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Burns Hargis
President
Oklahoma State UniversityBurns Hargis was named the 18th President of Oklahoma State University and the OSU System in December 2007 and took office March 10, 2008. Hargis oversees one of the nation’s most comprehensive land-grant university systems with more than 32,000 students, 7,400 employees, and campuses located in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Okmulgee.
Hargis, who holds degrees in accounting from Oklahoma State University and in law from the University of Oklahoma, is the second OSU graduate to lead the university as president. Oliver S. Willham, who served as president from 1952 to 1966, graduated from then Oklahoma A&M in 1923.
“Burns Hargis has distinguished himself as one of Oklahoma’s most dynamic leaders, earning the respect of people from across the country,” said Lou Watkins, chair of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, in March 2008. “Throughout his career in both business and public service, he has demonstrated an ability to approach important matters strategically and creatively. We are indeed excited about the future of OSU and the System under the leadership of President Hargis.”
Before being named OSU President, Hargis had a long and distinguished legal and business career, with active civic and philanthropic leadership across many fronts. He also is familiar to many Oklahomans through the political perspective and wit he provided on the award-winning television program “Flashpoint”.
Prior to coming to OSU, he was Vice Chairman of Bank of Oklahoma, N.A. Before joining Bank of Oklahoma in 1997, Hargis practiced law in Oklahoma City for 28 years, most recently with the firm of McAfee & Taft. He is a former president of the Oklahoma County Bar Association, former president of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation, and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Hargis served as vice-chairman of the Oklahoma State Election Board, the Oklahoma Constitutional Revision Commission, and served as Chairman of the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services. He is a former member of the Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Hargis was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Oklahoma in 1990.
A firm believer in the power of imagination and collaboration, Hargis was the first chair of the Oklahoma Creativity Project. He has served and chaired many boards, including the Board of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges of Oklahoma State University.
Hargis and his wife, Ann, have two married children and three grandchildren.
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President 
