Interim president of Oregon State has deep roots at university Updated 8:40 AM; Today 8:40 AM Becky Johnson will serve as interim president for a year while the university finds a permanent new president to replace F. King Alexander, who resigned after reports showed he mishandled sexual misconduct cases at Louisiana State University, where he worked before coming to Corvallis. Facebook Share By Jackson Hogan, The Bulletin In 1984, Becky Johnson began her tenure at Oregon State University as an assistant forestry professor. Thirty-seven years and many career advancements later, Johnson — currently serving as the vice president of Oregon State University-Cascades in Bend — will become the first woman to lead OSU in the university’s 156-year history.