Alexander earned his Ph.D. from the UW-Madison School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in 1996.
Alexander was previously serving as the president and chancellor of Louisiana State University. He was announced as Oregon State’s 15th president on Dec. 13 at a meeting of the OSU Board of Trustees, which voted unanimously to confirm the appointment.
“I think you will agree that, today, we found the best of the best,” Chair Rani Borkar said, according to the Corvallis Gazette-Times, in announcing the board’s decision. “From our perspective, Dr. Alexander is the total package.”
Alexander will assume his new duties on July 1, succeeding Ed Ray, who is stepping down on June 30 after 17 years as OSU’s president.
The report adds how Alexander, 56, has been president of LSU since 2013. His resume also includes stints as president of California State University at Long Beach from 2005 to 2013 and Murray State University in Kentucky from 2001 to 2005. Prior to that, he held administrative and teaching positions at the University of Illinois and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.