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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- The president of the State University at Albany told his wife they were swimming out too far and was headed back to the beach in South Carolina before he began yelling for help and died Sunday afternoon, according to her statement to police.
Authorities are investigating whether Kermit Hall, 61, had an underlying medical condition that caused or contributed to his death. Phyllis Hall told police he had "a minor history of heart problems" but the only medication he took Sunday was for his thyroid.
Phyllis Hall told police they had gone about 100 yards from shore at the beach resort island when her husband said they were out too far. At 2:20 p.m. EDT, they began swimming back when he started yelling for help and waving his arms. She swam to shore to get help, looked back and saw him floating face down. People on the beach helped her get him back and did CPR until rescuers arrived.
He was pronounced dead around 3 p.m. at Hilton Head Regional Medical Center.
Capt. Robert Bromage of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said the couple were swimming off Sea Pines Plantation and the death doesn't appear suspicious.
"By reports it wasn't over his head. You could stand on the bottom where he was," Bromage said. "It could have been something medical."
Beaufort County Coroner Curt Copeland said Monday he expected an autopsy to be done.
Hall was named president of the State University of New York's University at Albany in 2004.
"Since his appointment, he has been both an outstanding university and community leader. He worked tirelessly to improve academic standards and helped spearhead a nanoelectronic research institute that is unparalleled in the nation. Kermit Hall's contributions to the university will be seen far into the future," Gov. George Pataki said in a statement.
"Kermit Hall was a distinguished scholar and mentor to students and faculty alike who, as president for far too short a time, made enormous contributions to the academic advances of the University at Albany. The State University has lost a colleague of vision, integrity and dynamism," SUNY Chancellor John Ryan said in a statement.
Prior to his appointment, Hall was president and history professor at Utah State University for four years. Before that he was provost, vice chancellor and history professor at North Carolina State University for two years and was executive dean and a professor of history and law at Ohio State University from 1994-97. He'd also held academic and administrative jobs at the University of Tulsa, the University of Florida, Wayne State University and Vanderbilt University.
Hall received his doctorate in 1972 from the University of Minnesota. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Akron, a master's degree in 1967 from Syracuse University and a master of studies in law degree from Yale Law School in 1980, according to the University at Albany.
Hall was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. The son of a tire maker and a bookkeeper, he was a first-generation college graduate and a Vietnam-era veteran.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
