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MY NAME'S F. KING ALEXANDER.
I AM PRESIDENT AND CHANCELLOR OF LSU,
AND I'M GLAD TO BE A FIGHTING TIGER.
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IT'S ALWAYS TOUGH LEAVING A GREAT UNIVERSITY
WITH LOTS OF FRIENDS AND GOOD FACULTY AND STAFF,
AND JUST AN UNBELIEVABLE STUDENT BODY. BUT WE ARE VERY
VERY EXCITED TO GET TO BATON ROUGE AND BEGIN
FULL STEAM AHEAD ON THE CAMPUSES,
AND CERTAINLY RIGHT THERE IN BATON ROUGE,
DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO BUILD OUR UNIVERSITY TOGETHER.
SOME OF THE FIRST THINGS I'D LIKE TO DO, IS CERTAINLY,
IS GET TO KNOW AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE AND FIND OUT
WHAT THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT THE NEEDS OF LSU.
I KNOW THERE'RE CHALLENGES, BUT EVERY STATE HAS FACED
THESE CHALLENGES AND WHEN I'VE BEEN BACK IN LOUISIANA,
LISTENING TO THE CONCERNS THAT MOST PEOPLE HAVE HAD,
VERY VALID AND IMPORTANT CONCERNS, IT MAKES ME THINK
THAT WE ARE MUCH CLOSER IN OUR CHALLENGES, THAN WE ARE,
CERTAINLY, IN GEOGRAPHY, BECAUSE CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN DEALING
WITH MANY OF THE EXACT SAME ISSUES THAT LOUISIANA HAS
WITH REGARD TO PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION.
FORTUNATELY, LSU HAS SOME GREAT STRENGTHS. ONE OF THEM IS
IT'S WELL BELOW THE NATIONAL AVERAGE IN TUITION.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THAT RESULTS IN THE FACT THAT IT'S
WELL BELOW THE NATIONAL AVERAGE IN STUDENT INDEBTEDNESS,
WHICH HAS BECOME A NATIONAL ISSUE. SO, WE ARE A LEADER
IN VALUE, WE ARE A LEADER IN KEEPING STUDENTS OUT OF DEBT,
AND THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT LSU HASN'T DONE
WHAT MANY UNIVERSITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY HAVE DONE,
WHICH IS RATCHET UP OR RAPIDLY INCREASE TUITION AND FEES
TO WHERE IT BECOMES EVEN A MUCH GREATER CONCERN OF STUDENTS
THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.
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THERE ARE FEW UNIVERSITIES IN THE UNITED STATES THAT ARE
A LAND GRANT UNIVERSITY, SEA GRANT UNIVERSITY
AND SPACE GRANT UNIVERSITY. THERE ARE FEW THAT HAVE
THE IMPACT THAT LSU DOES THROUGHOUT LOUISIANA
AND ITS REGION. IT HAS ALL THE POTENTIAL IN THE WORLD
TO REINVIGORATE THE GREAT LAND GRANT MOVEMENT
AND LAND GRANT ACT THAT TURNED 150 THIS PAST JULY 2ND.
AND IT DOES NEED TO BE RE-ENERGIZED, AND RE-ENERGIZED
IN A WAY THAT WE PULL THE PUBLIC BACK ENGAGED IN MAKING SURE
THAT OUR UNIVERSITY IS TACKLING ALL THE PROBLEMS
THAT FACE LOUISIANA AND CITIZENS OF LOUISIANA, WHETHER THOSE ARE
SOCIAL ISSUES, INEQUITIES THAT WE ADDRESS, OR EVEN
ECONOMIC ISSUES THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO BUILD UPON.
THERE'RE ONLY A FEW UNIVERSITIES PERHAPS THAT CAN TACKLE
THIS ISSUE AND NOT ONLY BECOME A STATEWIDE LEADER IN THIS AREA,
BUT A REGIONAL AND NATIONAL LEADER OF WHAT
A LAND GRANT UNIVERSITY MEANS TO THE NATION.
AND THAT'S WHY I BELIEVE LSU IS FULLY CAPABLE OF TACKLING
THESE PROBLEMS AND ISSUES AND CHALLENGES AS ONE GREAT LSU.
♪ MUSIC ♪