USF President Rhea Law appointed Christian Hardigree (above) as St. Petersburg’s regional chancellor on May 18.
Courtesy of USF
By Sofía García Vargas
As a new academic year starts for the University of South Florida, so does a new chapter for the St. Petersburg campus with the selection of Christian Hardigree as regional chancellor.
On July 5, The Crow’s Nest, alongside The Oracle and the Tampa Bay Times, interviewed Chancellor Hardigree during her second official day on the job.
With a smile on her face and an aura of enthusiasm filling the room, Hardigree stated her excitement to begin this journey.
“I’m so excited to be here, so excited for this opportunity and to have more than 12 hours under my belt. There is so much energy and it is palpable,” Hardigree said. “I think this really is going to be a phenomenal fall for a multitude of reasons.”
Hardigree said that the first thing she did as regional chancellor was meet with some student workers and members of Student Government, in addition to getting her ID and keys.
When asked why she chose to apply for USF St. Petersburg, Hardigree replied “why not?”
“This campus is amazing, particularly through consolidation,” Hardigree said. “I love the identity of the three different campuses, I think of it kind of like siblings and I look at that family approach for USF.”
She mentioned that through consolidation, the university is working toward different organizational approaches to have uniform, consistent and transparent decision-making processes.
Hardigree stated that the resources and assets available around the city make the campus’s downtown location ideal for students and staff.
Additionally, Hardigree highlighted the dedication of the campus to student success and student journey, as well as the “genuine and supportive” community. Hardigree mentioned the importance of shared governance in order to achieve positive outcomes through her leadership.
“At the end of the day, it’s what we do together that matters. It’s a process of bringing everybody’s great ideas to the table and kind of sifting through and figuring out what works best for us as an institution,” Hardigree said.
During her time as regional chancellor, Hardigree wants to create an environment for students, faculty and staff that elevates the sense of belonging and to build opportunities for them to succeed through a culture of excitement, engagement and fun.
Additionally, Hardigree plans to engage with students through meetings with Student Government and ambassadors as well as participating in student events to fully dive into student life.
As for how she wants to be remembered, Hardigree stated that she wants people to know her as caring.
“When you care, it’s personal. And when something’s personal, nothing can stop you,” Hardigree said.
Hardigree was selected as regional chancellor after a long search process following Martin Tadlock’s decision to step down from his role last year and move to Sherman, Texas.
Known for his focus on student success and unique sense of humor, Tadlock was a beloved member of the USF St. Petersburg community.
During his nearly five-year-long tenure, Tadlock accomplished significant victories for the campus, generating a 10% point increase in retention rate in 2018, the construction of the 375-bed residence hall Osprey Suites, the implementation of the campus food pantry, as well as the creation of programs like the UMatter program, the PEARLS program and the Call Me MISTER program.
The search for the campus’s regional chancellor was interrupted last summer by the sudden retirement of former USF president Steve Currall, launching a nationwide search for the university’s next leader.
USF President Rhea Law selected Hardigree from a pool of finalists including Melissa Gruys and Kanika Tomalin.
A fourth candidate, Bjong “Wolf” Yeigh, was also selected as a finalist, but after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, Yeigh chose to drop out of the running.
After reviewing each application, the Regional Chancellor Search Committee met on April 14 to discuss the potential candidates.
Hardigree is the founding dean of the School of Hospitality at Metropolitan State University (MSU), the third largest university in Colorado. Prior to her current role, Hardigree served as the founding director and professor at the Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality at Kennesaw State University. She also worked as a senior litigation attorney and partner at Parnell & Associates.
“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 in a press release.
Aubrey Carr contributed to this report.
