President Leath announces plan to hire 500 tenure-track faculty

Auburn University President Steven Leath today announced plans to hire 500 tenure-track faculty by 2022 targeting a broad range of research and scholarly disciplines at the leading land-grant university.

The commitment, made during a ceremony marking Leath’s installation as Auburn’s 19th president, is a key component of a comprehensive, five-year strategy to expand Auburn’s education, research, partnership and economic development initiatives to meet pressing social needs.

“Our vision for Auburn is to become a world-class academic, research and service university in the true spirit of our land-grant heritage,” said Leath. “The strategy and initiatives launched today are designed to position Auburn as an undisputed go-to destination for that special caliber of student, faculty, staff and development partner driven to make a meaningful impact on the state of Alabama, the nation and the world.”

Auburn Provost Bill Hardgrave noted that the expansion of Auburn’s faculty will have an overwhelmingly positive impact on the university’s land-grant mission of education, research and outreach. “By strategically increasing our faculty, we are strengthening our commitment to providing the highest quality programs while building a unique community of scholars. Our students will benefit from heightened engagement with a broader cadre of faculty working across disciplines to expand and drive our educational, research and outreach initiatives.”

Auburn has current enrollment of 29,776 full-time students. There are no current plans to measurably increase undergraduate student enrollment. New graduate student enrollment initiatives are being planned to grow doctoral student admissions in support of the announced faculty expansion. The total number of tenured and tenure-track faculty is expected to grow from 1,144 in 2018 to an estimated 1,250 by 2022 after accounting for typical faculty retirement and attrition patterns.

Government and economic development leaders expressed their support for the new hiring initiatives and Auburn’s commitment to outreach and engagement.

“I look forward to continuing to work closely with Dr. Steven Leath as he serves as the 19th president of Auburn University,” said Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. “Dr. Leath genuinely cares for others and seeks to make a positive difference in our world. As a visionary and innovative leader, he will honor Auburn’s past and move our fine institution into a new era of prosperity and excellence.”