Newly released documents detail reprimand of former USU interim piano program coordinator

A letter of reprimand claims Dennis Hirst, former interim Utah State University piano program director, “enabled or ignored [former head of piano] Professor Amano’s discriminatory acts against female piano students for a period of years.”

The letter, obtained by The Utah Statesman via a public records request, was written by former interim Provost Larry Smith. He reprimanded Hirst for “contributing to a piano environment that was psychologically abusive.”

The decision to remove Hirst came after a recommendation was made from an independent law firm hired to investigate misconduct in the piano program after multiple students came forward on social media to share negative experiences during their time in the program.

Hirst replied to Smith in a letter and denied the allegations and said he “acted to mitigate the effects of the hostile environment to the best of my ability,” and “did not ignore the discriminatory actions by Gary Amano that I was aware of.”

Amano was Hirst’s direct supervisor, and Hirst said “compliance with Amano’s expectations was critical for the safety of all students in the program,” though Hirst maintains he did not ignore or enable Amano’s behavior.

Hirst also mentions “regret” for teaching in accordance with Amano’s ideals.

“I found the outcomes of my initial approach to piano teaching unacceptable,” his letter states.

While Smith pointed out “involvement and gender discrimination and sexual harassment,” the letter also highlights Hirst’s positive behaviors.

“You helped to change Professor Amano’s gender discriminatory practices…you did report a student’s complaint about Professor Amano’s treatment to the dean of the college and the Title IX office in 2012.”

Smith also detailed positive affirmations from piano faculty, current and former students, and findings from an independent investigation conducted by Alan Sullivan, a Salt Lake City-based attorney hired to investigate misconduct in the piano department

The investigation into Utah State’s piano program was launched in February after multiple students came forward on Facebook to share negative experiences during their time in the program.

The eight-week investigation ended in April and USU President Noelle Cockett announced there would be several changes in leadership for multiple organizations involved. Hirst was removed from acting piano director in April after the report was released but it was noted that further sanctions would follow. It was also announced that there would be leadership changes in USU’s Title IX office and later in April, Stacy Sturgeon was removed as the director of the office.  

Kevin Olson, associate professor in the piano program, is the current interim piano program coordinator.

Lauren Bennett contributed to this report.