Vargas receives 3-year contract extension from SEMO Board of Governors

Editor's note: This story has been updated to note Vargas is the seventh highest paid president among Missouri's 14 public four-year universities.

Southeast Missouri State University president Carlos Vargas's contract has been extended by the Board of Governors for another three years.

Vargas's salary increase, according to the university, is equivalent to what the board approved for all Southeast employees and his contract extension is effective July 1 to June 30, 2025. The approval of the three-year rolling contract came after a self-assessment report, an assessment by the Board of Governors and his leadership of the university during the past year.

According to Tonya Wells, assistant vice president for marketing and communications at the university, Vargas's annual salary during the 2021-2022 school year was $314,948.27. Wells said the new contract takes the president's salary to $337,126.88 per year.

In the year of 2021-2022, according to the Missouri Blue Book, Vargas ranked seventh in highest paid Missouri university presidents with the top being University of Missouri president Mun Choi, whose salary was $600,000 per year. The lowest was State Technical College of Missouri's president Shawn Strong at $190,800 per year.

President of Board of Governors Edward Gargas said in the university's news release that some of the accomplishments leading to the extension include the creation of a new Strategic Action Plan, the launch of the professional pilot degree path, the completion of the Economic Impact Study and more.

Gargas noted Vargas has shown a strong commitment to the university in his leadership.

"University President Vargas has the support of the Board, and we are grateful for all he has done and will continue to do," Gargas said in a statement.