Southeast Missouri State University is about to inaugurate its new President.
The daylong event will conclude with the inauguration ceremony for Carlos Vargas Thursday afternoon on the Cape Girardeau campus.
Bill Holland is chair of the Presidential Inauguration Committee. He says the school decided to hold the event because Vargas has been so widely accepted by the campus community after taking over for longtime President Ken Dobbins last July.
Holland says Vargas had only one mandate for the event...that it not be about him.
"It was to be about the University. It was to be about its history, its successes and its future. That has been our guiding principles. He wants to use this as an opportunity for celebration."
Holland says Vargas' mandate speaks to his humility.
"He is not about himself. He is about the cause, the institution, its values, and its mission. He is incredibly devoted to students and their academic success."
Holland says tours of campus will be available throughout the day.
"There's going to be a lot for the community to come in and experience in ways that they don't necessarily get to, say during a homecoming or something like that."
Holland says planning for the event started in January and the excitement on campus has exceeded his wildest expectations.
"Our program is going to be focused on a welcome from the students, from the alumni, and from the faculty and staff. I don't know how much better you could script something."
Tours of Academic Hall start at 8 a.m. Thursday, with bus tours of campus starting at 10 a.m. and open houses in several academic buildings getting underway at 11 a.m.
The inauguration ceremony will start at 2 p.m. at the Show Me Center.
For more information about the day's events, visit semo.edu.
