10 YEARS and counting
OSU’s president having too much fun to retire
STILLWATER — When Burns Hargis took the reins of Oklahoma State University 10 years ago, he was the first president who hadn’t come from an academic background.
“It was all new to me,” Hargis said. “Fortunately, the lion’s share of it has been terrific.”
After a long legal and business career, Hargis was named the 18th president of the OSU system in December 2007 and took office March 10, 2008.
The job involves three main things, he said, starting with the management of a big operation. OSU has a $1.3 billion annual budget, 6,000 to 7,000 employees and 35,000 students on campuses in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Okmulgee.
Politics, both internal and external, is another big part of the job, while the third is raising money.
“Fundraising is essential. It’s essential for scholarships to enable students to be able to go to school. It’s essential for faculty and facilities,” Hargis said.
The battle to recruit and retain the best faculty and to provide the best facilities for teaching and research is continuous, he said.
In February 2010, Hargis publicly launched the $1 billion Branding Success campaign, which had been raising money quietly since he was appointed president. The campaign to support students, faculty, programs and facilities surpassed the $1 billion goal in April 2013, nearly two years ahead of schedule.
The campaign continued through its scheduled completion date, eventually raising gifts and pledges totaling more than $1.2 billion from more than 100,000 individuals and corporations, including nearly 45,000 first-time donors to OSU.
Burns and Ann Hargis committed $1.5 million to fund scholarships for freshman students from Oklahoma.
Along with the growth in gifts came a growth in enrollment.
OSU’s 2012-13 freshman class of 4,289 broke the record for the university and the state. Enrollment for the combined OSU-Stillwater and OSU-Tulsa campuses totaled a record 25,554 and systemwide enrollment hit a record of more than 36,500. Four years later, undergraduate enrollment on the Stillwater campus reached 20,277, an all-time high.
Energy, possibilities
The students are the best part of the job, said Hargis, 72.
“Being around 25,000 20-year-olds is just great. It’s just terrific for an old guy.
“I officed in downtown Oklahoma City for 40 years and was never around people this age in my work life,” he said. “They’ve just got a lot of energy ... . You draw energy from energy.”
The best cure for a bad mood is to walk on campus when classes are changing, Hargis said. “You’ll just be rejuvenated.”
The students are at a point in life where the possibilities are almost infinite, Hargis said.
“It’s a whole wide world they’re exploring,” he said. “They think they know where they’re going, but I keep reminding them, ‘You’re going to be surprised,’ because I sure would never have seen myself in this office.”
Ann Hargis said the students are upbeat, hopeful, energetic and fun to be around.
OSU’s first cowgirl regularly gives students a ride in her golf cart or meets them when she brings her trained therapy dog, Scruff, to campus. Their reactions run the gamut, from not recognizing her to treating her like a celebrity and snapping selfies.
“I didn’t have any idea how Ann would take to this job,” her husband said. “She has been a wonderful asset for us and for OSU. She’s such a positive note on campus. She’d easily win the popularity contest.”
It’s not just the current students. The president and first cowgirl said meeting alumni from around the world has been a wonderful part of the job.
“We’re both having so much fun,” Ann Hargis said. “It’s been an elixir to our relationship, as well.”
When Hargis worked as a lawyer and businessman, his work often was sensitive and confidential. Now they share the day’s work.
“Ann is in my office more in a week than she was those entire 40 years,” Hargis said.
His job has given them a purpose and a mission in common, she said. “There’s a fit that enhances what he’s doing.”
Or as he put it, “They got a two-fer.”
10 years and counting
Hargis said he wasn’t very involved with his alma mater after graduating with a degree in accounting. Then in 2002, Gov. Frank Keating appointed him to serve on the Board of Regents for OSU and the A&M Colleges. After five years, Hargis stepped down so he could seek the president’s job.
“It’s a unique place and most of the uniqueness is a real pleasure,” Hargis said.
But in a university community of 32,000 people, tragedy is inevitable.
“There will always be two or three of those a year,” Hargis said. “Regardless how many or few, the fatalities, they are hard.”
Two tragedies since he took office each took four lives: the 2011 plane crash during a Cowgirls basketball recruiting trip and the car that careened into the October 2015 homecoming parade crowd.
“It really does affect the whole campus,” Hargis said.
After the parade tragedy, he had to decide in short order if the afternoon football game should be played or if that would be disrespectful. He talked with his team, then went with, “yes.”
“I didn’t think of this at the time, but basically it was bringing everybody together to deal with this together,” Hargis said. “At the end of the day, it was the right decision, although I sure didn’t know it when I made it.”
Helping the Cowboy family pull through was the Stillwater community, which Ann Hargis describes as a welcoming, nurturing and friendly place.
“The town opened up their arms before we even got here,” she said. Messages of welcome were displayed on signs and marquees across town.
Hargis said he doesn’t know how much longer he will stay in the job. “I can’t imagine retiring,” he said. “I really can’t. I don’t know what I’d do all day.”