New UAlbany chief makes early impression.(Capital Region)

Byline: KENNETH AARON Staff Writer

ALBANY - Kermit L. Hall vowed not to issue any sweeping pronouncements about his vision for the University at Albany on Wednesday afternoon, his second day on the job.

But he still had his new constituents applauding at a ceremony marking his arrival by announcing a new scholarship fund, seeded with $110,000, and vowing to relocate the president's office from its isolated Western Avenue roost to the center of campus.

"The president is moving from Gilligan's Island over to the podium," Hall said to applause, referring to the cluster of academic buildings that make up the core of UAlbany.

For several days a …