A Tragic Loss

I returned from my trip to Montreal to a flurry of emails about the sudden death of our university's president. Kermit Hall (who jovially embraced the pop culture references to his first name) was only 61 years old and on vacation with his wife when he suddenly died from a heart-related incident. Though he was only the president for just over a year, he was a vivacious leader with a charismatic personality who really made an impact on campus in such a short time. In the year I've been at Albany, I had met him 4 or 5 times and had "real" conversations with him, not just the typical meet-and-greet handshakes. That kind of hands-on involvement in the university community was typical of Hall.

I've been quite sad since hearing the news. My heart truly goes out to his wife, a generous and kind woman who was instrumental in her husband's academic career. I had the opportunity earlier in the summer to spend some time with both of them on a "Roads Scholar" tour to Long Island -- a trip designed to introduce new faculty and university administrators to a part of the state where a lot of are students are from. They were both intelligent, friendly, and engaging as individuals and as a couple. I can't even imagine what a tragic loss this is for her.

It's also an incredible loss for our university. Hall had a great vision for UAlbany and led with passion, personality, and pragmatism. He was also a renowned scholar and active teacher. Lately I have been struck by the void in leadership that we face today, particularly in politics, and Hall was a comforting reminder that good leaders do exist.

The suddenness with which this tragedy happened is also a sobering reminder of the frailty of life.