Students will get their first chance to speak with the only finalist in the University’s search for a new president, F. King Alexander, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. today in the Union Theater.

Alexander will hold forums with staff and faculty during his visit to Baton Rouge today and Friday, and each forum will be streamed online. Students may submit questions for Alexander via email at [email protected].

Alexander is currently the president of California State University Long Beach and was announced as LSU’s top choice for the newly combined system president and chancellor position at the Board of Supervisors meeting Monday.

He was named President of the Year by the California State University Student Association twice, and he has worked at a total of five public universities, serving as president at Murray State University in Kentucky from 2001 to 2005 and at CSULB from 2005 to present.

The announcement of Alexander’s candidacy arrived amid complaints from campus bodies that the president search wasn’t transparent enough, including a “no confidence” resolution from the Faculty Senate to the Board of Supervisors. The editor in chief of The Daily Reveille has also threatened to file a lawsuit against the University on the grounds of rejected access to the names of the more than 30 previous candidates.

According to coworkers of Alexander at CSU Long Beach, the man is far more student-centric than institution-centric when tackling issues surrounding higher education.

Kasia Hall, editor in chief of the Daily 49er, CSU Long Beach’s campus newspaper, said Alexander is held in high regards in the campus community. During his tenure at CSU Long Beach, graduation rates improved to the highest levels in the school’s history.