The University’s Board of Supervisors recently concluded President F. King Alexander’s annual evaluation and voted to raise his salary by 3 percent and extend his contract with the University another five years.
As I reflect on my interactions with Alexander and his leadership, I believe he is deserving of the raise and contract extension.
The first time I personally met Alexander was a few weeks into my freshman year at a “Rally Against Hate” event held in response to the events that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the summer of 2017. Alexander stood in front of a group, primarily minority students, and firmly disavowed racism and bigotry of all forms.
I must admit, I thought Alexander was just saying what he thought we wanted to hear. That’s the customary reaction to national racial tension — he was merely playing it by the book.
“LSU is committed to diversity,” Alexander said at the event, planned by the Black Student Union and the University’s NAACP chapter.
To my pleasant surprise, under Alexander’s direction, the University has shown this commitment. The University recently welcomed the most diverse freshman class in University history. In August, the LSU Media Center released a statement asserting that among the incoming freshmen of 2018, diversity is up 30 percent from the previous freshman class of 2017.
But, diversity is not the only thing Alexander has sought to improve. New, state of the art residential halls and apartments are being built all over the campus to accommodate a new wave of students. In previous columns, I have noted the problems in some of these new communities, but Alexander is taking us in the right direction.
The second time I met Alexander was when I had the opportunity to work alongside him at 2018 Move-In Day, giving freshmen a warm welcome and a helping hand as they began their journey as tigers. Parents were definitely reassured to see even the president of the University braving the heat, lifting mini fridges onto carts and carrying luggage into dorms.
Under Alexander’s leadership, the University has been awarded a number of national honors and continues to climb in rankings.
According to an April 2018 LSU Media Center statement, LSU ranks in the top 50 best value institutions among public universities as well as 88th overall in Forbes 2018 America’s Best Value Colleges ranking.
But that is not all.
According to an August 2018 LSU Media Center statement, Forbes also has placed LSU 59th overall among public universities nationwide, and fifth among public institutions in the Southeastern Conference.
From opening the Patrick F. Taylor Hall, the largest freestanding building on a college campus in America, to the UREC and other new facilities, the University is looking a little better at every turn.
Frankly speaking, I may not agree with everything that goes on at the University, but clearly Alexander is doing something right. Give him his bag.
Justin Franklin is a 19-year-old political communication sophomore from Memphis, Tennessee.
