Notable alumnus and former professor remembered after their deaths

Utah State University alumnus, Harry Reid (pictured above), died at age 82 on Dec. 28.

After a four-year fight with pancreatic cancer, the retired U.S. senator is being remembered by the USU community. 

In a Utah State Today article, USU President Noelle Cockett said the university is honored to count Reid as an Aggie. 

“Reid’s legacy illustrates how USU’s land-grant mission of providing access to higher education shapes lives and impacts the world,” she said.

In the article, Neil Abercrombie, the vice president for government relations at USU, mentioned even through his career, he stayed connected to the university.

“He hired dozens of Utah State students to work as interns in his office, and many of those interns also became full-time staffers to the former senate majority leader,” Abercrombie said. “He also often told stories about his time in Logan, reminiscing about his favorite USU political science and economics professors.”

Reid graduated from USU in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in both political science and history. 

After graduating, the Searchlight native became an American lawyer and politician who served on the U.S. Senate from Nevada for 30 years (1987-2017) and was the Senate majority leader for 8 years (2007-2015).

And according to an article from Las Vegas Sun, he became the longest serving U.S. senator and majority leader. 

Because of his dedication, service and hard work during his life, he has been honored in many ways in both Nevada and Utah.

Utah State Today said USU awarded Reid an honorary doctorate degree of political science in 2002 and in 2019 the university’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business also named an endowed professorship after him funded by $15 million from the Huntsman Foundation.

And two weeks before his passing, the name of the Las Vegas airport was officially changed to Harry Reid International, with private donors raising the $7 million for rebranding, according to the Las Vegas Sun article. 

The same article described Reid as never feeling the need to be loud or gain attention and that he “often took a soft-spoken approach to politics that resulted in effective, lasting and historic results.”

Funeral arrangements are still being made. He is survived by his five children and his wife, Landra Gould.

Gary Amano, a former USU piano department head, also died recently at age 73 on Dec. 23.

According to The Herald Journal, Amano retired from the university in 2018 after a sexual harassment investigation and claims of favoring his male students and mistreatment of his female students.

The article stated his harsh treatment resulted in some women leaving USU. More than a dozen women had been interviewed regarding the claims.

However, in Amano’s obituary on Legacy.com, many have taken the time to remember him in a positive light. 

Kim Hulme wrote, “Gary Amano taught my daughter at the conservatory throughout all her high school years. He was a master teacher, and we had nothing but wonderful experiences with him. He was a dedicated artist and could have been a performer, but preferred teaching. He is a person for whom I have great respect.”

Pete Watkins also wrote, “I will remember Mr. Amano as a generous piano instructor, who did a great deal to help encourage me to continue developing as a pianist & musician. For a time, he did not charge me for lessons because he knew money was tight in my family.”

He has also had success through his students who have gone on to compete in national and international competitions. 

The Herald Journal quoted a previous article from the Statesman and said, “One of Amano’s students won the silver medal and $10,000 in the Honens Calgary International Competition and another became the youngest competitor to win first place in the National Music Teachers Association Competition in Minneapolis, which offered a $36,000 prize.”

Amano studied piano at Julliard School in New York and had a master’s degree in piano performance. 

-Jacee.Caldwell@usu.edu