It takes a special skill set to run a university system like LSU. You have to be an experienced administrator, an expert in higher education policy, adept at fundraising and the ever-smiling public face of the higher education system you run, which, if done right, means showing up to help freshmen move into the dorms, donning a hard hat to break ground on a new building and testifying before the Legislature for badly needed funding.
Sometimes all in the same day.
Perhaps most importantly, you have to have razor sharp political skills that enable you to navigate the halls of power with confidence and ease, projecting strength, even as you’re closely watching your back because you know you might get stabbed at any time—quite possibly by the friendliest guy in the room.
King Alexander, who announced earlier this month he will be leaving the stately oaks and broad magnolias to head Oregon State University, has excelled in most of those areas during his tenure at LSU, writes Stephanie Reigel in her new opinion piece.
No one could have done it perfectly, and after several years any president would have stepped on enough toes and made enough mistakes that his enemies would come circling.
In fact, though, during his seven years at the helm of the LSU System, Alexander did a remarkably good job and his tenure is marked by several major accomplishments.
Is the university as a whole in as good a shape as the football program? No, and there continue to be many areas in which it needs to improve. But those problems are bigger than what any single president can be expected to solve.
Read Riegel’s full column, in which she writes about Alexander’s accomplishments—and missteps—as LSU looks toward its future without him at the helm.
