Dr. Carlos Vargas-Aburto spoke about how he learned he wanted to be a university president full time through his experience as acting president at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.

Vargas is one of the four finalists for the Southeast Missouri State University's presidential position. He spoke at an open forum on Monday, Feb. 23, in Glenn Auditorium at Dempster Hall.

"I think the president is a unique position to have at any institution, and I see that person as being the one that has to essentially exercise institutional leadership," Vargas said. "Institutional leadership incorporates talking about the mission and the vision of the institution and actually getting people excited about it. Articulating it in a way that makes sense for students, for faculty, but also for external constituencies."

Vargas said that it's the president's job to work with those involved with the university, as well as the outside world.

"I'm very accessible, I don't keep people away from me or anything," Vargas said. "And I'm a good listener, too. When I talk to people, I don't forget those things, so I guess what people say [is] I'm real. It's not like I'm talking to somebody, but looking at somebody else."

Vargas said he has been able to connect with the community in Kutztown and that those connections have helped him gain valuable ideas.

"I've been involved in programs related to leadership in higher education and you learn a lot," Vargas said. "It's almost like classroom learning. The problem comes when you have to apply it, so there is nothing like actually being in a position of president to really understand the impact that it has and the ability that you have to really influence the perception of the institution and the direction of an institution."

Vargas added that as provost, he was in charge of academic and student affairs but now goes from meetings about athletics to meetings about fundraising or facilities management.

"One of the things that it has done is convince me that I really do want to take a [presidential] position on a more permanent basis," Vargas said.

He was impressed with various aspects of Southeast including its core mission, accreditation efforts, online programs and the diversity of its students.

"It's a very successful institution attracting international students, which I also think is very good," Vargas said. "International students are a group of students that actually have an impact on the institution not only from the financial perspective but also from the impact that they have as a role model for students internally."

Vargas said that international students allow domestic students to learn about other cultures and have the encouragement to study abroad themselves.

"Your level of diversity has also been increasing, and I understand at this point you pretty much are reflecting the diversity level in the region," Vargas said. "You don't have to stop there. You can actually continue and make this more of a destination school for underrepresented students, and I think that is a worthwhile effort."

Vargas pointed out that Southeast has already started to become a destination school due to its increased enrollment. He said that while other states have seen their institutions struggle due to limited funding and decreased enrollment, Southeast has been able to keep tuition revenue rising.

Vargas mentioned that while he didn't do a lot of fundraising work as a provost, he has done a lot in his time as acting president.

"I've been very involved with the foundation in cultivating donors, in actually helping the foundation identify the new ways of establishing the communication with the university," Vargas said.

He is currently reorganizing the operations between the foundation and the university to be more clear on who does what. With his work with the foundation, Vargas has proposed a new fundraising effort to fund current students having trouble paying their student bills, as well as solicited donations, most recently $100,000 for a new telescope.

Vargas mentioned that he streamlined business practices including simplifying the admissions process by focusing on student needs.

"To me student-centric is not a simple thing to address," Vargas said. "It requires first to define what we mean by student-centric."

Vargas said that he sees it primarily as trying to make the university student-friendly. He gave the example of changing the name of their bursar's office to the more universally understood, Student Accounts Office. Vargas added that most decisions were made to make the faculty's work easier and being student-centric meant shifting that balance.

Vargas said his management style is to encourage creativity and collaboration where the best idea wins.

"I think I'm good at creating an environment where people are comfortable and enjoy working there," Vargas said. "I'm a good mentor, but then I don't overdo it. When I work with somebody, I give them an opportunity to develop and then I pull back."

Vargas added that he demands a lot of himself because he wants to be proud of where he is and that the way to be proud is to do everything he can to make the institution the best it can be.