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May 19, 2008

Hargis tells Rotary Club members about becoming OSU president

By Violet Spader Staff Writer

Burns Hargis, Oklahoma State University president, updated members of Enid Rotary Club Monday on what he’s been up to since he took office March 10.

“It’s been non-stop, unbelievably busy,” Hargis said, describing his experience as a “baptism under fire.”

He was a political analyst on the television show “Flashpoint” for 15 years and unsuccessfully ran for governor on the Republican ticket in 1990.

“Everything that’s happened since wouldn’t have happened if not for that,” he told Rotarians. “Everything worked out.”

Hargis said he thinks the current university system needs to be redesigned to better meet the needs of students.

“I want them to have a much broader experience than they’ve had before,” Hargis said.

His focus, he said, is on fundraising and creativity.

Less than 30 percent of OSU’s funding comes from the state, according to Hargis, and he said there’s a limit to how high tuition can be raised.

“I’ve got to raise a lot of money and reorganize the place, too,” he said.

Creativity is something Hargis believes everyone is capable of, “we just don’t all embrace the process.”

“There’s no greater amount of cerebral horsepower than on a university campus,” Hargis said. “We’ve got great students and a lot of talent.”

Passion is important, he said, more important than making money.

“Our job is to help students find their passion,” Hargis said. “We’ll do that by exposing them to things they’ve never seen before.”

OSU has more than 32,500 students, 7,400 employees and campuses in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Okmulgee.

In December 2007, Hargis was named 18th president of OSU. The second OSU alumnus to hold the position, Hargis graduated from the university with a degree in accounting. He earn-ed his law degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Hargis practiced law in Oklahoma City for 28 years, then joined Bank of Oklahoma in 1997 as vice chairman.

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