After an interview Wednesday morning, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees voted and announced that Dr. Guy Bailey would be the school’s new president, effective this September.
Bailey, a Montgomery native and two-time UA graduate (he attended Alabama from 1968-74 and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English), has been the president of Texas Tech University since 2008.
Bailey replaces former president Robert Witt, who was named chancellor of the UA System back in March. He had served as University president since 2003.
“I think this is one of the best professional opportunities in the United States today,” Bailey said in a public interview session.
Provost Judy Bonner said they started with 100 candidates before whittling the list down to 40, then nine, then five, then Bailey.
“He is an outstanding academic leader who has earned a strong national reputation for his achievements in higher education,” she said.
Before Texas Tech, Bailey was chancellor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and provost and executive vice president at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Bailey also held administrative positions at the University of Nevada, the University of Memphis, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Emory.
Additionally, Bailey serves on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the NCAA as well as the Executive Committee of the Big XII Conference and the Board of Trustees of Midwest Research Institute.
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