Bill Hardgrave

Bill Hardgrave is an American academic administrator who currently serves as the president of the University of Memphis, a role he has held since April 1, 2022. He was previously the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Auburn University. Prior to his time at Auburn, he served as the Bradberry Chair in Information Systems in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

Background Hardgrave graduated from Arkansas Tech University in 1987 with a bachelor of science in Computer Science. In 1990, he received an MBA with an emphasis in Computer Information Systems from Missouri State University. Hardgrave graduated from Oklahoma State University with a PhD in Management Information Systems in 1993. The Harbert family followed that donation with a $15 million contribution three years later to help fund a new graduate business building, which was named Horton-Hardgrave Hall in honor of Hardgrave and George Horton, two former Auburn University deans.

Hardgrave oversaw the founding of the Auburn University Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) lab, the Geospatial Research and Applications Center and the Center for Supply Chain Innovation. Hardgrave's time as the Harbert College of Business dean also saw the creation of a Business Analytics undergraduate major, a PhD program in Finance and an online MS in Finance. Hardgrave's leadership led the Harbert College of Business to receive external validation of several of its programs, highlighted by Top 10 national rankings for the undergraduate Supply Chain Management and online MBA programs, online Master of Accountancy and online MS in both Finance and Information Systems. In 2013, he was awarded the Special Achievement award from the RFID Journal for his overall impact on the field. Hardgrave has delivered nearly 200 invited talks worldwide to a total audience of more than 35,000 people.

Family Hardgrave and his wife Ronda have two children, Rachel and Gavin.