LSU president to speak at LSUE commencement

F. King Alexander, president and chancellor of Louisiana State University, will be the commencement speaker when Louisiana State University Eunice holds spring graduation ceremonies at 10 a.m. Saturday in the gymnasium of the Health and Physical Education Building.                          
Louisiana State University enrolls more than 44,000 students and includes institutions across Louisiana. He began at LSU on June 24, 2013.
Prior to being named the incoming president, Alexander was president of California State University, Long Beach (2005-2013) one of the nation’s largest public universities located in southern California. During his more than seven-year tenure at California State University, Long Beach, Alexander was twice named the California State University Student Association “President of the Year,” which represents all 23 California State Universities and its over 440,000 students.
Prior to becoming president of California State University, Long Beach, Alexander was president of Murray State University in Kentucky (2001-2005) and was a faculty member at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, where he was the director of the graduate higher education program. 
A Kentucky native who grew up in north Florida, Alexander received his Ph. D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in higher education administration with a focus on finance and educational policy analysis, and a master of science degree from the University of Oxford, Oxford, England, in comparative educational studies.
Alexander has been asked to represent public higher education colleges and universities on numerous occasions to the United State Congress on issues of college affordability, student indebtedness, and institutional efficiency and effectiveness in efforts to address many of the growing challenges facing American higher education, a news release stated.
Due to his national recognition and involvement on higher education issues, Alexander has served on numerous U.S. higher education and statewide organizational leadership boards where he remains active, the news release stated.
Alexander and his wife, Shenette, have three children: Kylie, Savannah and Madison.
More than 100 students are candidates for graduation. Included are students who completed degree requirements during the spring semester. 
LSU Eunice offers associate degrees in liberal arts, science, business information technology, criminal justice, education, fire science, general studies, management, nursing, radiologic technology, respiratory care, and numerous transfer programs in over 200 fields.