Oregon State Faculty Calls for Resignation of President Following Les Miles Allegations

The Oregon State Faculty of Senate passed a vote of no confidence on Thursday, calling for the resignation of President F. King Alexander.

This news comes after the university placed King on probation through June 1 because of how he handled reports of sexual harassment by former LSU football coach Les Miles. 

Alexander led LSU as president from 2013 to 2019, which was also during the time female student employees say Miles harassed them. After the allegations became public, Kansas parted ways with Miles on March 8.

LSU published a report on March 4 detailing the university's handling of sexual misconduct allegations. The report revealed that Miles was accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct in a 2013 probe, 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.

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Miles was banned from being alone with female students following the 2013 investigation. The report, conducted by the law firm Husch Blackwell, noted former athletic director Joe Alleva recommended Miles be fired for cause in 2013. That recommendation was not followed after the university learned it would likely have to pay Miles a $15 million buyout. 

Jeff Long, who hired Miles as the Jayhawks' football coach, stepped down on March 10. Alexander said he was not in a place to fire Miles because it was out of his control when he arrived at LSU, according to The Athletic. 

Oregon governor Kate Brown released a statement from her office saying she expected the Oregon State Board of Trustees to remove Alexander after their independent investigation and disciplinary process. 

“In Oregon, we must hold our university presidents to the absolute highest standards for leadership and accountability,” Brown said. “Not only are they responsible for leading our academic institutions, but they also have a responsibility to ensure the safety of all students under their care.”

Alexander released a statement on Wednesday apologizing to survivors and launching a review of Oregon State's survivor support programs. He also plans to evaluate funding, staffing and services for existing programs and resources at the university.