Southeastern Oklahoma State University first opened its doors to students on June 14, 1909, as Southeastern State Normal School, to educate teachers for Oklahoma's public schools. The school's first sessions were held in temporary quarters until 1910 when the Normal School building, later called Morrison Hall, was constructed in a peach orchard. In 1921, the institution became a four-year college and was renamed Southeastern State Teachers College. The purpose of the school expanded in 1939 to offer two newly authorized non-education degrees—Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science—and became Southeastern State College. When the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education designated Southeastern as an area community college in 1968, educational programs in business, technology, aviation and conservation were added to the curriculum.
