University of South Florida President Rhea Law announced today that Christian Hardigree
will be the next regional chancellor of the USF St. Petersburg campus. Hardigree,
who most recently served as the founding dean of the School of Hospitality at Metropolitan
State University (MSU) of Denver, will start her new role at USF on July 1, 2022.
“We are thrilled to welcome Christian Hardigree, a leader who brings a demonstrated
history of academic and administrative experience, as well as an excellent record
of serving the communities she has been a part of throughout her career,” Law said.
“I am confident she will be an outstanding advocate for the St. Petersburg campus
and a trusted partner to me as we work together to continue the University of South
Florida’s tremendous momentum.”
Hardigree led the transition for the MSU School of Hospitality to become a free-standing
school, implementing departmental structures, a strategic plan and other initiatives.
She secured more than $3.7 million in external funds to support the school, which
is the largest hospitality program in the region, and led faculty through curriculum
redesign of six degrees and majors, eight minors and nine certificates.
Hardigree also developed and oversaw a variety of diversity, equity and inclusion
initiatives that helped to increase the Black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC)
student population by more than 8 percent. She designed, launched and funded an initiative
to transition 80 percent of courses to utilize open education resources, which make
learning materials more accessible and help level the playing field for historically
underrepresented students.
Prior to her role at MSU, Hardigree served as the founding director and professor
of the Institute for Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality at Kennesaw State University
(KSU) in Georgia. While there, she helped to secure a $5 million gift, at the time
the largest private gift in KSU history, renaming the institute to the Michael A.
Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality. She led multiple design teams
in the creation of state-of-the-art learning spaces, including a new Academic Learning
Center and Hospitality/Culinary Lab building, oversaw 50 faculty and staff and grew
the program to approximately 800 full-time students.
Hardigree was a professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) in the William
F. Harrah College of Hospitality from 2001-2012, working up to become department chair
of Hotel Management. She held several administrative roles at UNLV including the associate
dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Hotel Administration, assistant president
and chief of staff for the university president and associate athletic director for
community engagement and special projects.
“I absolutely fell in love with the faculty, staff, students and community members
I met at USF St. Petersburg,” Hardigree said. “It’s clearly a special place, and I’m
thrilled to have the opportunity to lead such a vibrant campus. I can’t wait to get
started and am honored by the confidence that President Law and other members of the
USF leadership team are showing in me.”
Hardigree’s selection comes after a national search process that included a significant
amount of community engagement. USF faculty, staff, students and community members
provided feedback at several points during the search process, including town hall
meetings with the final three candidates, who each visited the campus and also interviewed
with Law earlier this month.
“Chancellor Hardigree brings a compelling mix of energy, enthusiasm and experience
to this vital position,” said Melissa Seixas, chair of the USF St. Petersburg Campus
Advisory Board and a member of the USF Board of Trustees. “With more than 20 years
spent in higher education, she has the knowledge and understanding necessary to take
our distinctive campus to even greater heights. I am confident USF St. Petersburg
will continue to flourish under Chancellor Hardigree’s leadership.”
Hardigree earned a bachelor of science, cum laude, from UNLV. She went on to receive
her juris doctorate from Walter F. George School of law at Mercer University and worked
for Parnell & Associates as a senior litigation attorney and partner focusing on employment
discrimination, arbitration, mediation and labor-management relations.
Hardigree will be replacing Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock, who after five years
of leading the campus will be returning to a teaching role in the USF College of Education.
Hardigree’s full resume is available here. A photograph of Hardigree is available here.
More information about USF’s St. Petersburg campus regional chancellor search is available here.