Oregon State President Resigns for Handling of LSU Sexual Misconduct Scandal

F. King Alexander was president of LSU from 2013 to 2019 as the school mishandled reports of sexual misconduct by football coach Les Miles.

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Oregon State president F. King Alexander has resigned following backlash from his role in the LSU sexual misconduct scandal, according to ESPN's Kyle Bonagura.

Alexander served as LSU's president from 2013 to 2019. A report published in early March detailed the university's handling of sexual misconduct allegations after a 2013 probe and revealed that former head coach Les Miles was accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct. The report detailed numerous instances of misconduct by Miles, including texting female student workers on a burner phone, driving them alone to his condo and kissing a student on at least one occasion. Miles denied the kissing allegations.

The 2013 probe led to former athletic director Joe Alleva recommending Miles be fired for cause due to the misconduct. However, that recommendation was not followed. The report released in March noted LSU's "serious institutional failure" regarding sexual misconduct complaints over the last decade, per Bonagura.

Alexander left LSU in 2019 and joined Oregon State in July 2020. He was placed on probation last week before submitting his resignation letter. 

"When we adjourned last week, we thought it was possible for President Alexander to repair the broken confidence and trust in his ability to lead OSU," OSU board chair Rani Borkar said Tuesday. "After listening to and hearing important input from diverse members of our community, we now know that rebuilding trust is no longer possible

Kansas parted ways with Miles on March 8, just four days after LSU published its report detailing the university's handling of sexual misconduct allegations. 

Jeff Long, the Jayhawks director of athletics, stepped down two days later.