The plan provides an overview of the displays that will be housed in the Museum.

In August of 2001, Southeast received a three-year, $2.6 million grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to plan the future of the River Campus Museum, hire additional staff, acquire equipment and hire architects and consultants. During the first year, Lord Cultural Resources Planning and Management Inc., working under contract with Jacobs Facilities Inc., has prepared an exhibition plan for the University Museum at the River Campus.

Under the approved plan, the University Museum's displays will be categorized into three main areas.

First, visitors to the Museum will be treated to a short video presentation in the Museum's auditorium. This program will present the history of southeast Missouri with special focus on the relationship between land and river and the idea of the region as an environmental and cultural "crossroads."

Second, the permanent collection exhibitions will focus on the history and pre-history of southeast Missouri, tracking development from the earliest geological events and human occupation to the various waves of colonization, conflict and industry powered by the Mississippi River. Related to the exhibitions will be displays showing meaningful relations between artifacts and events. The visitor's experience will be organized around the theme of "crossroads" - culturally and environmentally.

Third, the temporary exhibition space will be used primarily to present changing exhibitions from the Museum's art collection and public programs as well as traveling shows from around the country and the world. Space also will be available for in-depth presentations on topics related to the permanent exhibitions, and the University's ethnographic and geological collections.

"With the new River Campus Museum and its unparalleled setting, we have an opportunity to reach many people throughout this region," said Dr. Stanley Grand, director of the University Museum. "We have an opportunity to display significant artifacts from our collection and to highlight the cultural richness of this area. Visitors to the Museum will find it to be a true gem."