Vaden Burns Hargis (born October 29, 1945)[1] is an American attorney who served as the 18th president of Oklahoma State University.

[4] While some people criticized his appointment to the OSU presidency because Hargis had no experience in the actual work of teaching, he had previously been involved with other activities pertaining to education.

[4] OSU faculty council chairman, Bob Miller, questioned Hargis about lacking, "...in the trenches teaching experience," Hargis responded by telling the group that his assets included "political finesse, fundraising and broad visioning.

This campaign set a target of $1.2 billion in donations, primarily from OSU friends and alumni.

[7] In March 2020, The Journal Records announced that Hargis has been selected as this year's recipient of the Legacy Award.