Farewell Stan
Eleven years ago this week, Stan Albrecht was hired as president of Utah State University. Since then, the school added a college (The Caine College of the Arts), absorbed another university (The College of Eastern Utah), added almost 6,000 students and oversaw the athletics department moving conferences.
Albrecht also oversaw difficult times for the university. He cited the 2005 van crash in his letter about his retirement to faculty and staff, but he has also overseen financial struggles, student fatalities and high faculty turnover.
Overall we were saddened by the news of Albrecht’s resignation. He was an effective and caring administrator. One of the things that made Albrecht special was his genuine care for the students. When we had the chance to interview him for our Most Influential People feature he emphasized his affection for USU students.
“I love the students here. They come here with a strong work ethic,” Albrecht said in the interview. “You take a strong work ethic and provide a quality education, and you get a great product. So I always enjoy the quality of students that come to Utah State and the things they do with their lives.”
Albrecht was a first-generation college student himself and took that experience into his passion for USU’s land grant mission.
“This is one of the reasons I have been so passionate about our regional campus and distance education programs, and about the overall mission of a land-grant university like ours,” he said in his resignation email. “It is easy to care about a place when its very existence is based on the principles of access and opportunity for all.”
Most of us at Utah State haven’t known the Aggie experience without Albrecht at the helm, and those of us graduating likely won’t have to. Although we are sure his successor will do a fine job, it just won’t be the same without Albrecht.
So we would like to address Stan directly now: President Albrecht, if you happen to read this, thank you from the Statesman for all that you have done for this university. You will be missed by many, not least of which, us.