Board of Regents members and University administrators said Wednesday they support the Presidential Search Committee’s recommendation of F. King Alexander’s nomination for the position of LSU president, despite unanimous opposition from the Faculty Senate.
Alexander’s experience with budgetary challenges and a changing higher education environment make him a sensible candidate to lead LSU, said Board of Regents Commissioner of Higher Education Jim Purcell.
“I’ve followed Alexander’s career for a long time, and I’m very familiar with his talents,” Purcell said. “He can clearly articulate what the issues are in higher
education, and I think he’ll be a good team player with the other system heads.”
Purcell said Alexander’s leadership at California State University Long Beach gives him a fresh, external perspective on the economic challenges Louisiana faces.
“It’s always good to have new eyes on the situation,” Purcell said. “California had one of the most traumatic declines in funding. I think he addressed those issues well.”
Alexander has an opportunity to build a team of strong leaders at the University because there are so many interim positions available, and he can bring in people who would complement his leadership strengths, Purcell said.
“Making LSU one of the top flagship universities in the country is something he will have to look at,” Purcell said. “He has experience with that in California.”
Board of Regents Chair W. Clinton Rasberry also expressed his approval of the Presidential Search Committee’s nomination.
“This is a great decision, if it comes to pass,” Rasberry said. “[Alexander] is credentialed, he’s energetic, and he is at the beginning of a great career.”
Being the president of LSU is a huge job, especially because the job has evolved to combine the roles of president of the LSU System and University chancellor, Rasberry said.
“This is our quarterback, and if you’re going to win the ballgame, you’ve got to have that sort of thing,” Rasberry said.
Rasberry said the job is not without its challenges, though, and Louisiana’s deteriorating state higher education budget must be the top of the new leader, be it Alexander or someone else.
“So goes LSU, so goes the state of Louisiana,” Rasberry said. “All this stuff is so complex, and there are no easy answers.”
Interim System President and Chancellor William “Bill” Jenkins said all the internal and external reactions to Alexander’s nomination he has heard are favorable.
“Members of the community I’ve heard from say we’ve really got a good one,” Jenkins said. “People who have worked with him and known him in any context have had positive things to say.”
