Release

Kermit L. Hall Confirmed as UAlbany's 17th President

Contact: Michael Parker (518) 437-4980

	Kermit L. Hall

ALBANY, N.Y. (December 29, 2004) - Following the recommendation of Chancellor Robert L. King, the State University of New York Board of Trustees today unanimously approved the nomination of Kermit L. Hall, head of Utah State University, as the University at Albany's 17th president.

�I would like to thank George Philip and the Search Committee for a job well done,� said King. �Kermit Hall�s accomplishments as a scholar, teacher and administrator make him superbly qualified to lead the University at Albany.

�At this time I would like to thank Interim President John Ryan for his excellent leadership of all facets of the University at Albany during the search, while he continued to serve as president of our Maritime College. I am very grateful to him for his service to the University.�

�I am honored and grateful the University at Albany Search Committee and Chancellor King forwarded my name to the Board of Trustees for consideration,� said Hall. �The State University at Albany is a great institution of higher education and it will be a privilege to lead the campus to a new level of academic excellence. I am very impressed by the quality and perseverance of the faculty and the students, and our goal will be to always put academics first.�

�I was very pleased, but not surprised, with the strength of the candidates the search committee was able to attract to the University at Albany,� said George M. Philip, chair of the University at Albany Presidential Search Committee. �Dr. Hall was the unanimous choice of the committee and we were very proud and most pleased to forward his name to Chancellor King. I would like to express my deep appreciation to each of the members of the search committee for their hard work and selfless dedication to this extremely important task.

�I would also like to thank Interim President Ryan for his outstanding leadership of the campus throughout the search process.�

Philip also chairs the University at Albany Council, and is the executive director of the New York State Teachers� Retirement System.

Hall has been president and professor of history of Utah State University since 2000 and previously served as the provost and vice president for academic affairs and professor of history at North Carolina State University. At Ohio State University, Hall was executive dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of law and history. He also held important academic and administrative positions at the University of Tulsa and the University of Florida.

During his tenure as president of Utah State University, Hall has continued to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in history, law and political science and plans to continue to teach at UAlbany.

Notable achievements at Utah State University under the leadership of Kermit L. Hall include:

• An effort to improve freshmen retention has seen rates increase from 61 to 75 percent, the quality of incoming student population has improved in both standardized test scores and in high school grade point average, and the classes entering in 2003 and 2004 were the best prepared in the history of Utah State University.
   
• A development program was implemented for students seeking nationally competitive scholarships, and this year Utah State students won a Rhodes Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship, and a Goldwater Scholarship.
   
• More than $4 million was raised in additional endowed dollars for scholarships and increased resources for graduate fellowships.
   
• Research grant proposals were increased 32 percent and NSF certified expenditures for sponsored research have topped $170 million, an increase of 29 percent over the past three years, making Utah State faculty the sixteenth most productive of universities without medical schools. Grant proposals have gone up 54 percent in the past three years.
   
• Utah State federal non-shared and shared earmarks were increased by 250 percent, to $44 million and Utah State federal relations have undergone a wholesale revision.

An accomplished scholar, Hall is the author of four books, The Law of the Land: The History of the Supreme Court, The Magic Mirror: Law in American History, The Supreme Court and Judicial Review in American History, and The Politics of Justice: Lower Federal Judicial Selection and the Second American Party System, and co-author of From Local Courts to National Tribunals: The Federal District Courts of Florida. In addition, Hall has edited many books and other publications, won awards, secured grants and served on a number of important professional committees.

Hall holds a master�s of law degree from Yale University, a doctorate from the University of Minnesota, a master�s from Syracuse University and a bachelor of arts from the University of Akron.

More information about Hall's tenure at Utah State >>

"Farewell, USU's Kermit Hall", Deseret News >>

"Upwardly Mobile Academic: Kermit Hall", Inside Higher Ed >>