User:Carrieobrion23/sandbox

Christian E. Hardigree
Christian E. Hardigree is the regional chancellor of USF St. Petersburg, a branch campus of the University of South Florida. She was named to her current position in May 2022 after serving as the founding dean of the Metropolitan State University School of Hospitality in Denver, Colo.

Early life and education
Hardigree was born in Athens, Ga. Her mother was a social worker and her father was what Hardigree describes as a 17-year academic journey to complete college. Hardigree was a high school athlete and won a softball scholarship to Grinnell College.

She earned her J.D. with a specialization in Employment Law/Labor Management Relations from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in 1996. Prior to that, she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration from the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1993.

Hardigree began her professional career as an attorney, representing restaurants, hotels and nightclubs in Las Vegas.

Academic career
Hardigree transitioned into an academic career, starting as an instructor at UNLV in 2001. She held several administrative roles at UNLV including the associate dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Hotel Administration, assistant president and chief of staff for the university president and associate athletic director for community engagement and special projects.

In 2012, she was selected as a faculty institute senior teaching fellow, where she also received the Sam and Mary Boyd Distinguished Professor for Service Award in 2011 and the Boyd Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award in 2010.

Hardigree served as the founding director and professor of the Institute for Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality at Kennesaw State University (KSU) in Georgia. While there, she helped to secure a $5 million gift, at the time the largest private gift in KSU history, renaming the institute to the Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality. She led multiple design teams in the creation of state-of-the-art learning spaces, including a new Academic Learning Center and Hospitality/Culinary Lab building, oversaw 50 faculty and staff and grew the program to approximately 800 full-time students.

In 2019, Hardigree accepted a position as dean and professor at the School of Hospitality at Metropolitan State University in Denver, the third largest and only open access institution of higher education in Colorado. She led the transition to a free-standing school and secured significant external funding, including a $1,540,000 private gift to establish the Gina & Frank Day Leadership Academy (the largest private gift in MSU Denver's history at the time).

In May 2022, Hardigree was named the regional chancellor of USF St. Petersburg. Her role involves overseeing the campus of more than 3,500 students and serving as a community leader. She was named president of the St. Petersburg Innovation District Board of Directors in 2024.