The University badly needs a central leader — an innovator, an educator and a future legend — and President Designate F. King Alexander might be just the person it’s yearning for.
Or he might not.
Either way, LSU needs a permanent chief like a diabetic needs insulin. Without one, the University’s sour budget situation will only get worse until one day, this too-big-to-fail institution turns into a sinking ship rather than a flagship.
Alexander has a good reputation. He seems cool, young and smart. He smiles as often as possible for a man about to accept a position that will likely result in his hair graying before he learns how to pronounce “Dalrymple.”
But in spite of the University’s covert presidential search methods, in which it may or may not have considered women, minorities or candidates much better suited for the job than Alexander, if he’s the guy, I’ve got his back. And you should, too.
Interim System President and Chancellor William “Bill” Jenkins has fulfilled his duty over the past year — keep the University afloat, attend countless meetings and melt crowds with his exotic South African accent.
The trouble with the word “interim” is that it implies instability and uncertainty, creating an atmosphere unfit to produce forward decision-making and future prosperity.
Alexander, on the other hand, has held his current position as the president of California State University Long Beach for a mind-boggling seven years.
Take a minute to let that sink in.
Jenkins hadn’t yet stepped down from his original stint as the University’s system president, and most undergraduate students were in middle school. Some hadn’t even had recess taken away yet.
Jenkins came back to LSU after it burned through two chancellors and fired a president. But he only did it as an emergency leader, per se.
Throughout LSU’s leadership turmoil, Alexander has held the same job — at the same place.
We need a consistent commander to help lead the University to the promised land, or at least a time when budget cuts won’t dominate the news cycle.
Alexander’s relative youth is exciting. We haven’t had a chancellor without gray hair this millennium.
A former college basketball player, Alexander has been seen playing pickup ball with students in California.
Can you imagine Jenkins, in his mid-’70s, competing in
anything more physically exerting than a round of golf or a tussle with his grandkids?
Granted, being physically fit, or young for that matter, doesn’t really play into the decision of who will lead a University. And as I mentioned before, Jolly Jenkins has done everything he was asked to do since he accepted the mentally and somewhat physically demanding job of president-chancellor last fall.
Still, I can’t contain myself — how cool would it be to “school” the chancellor?
I haven’t hit a jump shot in years — the basket might as well be the size of a peppermint. But I could still enjoy a casual chat while shooting some hoops with the University’s boss-man.
Nobody can predict how he’ll fare if officially appointed to lead the University sometime in the near future.
But if students want the best education possible, they should support their leaders, just as leaders should embrace their students.
Mr. Alexander, welcome to Baton Rouge, unofficially.
Ben Wallace is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Tyler, Texas.
