George Gallup, son of pioneering pollster, visits MC April 19

April 13, 2006
Karen B. Eldridge, Director of News and Public Information
865.981.8207; karen.eldridge@maryvillecollege.edu

George Gallup Jr., chairman of the George H. Gallup International Institution and son of the legendary American statistician and pioneering pollster, will visit Maryville College Wed., April 19.

Gallup will address students at 3:30 p.m. in the Music Hall of the College’s Fine Arts Center for a one-hour presentation on the history of the Gallup Poll, exploring how and why it was created. Math majors and students in the College’s general education STA120: Introductory Statistics courses are expected to turn out in large numbers.

“We’re excited about providing our students the opportunity to hear George Gallup Jr. talk about some of the history and issues of polling,” said Dr. Jeff Bay, associate professor of mathematics at the College. “More and more, to be an educated citizen capable of making sound decisions requires the ability to interpret statistical information. In our statistics courses, we try to develop this ability.

“Perhaps nowhere is the typical citizen more likely to encounter statistical information than in reading the results of public opinion polls,” Bay added. “And when I think of public opinion polls, I first think of the Gallup Poll, which has been around since the 1930s and continues to be one of the most reliable.”

Gallup has been in the field of polling for 50 years, much of this time with the Gallup Poll that his father made popular in the 1930s. He served for many years as president of the Gallup Poll and co-chairman of the Gallup Organization.

Bay said he hopes students in attendance take away a greater appreciation for the history and value of polling.

“To quote Dr. George Gallup, founder of the Gallup Poll, ‘If democracy is supposed to be based on the will of the people, then somebody should go out and find out what that will is,’” the professor said.

A 1954 graduate of Princeton University whose bachelor of arts degree was awarded from the university’s department of religion, Gallup has focused a great deal of his work on religion and spirituality, directing more than 100 national surveys on these topics. In 1977, he and Dr. Miriam Murphy, a sociologist, founded the Princeton Religion Research Center to explore, through surveys, the nature and depth of religion here and abroad.

He is the author of numerous books, including Surveying the Religious Landscape, The New American Spirituality, Growing Up Scared in America and The Saints Among Us.

As chairman of the George H. Gallup International Institute, he leads initiatives to “discover, test and encourage new applications to social problems.” He is a trustee of the John T. Templeton Foundation and the Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and serves on the boards of many other local and national organizations.

Maryville College is ideally situated in Maryville, Tenn., between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Knoxville, the state's third largest city. Founded in 1819, it is the 12th oldest institution of higher learning in the South and maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Known for its academic rigor and its focus on the liberal arts, Maryville is where students come to stretch their minds, stretch themselves and learn how to make a difference in the world. Total enrollment for the fall 2009 semester is 1,103.