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j e r s e y s h o r e • S p r i n g 2 0 1 6 13 (his fifth consecutive appearance on the list), and was named their 2010 Pollster of the Year. Murray is a frequent contributor to local and national media, including NJ 101.5, CNN's The Situation Room, Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, The Huffington Post, and ABC's Good Morning America. The Monmouth University Polling Institute has a national reach, a solid reputation, and a voice for public policy, all out of a small, Jersey Shore location. Murray hopes that others see that the Institute is just one of the many positive and grow- ing programs that the University has to offer. "There are other aspects of Monmouth University that are important. We have interesting things going on with our business and communications studies, our urban coast institute, and more. I hope that people start saying, 'What else does Monmouth have going for it?'" he said. —Jill Ocone One can rely upon the Monmouth University Polling Institute for non-biased and credible reporting of public opinion about the 2016 presidential election and other topics. For more information, visit www.monmouth.edu/university/monmouth- university-polling-institute.aspx. continued on page 14 polls by Governor Christie, followed by Christie's negative comments about the Institute, resulted in even more nationwide attention. "We know that politicians get upset with polls. Well, you never heard of a politician getting upset with pollsters on a personal level…it actually helps us get a lot more attention," he said. The Institute has a full-time staff of three, along with a number of graduate students each semester who work for the Institute as a part of their graduate studies. Murray said that one of the most interesting polls ever done was actually a project by two of his students, Susan Kane and Andrew Spata, who were enrolled in his public opinion course during the summer session in 2012. "This one group wanted to write questions about the use of drone aircraft for domestic policing purposes," he said. At the time, Murray and the stu- dents knew the topic of drones and drone policing were coming down the pike, but there were no regula- tions in place yet. Kane and Spata's questions focused on whether peo- ple would be worried about their privacy, under what circumstances they thought drone aircraft should be used for domestic policing, and more. "Their questions were really good, and I put them on a national poll," said Murray. "It was the only poll done [in the nation] for a year on that topic. There was continual media pickup for over a year, and the poll was actually used in federal gov- ernmental reports because it was the only evidence of public opinion on the issue." Murray said that's what the Institute thrives on: looking for opinions on issues that are perco- lating but not attracting that much attention. "That's one of the ways we try to get students involved. [With that poll], we made a contribution to help people understand where this issue [drone aircraft] was going." Kane and Spata received credit on the June 12, 2012 poll. As polls are completed, the reports are uploaded to the Institute's web- site, then disseminated to the media and individuals who have signed up to receive reports via email. With a lifetime of experience as a pollster, Murray's ethics and concern for the public good result in the Institute's credibility and suc- cesses in methodology. In 2013, he was among one of six named with PolitickerNJ's Winner of the Year honors. Additionally, he was ranked #35 on their 2014 Power List of the 100 most politically influential, non-elected figures in New Jersey Student Chris Brinkman working for the Institute as a part of his graduate program. Campaign signs from the 2016 presidential election hang on an office wall at the Institute. Jill Ocone Jill Ocone

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