more innovative ways to deliver education to our students whether that be online, what format and what type of technology to best serve our students, especially those away from the main campus,” Godard said.

“Putting all our services under one structure will allow for us to think more strategically on what we're doing, how we're doing it and how we can just get better at it.”

Bullock said he values the “human experience” in the new position and will strive to provide high-quality service to students.

“This is really exciting for me. I believe the experience that the faculty and staff have largely becomes the students' experience,” Bullock said. “So I feel like providing a good work environment in a place where they feel appreciated and valued is important and something that I try to focus on.”

He added the evolution of the modern student’s schedule was also taken into account when formulating his title’s responsibilities.

“We're hoping it makes it a lot easier to have synergy between the departments. I think that a lot of students are looking to be able to take one online class this semester, one main campus class and even one at that regional classroom, depending on what their interests are, and hopefully having those things together will help us kind of make it easier for instance,” Bullock said.

Bullock said the core value of his position is to assist the connection and inclusivity of non-traditional main campus students.

“We all want to feel appreciated and want to feel included — it’s just kind of part of our DNA,” Bullock said. “There's obviously going to be some differences between main campus and regional campuses, but at the end of the day, it has to do with their experience and them coming out of it being set up for success.”