F. King Alexander

Fieldon King Alexander is the former president of Louisiana State University and former president of California State University, Long Beach and of Murray State University, in Murray, Kentucky. In December 2019, he announced that he would leave LSU effective December 31, 2019 to take the presidency at Oregon State University, starting July 1, 2020.

F. King Alexander
President of Louisiana State University
Assumed office
July 1, 2013
Preceded byJohn V. Lombardi
President of California State University, Long Beach
In office
January 2006 – June 30, 2013
Preceded byRobert Maxson
President of Murray State University
In office
September 2001 – December 2005
Preceded byS. Kern Alexander
Succeeded byRandy J. Dunn
Personal details
BornLouisville, Kentucky, United States
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Williams Alexander (died 2000)
Shenette Campbell Alexander (since 2006)
Children2
MotherRuth H. Alexander
FatherKern Alexander
Alma materSt. Lawrence University (BA)
University of Oxford (MSc)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (PhD)

Early life and career

Alexander was born in Kentucky but raised in Gainesville, Florida. His mother, Ruth H. Alexander, was an activist for women in collegiate sports and was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame. Both his father and brothers played collegiate football.[1] His father, Kern Alexander,[2] is Professor of Excellence at the University of Illinois.

Alexander received a PhD in higher education administration from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a master's degree in educational studies/comparative education policy from the University of Oxford, and a bachelor's degree in political science from St. Lawrence University.[3] At St. Lawrence, he was a member of the men's basketball team, and at Cal State Long Beach he was occasionally seen on campus in pickup games with students.[4]

University presidencies

Murray State University

Alexander was the president of Murray State University in Kentucky from 2001 to 2005,[5] his predecessor being his father Kern Alexander.

California State University, Long Beach

F. King Alexander was appointed as the sixth president of California State University, Long Beach on January 9, 2006. During his time at CSULB, a new $70 million Student Recreation Wellness Center was completed along with a $110 million Hall of Science building. The Hall of Science building was the largest capital building project in the history of the CSULB campus and most expensive building project in the CSU system. Enrollment at CSULB was 34,500 when Alexander took office, and it increased by more than 2,000 students by 2012.[6][7][8] At the same time that Alexander oversaw an increase in the student body, he oversaw a 12% decrease in the total number of faculty from 2185 in Spring 2006 to 1890 in Spring 2013.[9] On May 15, 2013, the California Conference for Equality and Justice presented him with the Humanitarian Award.[10]

Louisiana State University
With John L. Crain (left), President of Southeastern Louisiana University, Alexander responds to questions about funding for Louisiana's public universities, on a panel hosted by the Greater Hammond Chamber of Commerce during 2015.

It was announced on March 27, 2013, that Alexander would become president of the LSU system and chancellor of Louisiana State University A&M effective July 1, 2013.[11] Some criticism occurred over the way the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors had conducted its search to fill the position of president of LSU after John V. Lombardi had been fired from it under alleged influence by Governor Bobby Jindal and as Alexander was named the sole finalist for president of LSU. The decision was met with a unanimously negative vote of confidence by LSU's faculty senate against the LSU Board of Supervisors, but Board of Supervisors chair Hank Danos asserted that Alexander "was clearly the right guy for LSU."[12] The Faculty Senate's vote of no confidence in Alexander's hiring noted that Alexander had never been a tenured full professor at a major research university and that the graduation rates at CSULB were lower than those at LSU.[13]

Personal life

Alexander's first wife, Elizabeth Williams Alexander, died of breast cancer in 2000.[5] In 2006 he married Shenette (Campbell) Alexander.[14]

Publications
  • 2006. F. King Alexander and Daniel Layzell, "Changing Priorities and the Evolution of Public Higher Education Finance in Illinois," What's Happening to Public Higher Education?, pp. 135–158.
  • 2000. F. King Alexander, "The Changing Face of Accountability: Monitoring and Assessing Institutional Performance in Higher Education," The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 71, No. 4 (July/August): pp. 411–431. http://rubensdissertation.wikispaces.com/file/view/article+2.pdf

As editor
  • 2003. F. King Alexander and Ronald G. Ehrenberg. Maximizing Revenue in Higher Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • 2002. The University: International Expectations. McGill-Queen's University Press.

References
  1. Kleinpeter, Jim (August 24, 2013). "Q and A with LSU President/Chancellor F. King Alexander". nola.com. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  2. "Interviewee: Ruth Alexander" (PDF). ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  3. "Dr. F. King Alexander". California State University. Archived from the original on 4 July 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  4. Moreno, Matt (February 18, 2009). "Obama not the only prez with basketball jones". Daily 49er. California State University, Long Beach. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  5. Ambrose, Anne (Spring 2006). "CSULB Welcomes President Alexander". The Beach Review. California State University, Long Beach.
  6. "F. King Alexander took Cal State Long Beach to a higher level: Editorial". Press-Telegram. May 21, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  7. Silverstein, Stuart (October 28, 2005). "New President of Cal State Long Beach Named". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  8. Rider, Tiffany (June 4, 2013). "Long Beach Bids Adieu To Popular CSULB President F. King Alexander". Long Beach Business Journal. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  9. "Institutional Research & Analytics". 2017-05-10.
  10. Ballard, Ernie. "Incoming LSU President and Chancellor F. King Alexander Receives Humanitarian Award". Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  11. "Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander to Become President-Chancellor of the Louisiana State University System" (Press release). California State University, Long Beach. March 27, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  12. Addo, Koran (2013-03-22). "Alexander defends record". Advocate. Baton Rouge. pp. 1A, 4A. Retrieved 2013-03-22. The interim president after Lombardi's firing was William Jenkins, who had preceded Lombardi in the position.
  13. "LSU Faculty Senate votes 'no confidence' in board", WWLTV.com, March 20, 2013, http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/199191511.html Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Doug Krikorian, "LBSU Reflects Its President", Long Beach Press Telegram, 13 May 2007
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