F. King Alexander, Oregon State president, resigns amid fallout from LSU scandal

The Oregon State University’s Board of Trustees unanimously accepted President F. King Alexander’s resignation on Tuesday in relation to his role in Louisiana State University’s sexual misconduct scandal.

Alexander’s resignation goes into effect April 1, and he will be on administrative leave until then. The board had placed Alexander on probation last week.

According to an independent investigation earlier this month into allegations of sexual misconduct at LSU, there were “serious institutional failure[s]” in the way the school handled reports of sexual misconduct and abuse by football coach Les Miles and students.

Alexander served as LSU’s president from 2013 to 2019. The report stated that Alexander knew of the allegations of Miles’ sexual misconduct toward female student workers when he was hired, and former Tigers athletic director Joe Alleva recommended that Miles be fired.

Alexander joined Oregon State in July 2020. The board accepted his resignation offer because it would cost less than firing him “without cause,” per his contract. According to the Corvallis Gazette-Times, Alexander will receive $630,000, as well as a $40,000 relocation stipend — the same as he received when he moved to Corvallis, Oregon.

“After listening to and hearing important input from diverse members of our community, we now know that rebuilding trust is no longer possible,” Board of Trustees Chair Rani Borkar said. “In response over the weekend, the board scheduled this meeting. Simply stated: Dr. Alexander no longer has the confidence of the OSU community. This broken trust was not only expressed by the vote of the faculty senate, but by an outpouring of heartful statements from students, alumni and survivors of sexual assault.”

The search to find an interim president at Oregon State will begin Wednesday.

Miles most recently served as Kansas’ football coach, but he and the university “mutually agreed to part ways” earlier this month.