A 14-member committee headed by Birmingham businessman and Auburn Trustee Raymond J. Harbert will lead the search for Auburn University’s next president, according to a University release.
In addition to Harbert, the Auburn presidential search advisory committee is composed of the following:
Beau Byrd II; president-elect, Auburn Alumni Association, Mike DeMaioribus, member, Auburn Board of Trustees; Deacue Fields; chair and professor, Department of Agricultural Economics; Thom Gossom; chair, Auburn University Foundation; Sharon Haynes; county coordinator, Alabama Cooperative Extension System; Rhea Ingram; dean, College of Business at Auburn University at Montgomery; Timothy Jones; chair, Auburn Administrative & Professional Assembly; Sarah B. Newton; member, Auburn Board of Trustees; Laura Plexico; associate professor, Department of Communication Disorders; Chris Roberts; dean, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering; Althea Tate; chair, Auburn Staff Council; Larry Teeter; professor, School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences; and Jesse Westerhouse; president, Student Government Association
Gogue, the University’s 18th president, earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Auburn in 1969 and a master’s degree in 1971. He received a PhD in horticulture from Michigan State University in 1973.
In 1986, he was appointed Clemson University’s associate director of the Office of University Research. He served as President of New Mexico State University from 2000 to 2003.
He served as chancellor of the University of Houston System and president of the University of Houston from 2003 to 2007.
Since 2007, he has been the president of Auburn University.
“Susie and I have had a blast at Auburn the past 10 years,” said Gogue. “We’re not going anywhere, but we decided it’s time to step down as president next year and begin the next phase of our lives.”
Gogue made headlines in 2013 when The Chronicle of Higher Education reported his salary was $2.5 million, making him the second-highest paid president of a public college in America. The $2.5 million in 2013 was actually the sum of Gogue's base salary, $482,070, and his deferred salary, $1,809,145.
He was paid the deferred salary after serving the full term in his original five-year contract.
It is not yet clear exactly when Gogue will retire, but he implied it would be within the next year.
Claire Tully, campus editor, contributed to this report.
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