OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Open search box
F. King Alexander will join OSU on July 1, 2020. The university’s 15th president has significant experience in public higher education leadership and community engagement. Learn more
The Oregon State University Board of Trustees recognizes that few moments have more significance to the university than the selection and transition of a new president. More about the process
F. King Alexander will become OSU’s 15th president on July 1, 2020, replacing Ed Ray, who will step down as president on June 30 after 17 years of leading the university to return to teaching economics. View press release
President-elect Alexander will start on July 1, 2020.
Upon arriving in Corvallis, President-elect Alexander and his spouse will move into the Oregon State University President’s Residence. The OSU Board of Trustees led the acquisition of the home in anticipation of a presidential transition. The purchase and renovation was funded by donors and funds from the sale of the last university-owned president’s residence.
Under state law, the OSU Board of Trustees is responsible for the selecting and appointing the university president. The search and selection process is guided by the Board-adopted Presidential Search and Selection Guidelines.
The presidential leadership profile served as the basis for the presidential search committee to assist the Board in recruiting and identifying a strong pool of candidates. Development of the profile involved a multi-pronged community engagement effort to gather input on the university’s strengths and the challenges OSU will face over the next 10 years and recommended skills, as well as the qualities and attributes that OSU’s next president should possess. The profile was approved by the Board in May 2019 and was used for advertisements, requests for nominations and other forms of recruitment. The presidential profile provided the criteria for the Board’s selection of the president. Read the presidential profile.
The search firm fee was $155,000, but there were other costs associated with candidate, search committee, and stakeholder group travel and other logistics.
To learn more about the search process, see: Search Process.
In March 2019, President Ray announced that he would step down as president of Oregon State University on June 30, 2020. Effective July 1, 2020, he will begin a sabbatical and transition to the College of Liberal Arts as a professor of economics.
In order to facilitate a thoughtful and smooth presidential transition, the chair of the OSU Board of Trustees has appointed an Incoming President Transition Committee. Learn more about the transition process.
If you have questions about the transition process or if you would like to contact the president-elect, please email president.elect@oregonstate.edu
