There are a number of great people leaving the University this year, but one in particular hits close to home: Mark Vargas, the Executive Director of the University Libraries. In full disclosure, we do share a last name, home address, and 50% of our DNA.
For the past two years, I have avoided writing on the library in fear of hitting on information too close to home or saying something that I should know about, but with both of our times coming to a close here at Saint Xavier University I find it an appropriate time to reflect on this passing of an era.
In issue Vol. 82 #13 News ran an official story on my father leaving, but here is the story about the man behind the title.
When our family moved to Illinois from our short stay in Oklahoma, we had just been through a hard fought divorce and only had a few hundred dollars to our name. Being young at the time, I did not fully comprehend how close we were to the edge.
My brother and I treated it like some sort of adventure and that sleeping on a plain mattress in an empty room was just part of the adventure. Slowly, we built up our world again over the next several years.
Every morning, he was always up before the sun sipping his coffee, reading some paper and looking like he was ready to take on the world. Even on the bad days, he had an air of optimism, and that is what led to his success here at SXU.
Coming home he would talk about the problems at work and his plans to fix them, which more often than not came true.
Despite all the time he spent on work, he always managed to have time for my younger brother and I. So much so that he even played and beat Halo: Combat Evolved on the second hardest difficulty to understand what my brother and I were talking about.
Even to this day, he will sit in on a couple of matches of our most recent game.
I could always tell that his work burdened him, but he took it as a challenge and I have yet to see him give up on something.
For almost as long as I can remember, he had been talking about these big renovation changes that he was planning for the library.
A new set of blue prints stretched across the dining room table every week and a constant zeal to make it better.
One of the first things that came in the renovation was switching out the Dewey Decimal system to the Library of Congress system.
I remember my brother and I having to work off a summer’s worth of fireworks by hunting down thousands of books for relabeling. All the while he was thinking of ways to make the library better for everyone.
He spearheaded the development of the library’s website by spending hours behind the home computer typing in code, he volunteered his weekends for events and finals, and tested new technologies for the classrooms.
The massive collection of over 6,000 movies was an enjoyable achievement for my father because he would sit down and watch all sorts of foreign, educational and indie films while simultaneously answering 50 emails.
He wanted to make sure that the students had access to as many educational and recreational resources as possible.
You could ask him anything at anytime and chances are he would already know it or email you back in five minutes even if it was 3a.m.
Mark Vargas truly cared about this university, his co-workers and the students.
I have yet to meet someone who does not have a fond memory of talking with my dad about any random topic in passing or deep conversation.
Now, he is moving on to another institution to bring about massive changes there, just as he had when stepping through Saint Xavier University’s doors all so many years ago. He will be missed by all.
Grant Vargas
Senior Viewpoints Editor