After moving from Virginia to Texas, vice president of University Advancement and Public Affairs Tony Vidmar is working to make higher education more affordable. Beginning his new position in the summer, he is extending the legacy of his grandparents, who immigrated to the United States to help his father get a good education. Likewise, he works to do the same for students. The goal? To make college more affordable and accessible for students.

So what does your office do?
“We work on three goals: increasing awareness of our school, increasing the engagement of our school and increasing the giving to our school. And the giving is not just money. It can be time, talent and of course, treasure.”

What do you like about MSU?
“The teacher to student ratio, the fact that it is a small school and a large school. Having been to six different university campuses nationwide, [MSU is] arguably the prettiest campus I’ve been to.”

What do you like about Wichita Falls?
“The town is beautiful and the people are friendly. It is arguably the friendliest place I’ve ever lived. People still wave and say hi to you. It’s just a great place to live.”

What does a typical day look like for you?
“There’s not a typical day. There’s always a meeting with alumni, donors or colleagues. I’m always meeting a wide variety of people, either by phone, email, or in person. I’m interacting with people every day, analyzing data and giving many alumni thank you notes. We write thank you notes every day and sign each of them. We also do a lot of community relations. Although we are always at work with many people, at the end of the day, it always comes down to the three main goals.”

What do you like/dislike about your job?
“I like that we are doing our part to make college more affordable. I’ve always enjoyed connecting people for a cause, for something near and dear to their hearts. There’s not really anything I dislike about my job. I’ve been blessed. It’s an area that I love.”

Any visions or hopes for the school year?
“We hope to finish more planning for our campaign and our requests for proposals. I want to learn more and add more on the hard work that has already been done. Never replace a legend, but build upon their hard work.”

Any advice for students?
“Seek out involvement in something you’re interested in and not just academics. Do something you love every day and find a balance because there are a lot of expectations from society. Learn that your total student experience is part of your investment, and realize that as a student at MSU, your future is really bright.”