“Night at the Museum” launches fundraising campaign for SE Amphitheater project

May 16, 2025

A “Night at the Museum” was held by Southeastern Oklahoma State University at the Semple Family Museum for Native American Art on Tuesday evening, officially kicking off fundraising efforts for restoration and renovation of the historic Southeastern Amphitheater and its surrounding park.

The amphitheater has long been a gathering point for students on campus, hosting student events, classes, weddings, and celebrations of life throughout its history. The planned renovations to modernize the space are estimated to cost $2 million and will re-establish the Amphitheater as a performance space and enhance the Southeastern student experience. It will also serve as an extension of the Semple Family Museum of Native American Art.

“We’re so excited and so amazingly grateful and touched that the Semple family has decided to share a vision of making the Amphitheater part of the Semple Family Museum complex,” said Southeastern President Dr. Thomas W. Newsom to the gathered crowd. “This will become a place that our students and our community can use and cherish and celebrate a lot of special events.”

Donations from Southeastern’s second annual Day of Giving towards the Amphitheater project included $1 million from the Semple Family Foundation and $250,000 from the University. Only $750,000 is needed to reach the goals for the entire project.

“Hopefully within the next 9 to 12 months, we are breaking ground on the first phase of Amphitheater renovations,” said Newsom.

“We envision a future expansion for the Semple Family Museum, but the amphitheater renovation and the park with the walk from the museum is our main priority and we will get it done,” said Frank Semple, chair of the Semple Family Museum Board of Visitors. “It’s so important and such a cool project, we’ve decided as a board to make that happen, and the Semple family will support that next step.”

The museum expansion and Amphitheater renovations planned are particularly remarkable considering the Semple Family Museum began just five years ago and has been hosting programming for three years.

“We got this art collection 37 years ago and we’re a new museum, it’s just now that it has a home,” said museum curator Janie Semple Umsted. “We’re so proud of it and what it will become as we expand and renovate. I’m so grateful for everyone’s support.”

More information on the Southeastern Amphitheater’s history and renovation needs – as well as links for giving – is available at www.SE.edu/amphitheater.