Fieldon King Alexander is a father of three, a twice-named “President of the Year” by the California State University Student Association and the sole finalist for LSU’s combined chancellor and president position. 

Alexander, who is currently president of California State University Long Beach, was born in Louisville, Ky., but raised in Gainesville, Fla., until he left the state in 1987 to attend St. Lawrence University in New York in pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts degree. 

He then traveled overseas to pursue his Master of Science degree from the University of Oxford, England, in 1991, but he returned to the states for his doctorate in 1996 at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., specifically studying educational leadership and policy analysis. 

Since the conclusion of his college career, Alexander has served as president of two public universities — Murray State University in Kentucky from 2001 to 2005 and CSU Long Beach from 2005 to present. He has also worked at five public universities in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky and California. 

The University’s gain is California State University Long Beach’s great loss, said Associate Vice President of Public Affairs Terri Carbaugh — a notion echoed by many others at CSU Long Beach, including Long Beach College District Superintendent-President Eloy Ortiz Oakley.

“I greet the news that President F. King Alexander is the consensus candidate for the presidency at Louisiana State University with sadness and great pride,” Oakley said. “His commitment to our community and students as exemplified by the Long Beach College Promise would be deeply missed in Long Beach. These same traits set him apart as a higher education leader who understands the connection of public education institutions to the communities they serve. He has been a true partner of Long Beach City College and his leadership has helped secure the success of the Long Beach College Promise for generations to come. I am sure he will produce similar results at LSU if they are fortunate enough to have him as their president.”

Alexander is much more student-centric than institution-centric when tackling issues surrounding higher education, Carbaugh said. He puts the students and their families first.

He helped start the Long Beach College Promise, which began in 2008 with the aim to improve college preparation, access and completion for local students of the greater Long Beach community, she said. This involves elementary students visiting the school to learn why college is important and how they can make it to the university.

Kasia Hall, editor in chief of the Daily 49er, CSU Long Beach’s campus newspaper, didn’t feel comfortable expressing her feelings on Alexander as president but said he is “a great source to work with.” She said Alexander is a busy man, but has always been open when talking with the media and keeping everyone informed with what was going on at the university in a timely manner.

“From what I’ve heard from the campus community, he’s held in high regards,” Hall said. 

Choosing Alexander as the finalist for the chancellor-president position is good for the University because the experienced president is aware of the needs of higher education, said Thomas Klei, presidential search committee member. 

In a December 2012 article written by Alexander and Charles Reed, chancellor of the 23-campus California State University System, the two said the United States must rethink higher education funding.

“Public higher education in California — and in the rest of the U.S. — is on an unsustainable trajectory,” reads the Financial Times article. “The U.S. cannot keep boasting about how globally successful it used to be in higher education; instead the country needs to refocus energies and examine how higher education can meet society’s changing needs.”

Other articles written by Alexander drive the point that individual states must be held accountable for maintaining certain levels of tax support for higher education, which he considers “essential for the future of public higher education,” according to a post on insidehighered.com. 

During his tenure at California State University Long Beach, graduation rates improved to the highest levels in the school’s history.

CSU Long Beach’s private philanthropic giving is in the middle of a first “Capital Campaign,” and more than $200 million has already been raised, doubling the University’s endowment. 

Additionally, Alexander maintained and modified budgeting processes to accommodate an $85 million reduction in state appropriations during the economic recession. 

He has also written multiple books regarding the topic of higher education, including “Education Finance: Historical, Political and Legal Perspectives,” “Maximizing Revenue in Higher Education” and “The University: International Expectations.”