President Hall hardworking, survey says
New results are in on what Utah State University students think of President Kermit L. Hall.
In a random survey administered to 200 Utah State University students, the majority agreed that Hall is a qualified person to fill the role as university president and listens to and values the student voice, according to a PowerPoint presentation on the survey.
More than one-third of the students surveyed have met Hall and had a good experience when meeting him. Of that percentage, the majority were approached by Hall.
Some students indicated a need for Hall to be seen more around campus, according to the presentation.
Shelly Swasey, a senior majoring in public relations, performed the survey for her corporate communications class. She wanted to obtain an accurate representation about what students think of their president.
“[The survey] gives a good opportunity to get away from what the media is telling you and find out for yourself,” she said.
Swasey selected this topic for the survey based on an article The Utah Statesman published in January. The article attempted to express the students’ views about Hall, but only five students were surveyed, according to the presentation.
“I know [Hall] very well, and I think he’s a wonderful man,” she said. “I thought [the article] had a negative feeling.”
In the survey, more than 60 percent of the respondents said their main source for learning about campus issues is The Utah Statesman.
Students answered 14 questions, such as have they ever met Hall, do they support changes he has made to the university, is he qualified to be president, what are his responsibilities, and does he value the students’ opinions.
“The results were mostly positive,” Swasey said.
About 5 percent of the respondents said they understand most everything about Hall’s job, but more than 50 percent do not understand much about his job.
With the changes Hall has made to USU, such as dissolving the College of Family Life and changing the graduation ceremony, more than 25 percent of the respondents offer support, while 30 percent disagree.
However, a little more than 70 percent of the respondents do not think Hall has made too many changes in the amount of time he has been at USU.
The results varied when respondents answered what they think Hall’s main focus is. The majority said they do not know. More than 25 percent said he is doing what is best for the students. More than 20 percent said he is doing what is needed to please the Legislature. Nearly 20 percent said he is doing things that will only help his image, and less than five percent put other.
About 65 percent of the students surveyed met Hall at a USU sporting event, on campus or were approached by him.
When they met Hall, more than 30 percent said, he was very personable and called them by name. More than 35 percent said he did not ask their name but did offer to shake their hands, and less than 5 percent said he spoke down to them as though they were little children, according the presentation.
More than 75 percent of the respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with having an open forum with Hall at least once a month.
Swasey administered the survey to students in four different classes, with 30 to 40 students in each class, and to 75 to 80 students at large. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents were seniors and 42 percent were female.
-mmackay@cc.usu.edu