Andrew Kohut Personal Collection

Download the Finding Aid and Container Inventory For more information on restrictions on use of archival material, please see these guidelines from the Society of American Archivists  The collection is organized into series/subseries by topic. Within each series, folders are in chronological order.  Dates: 1924-2015 Majority of material found within 1976-2014 Creator: Kohut, Andrew, 1942-2015 (person) Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English. Conditions Governing Access: All material in this collection is open to the public.

Andrew Kohut - Box 3 Folder 1

Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright restrictions may apply. Users are expected to follow to all copyright and other intellectual property laws. Please contact The Roper Center for more information.

Extent:

• 29 linear feet. 50 Hollinger boxes, 4 flat boxes, and 1 clamshell book box.

Biographical Note:
     Andrew Kohut was born on September 2, 1942 and grew up in Rochelle Park, New Jersey. He graduated from Seton Hall University in 1964 and enrolled in graduate school at Rutgers University. Kohut left Rutgers in 1966, before graduating, to work for the Gallup Organization. Kohut remained there for 23 years and was Gallup’s president from 1979-1989. In 1989, he left Gallup and founded Princeton Research Associates. Three years later, Kohut became the director of the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press. In 1996, the Pew Charitable Trusts took over sponsorship of the Center from the Times Mirror Company. In 2004, the Pew Research Center was founded, and Kohut became its first president. He spent the remainder of his career at Pew until his death on September 8, 2015.

     Andrew Kohut was one of the most respected and recognized pollsters in the United States during his long career in the industry. He was a highly sought-after speaker and a frequent guest on both National Public Radio (NPR) and PBS’s NewsHour. In later years, he was often featured as a political opinion expert during presidential elections on CNN.

     Kohut was in many ways a Washington insider: he had contacts throughout the city and personal relationships with such notables as Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State in the Clinton administration. During the 1990s, Kohut became a regular speaker for the CIA and the State Department, presenting on America’s image abroad, as well as the American public’s opinions of various foreign policy issues. After 9/11, federal agencies and other organizations sought his expertise ever more frequently as they attempted to gauge how Muslims and Muslim nations viewed the United States and the American people.

     Kohut’s experience and deep understanding of public opinion polling made him a respected authority among his peers. His ability to create what he called “gut-check” questions alongside his strong analytical skills made him a leader in his field. In 2005, he received the American Association for Public Opinion Research’s highest honor, the Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement. In 2000 he won the New York AAPOR Chapter Award for Outstanding Contribution to Opinion Research. Roper Center for Public Opinion Research awarded Kohut the 2014 Warren Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research. In 2015, the Roper Center’s Board of Directors established an endowment to create the Andrew Kohut Student Fellowship Fund for the purpose of supporting student research.  

     Kohut was married twice and had two children (Matthew Kohut and Amy Kohut) with his first wife, Marybeth Lyhne. At the time of his death, he was married to Diane Colasanto, whom he had married 16 years earlier.

Separated Materials:

1. Andrew Kohut bobblehead
2. 20 issues of Public Opinion Quarterly: 1937 (v.1, #2), 1939 (v.3, #3), 1951 (v.15, #3 & #4), 1952 (v.16, #4), 1955 (v.19, #2, #3, #4), 1956 (v.20, #1), 1957 (v.21, #1 & #2), 1958 (v.22, #2, #3, #4), 1959 (v.23, #2 & #3), 1960 (v.24, #4), 1964 (v.28, #2, #3, #4)
3. 3 boxes of Gallup Organization Surveys
4. 46 books related to polling, politics, et al. Several written by Andrew Kohut.
5. 35 volumes of The Gallup Poll (1935-2002)
6. 19 volumes of Gallup Opinion Index, aka Gallup Political Index and Gallup Opinion Report (1965-1983)

Related Names:

• Creator: Kohut, Andrew, 1942-2015 (person)
• Creator: Colasanto, Diane, 1951- (person)

Finding Aid & Administrative Information:

            Title: Andrew Kohut Collection
            Subtitle: Correspondence, Polls, Speaking, and Writing
            Status: Completed
            Author: Joe Schill
            Date: June 2018

Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: English

Repository Details:
The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, Cornell University

https://ropercenter.cornell.edu

Contact:
The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
Cornell University
136 Hoy Road
Rhodes Hall, Room 651
Ithaca, NY 14853-3801 USA

Telephone: 607.255.8129
Email: data-services-requests@roper.center

The Andrew Kohut Collection is divided into 9 series. Series 4-8 are further divided into several subseries, as follows:

1. Audio Visual Materials
2. Personal, Honors, Ephemera
3. Clippings (Newspapers/Magazines)
4. Writings:
   1. New York Times articles written by Andrew Kohut
   2. Miscellaneous Andrew Kohut articles/writing
5. Talking Points, Notes, and Reports:
   1. NPR/PBS
   2. Council on Foreign Relations
   3. Domestic Issues
   4. International Issues
   5. General/Handwritten Notes
6. Speeches:
   1. Conferences
   2. Congressional Hearings and Testimony
   3. Presentations
7. Polls and Surveys:
   1. Gallup Polls
   2. Newsweek Polls
   3. Pew Polls
   4. Miscellaneous Polls
8. Gallup Organization Papers:
   1. Andrew Kohut Correspondence
   2. Diane Colasanto Correspondence
9. Miscellaneous Materials

The papers include a variety of materials created and collected by Andrew Kohut during his half-century career in the polling industry. He began at the Gallup Organization, left to start Princeton Survey Research Associates, then moved to the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press, and finally became the founding director of the Pew Research Center. He spent the vast majority of his career at Gallup and Pew and in the role of director/president from 1979-2013.

The collection consists largely of correspondence, clippings and other published material (by Kohut and others), notes/talking points on popular issues of the day, speeches, and polls. The collection also includes assorted media, such as audiotapes, VHS tapes, 3.5” disks, 5.25” floppy disks, and CDs.

The collection documents are arranged in 9 series:

1. Audio Visual Materials, 1984-2012
2. Personal, Honors, Ephemera, 1978-2013
3. Clippings, Publications, and Assorted Printed Material, 1924-2011
4. Writings, 1994-2015
5. Talking Points, Notes, and Reports, 1988-2014
6. Speeches, 1977-2014
7. Polls and Surveys, 1976-2012
8. Gallup Organization Papers, 1978-1990 
9. Miscellaneous Materials, various dates

Note: The records consist of a mix of original documents and photocopies.

• Series 4-8 are further arranged in subseries, as follows:
  • Series 4, Writings, 1994-2015:
    • Subseries 1, New York Times articles written by Andrew Kohut, 1998-2008
    • Subseries 2, Miscellaneous Andrew Kohut articles/writing, 1994-2015
  •  Series 5, Talking Points, Notes, and Reports, 1988-2014:
    • Subseries 1, NPR/PBS, 1996-2012
    • Subseries 2, Council on Foreign Relations, 1995-2011
    • Subseries 3, Domestic Issues, 1988-2014
    • Subseries 4, International Issues, 1990-2012
    • Subseries 5, General/Handwritten, 1978-2010
  • Series 6, Speeches, 1977-2014:
    • Subseries 1, Conferences, 1994-2012
    • Subseries 2, Congressional Hearings and Testimony, 1991-2010
    • Subseries 3, Presentations, 1977-2014
  •   Series 7, Polls and Surveys 1976-2012:
    • Subseries 1, Gallup Polls, 1977-1994
    • Subseries 2, Newsweek Polls, 1976-2004
    • Subseries 3, Pew Polls, 1999-2012
    • Subseries 4, Miscellaneous Polls, 1988-2011
  •   Series 8, Gallup Organization Papers, 1978-1990:
    • Subseries 1, Andrew Kohut Correspondence, 1978-1988
    • Subseries 2, Diane Colasanto Correspondence, 1983-1990

 See Container Inventory for more detailed description.

Series 1: Audio Visual Materials—total of 2 Hollinger boxes
(1984-2012)

• Box 1: contains
  • 12 audiotapes (1988-2004);
  • 12 3.5” disks “precinct samples” (1988);
  • 1 3.5” disk “Andrew Kohut testimony for Committee on Foreign Affairs” (August 1, 1994);
  • 1 3.5” disk “The Talk, AAPOR” (1995);
  • 1 3.5” disk “America by the Numbers” (1999);
  • 2 audio CDs with “pre-election polls and analysis” (2010 and 2012);
  • and 1 micro audiotape with “AAPOR Speech” (1995).

• Box 2: contains
  • 1 VHS tape produced by Raiford Communications “Drug Abuse Plans” (February 20, 1990);
  • 8 VHS tapes “Highlights, et al” produced by Times Mirror Center (1994-1995);
  • 1 VHS tape “MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour: Discussion of Polling & Effect on Presidential Campaign” (October 20, 1992);
  • 1 VHS tape MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour: Contract with America, Andy Kohut” (March 17, 1995);
  • 3 VHS tapes produced by WETA “National Issues Convention” (January 20-21, 1996);
  • 1 VHS tape produced by CNN “Typology, A. Kohut” (September 20, 1994); 2 VHS tapes produced by The Gallup Organization “Gallup Poll” (no date);
  • 1 VHS tape “Entrepreneurs in the 90’s: New Ideas and Practical Help in a Tough Market” produced by Drinker Biddle, & Reath (no date);
  • 1 VHS tape “Fox—Primary Polls” (no date);
  • 1 VHS tape (no title, no date);
  • 1 UCA 20s videocassette produced by Xavier Gutierrez “Opinion 6X” for TV 6 in Costa Rica (c. 1984/1986);
  • 2 5.25” floppy disks “1988 Election”

Series 2: Personal, Honors, Ephemera—total of 1 Hollinger box
(1978-2013)

• Box 3—14 folders (1978-2013): contains assorted personal papers, photos, and awards. Includes:
  • photo of Andrew Kohut with President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright;
  • scrapbook (mostly newspaper articles);
  • magazine articles about Andrew Kohut;
  • personal records/contracts (Gallup Organization).

		Folder 6: “October’s Men of the Moment” in M magazine (October 1992), p. 99-101. M magazine is no longer in publication.
		Folder 8: photograph of Andrew Kohut with President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, no date.
		Folder 14: Letter to Andrew Kohut from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, January 30, 2013.

Series 3: Clippings (Newspapers/Magazines)—total of 1 Hollinger box
(1924-2011)

• Box 4—24 folders (1924-2011) contains:
  • various newspaper and magazine articles, as well as book chapters, written by others (not Kohut).
  • Includes outline for 1924 book Non-Voting: Causes and Methods of Control by Charles Merriam and Harold Gosnell;
  • 1964 article by Paul K. Perry “Election Survey Methods;”
  • 1997 manuscript by Paul K. Perry Memoirs of a Pollster.

     Sample:  Outline for book Getting Out the Vote

Series 4: Writings—total of 3 Hollinger boxes
(1994-2015)

1)  New York Times articles written by Andrew Kohut

• Box 5—24 folders (1998-2005)
• Box 6—20 folders (2006-2008)

  Box 6—Folder 19: Several Kohut Articles from the New York Times on the 2008 Election, July-November, 2008.

2)  Miscellaneous Andrew Kohut articles/writing

• Box 7—18 folders (1994-2015)

Series 5: Talking Points, Notes, and Reports—total of 13 Hollinger boxes
(1988-2014)

1)    NPR/PBS

• Box 8—35 folders (1996-2006)
  • Sample:

Box 8—Folder 8: Notes and Talking Points on the Abu Ghraib Prisoner Abuse Scandal in Iraq, 2004.

• Box 09—25 folders (2007-2008)
• Box 10—31 folders (2009-2011
• Box 11—12 folders (2012)

2)    Council on Foreign Relations

• Box 12—17 folders (1995-2008) includes:
  • task force on U.S. response to terrorism (2001-2002);
  • task force on U.S. immigration policy (2008)
  • Council on Foreign Relations Sample:

  Sample: Box 12 Folder 17:  1988 Presidential Election

• Box 13—3 folders (2009-2011): includes documents on U.S. immigration policy

3)    Domestic Issues: elections and politics

• Box 14—13 folders (1988-2004)
• Box 15—46 folders (2004-2008)
• Box 16—15 folders (2010-2014)

4)    International Issues

• Box 17—12 folders (1990-2004):
  • Folder 4 - (2001) - Notes and Reflections on 9/11, Globalization and other aspects of George W Bush Presidency
  • U.S. image abroad;
  • trade policy;
  • Gulf War;
  • U.S.-China relations
• Box 18—32 folders (2003-2012):
  • Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project;
  • anti-Americanism;
  • U.S. foreign policy

5)    General/Handwritten Notes: assorted topics

• Box 19—17 folders (1978-1997)
• Box 20—9 folders (1998-2010)
  • Sample:

Box 20—Folder 6: Personal Notes and Schedule, circa 2003-2004.

Series 6: Speeches—total of 9 Hollinger boxes
(1977-2014)

1)    Conferences: includes annual meetings and events with many speakers as opposed to a single presentation

• Box 21—7 folders (1994-1998):
  • assorted topics/post-Cold War world
  • Sample:

  Folder 7 - Politics on the 'Net: A post-mortem of the 1998 Elections 1998 - John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University

• Box 22—10 folders (1999-2004):
  • U.S.-China relations;
  • China trip;
  • post 9/11
• Box 23—15 folders (2004-2007):
  • Pew Global Attitudes Project;
  • post 9/11;
  • America’s image abroad;
  • Islamic world
• Box 24—7 folders (2008-2012):
  • international relations;
  • U.S.-Europe relations;
  • U.S. Muslim relations;
  • post-Cold War world

2)    Congressional Hearings and Testimony

• Box 25—11 folders (1991-2010):
  • assorted topics;
  • how Americans are viewed throughout the world
  • Folder 10 - House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on International Organizations,  Human Rights and Oversight, Global Polling Data on Opinion of American Policies, Values, and People March 12, 2007

3)    Presentations: individual speeches for a variety of groups/events

• Box 26—26 folders (1977-1997):
  • assorted topics;
  • folder #23 includes large amount of handwritten notes on general topics from 1993-1994
    • 1994 Midterm elections and Newt Gingrich's Contract with America
• Box 27—21 folders (1998-2006):
  • assorted topics;
  • Pew Global Attitudes Project;
  • how Americans are viewed throughout the world;
  • Clinton White House
• Box 28—23 folders (2007-2010):
  • mostly international topics;
  • Pew Global Attitudes Project;
  • how Americans are viewed throughout the world;
  • 2008 presidential election
• Box 29—21 folders (2011-2014):
  • assorted public opinion and political topics;
  • views of the U.S.

Series 7: Polls and Surveys—total of 16 Hollinger boxes
(1976-2012)

All 4 subseries include a wide range of assorted popular news topics of the times. Most examine public opinion about politics, the economy, society and social values, and international relations/events.

1)    Gallup Polls: includes topline results and summaries/analyses

• Box 30—24 folders (1977-June 1982)
• Box 31—24 folders (July 1982-1986)
• Box 32—29 folders (1987-1989)
• Box 33—9 folders (1989-1994)

2)    Newsweek Polls includes:

• topline results and summaries/analyses;
• polls conducted by the Gallup Organization from 1976-1989;
• no polls from 1990-1992;
• polls conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates from 1993-2003;
• polls conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International in 2004

• Box 34—70 folders (1976-1983)
• Box 35—57 folders (1984-1987)
  • Sample:

    Box 35—Folder 1: Reagan Poll, January 1984.

• Box 36—63 folders (1988-1989/1993-1994)
• Box 37—37 folders (1995-1996)
• Box 38—38 folders (1997-1998)
• Box 39—48 folders (1999-2000)
• Box 40—37 folders (2000-2001)
• Box 41—34 folders (2002-2003)
• Box 42—18 folders (2004)

3)    Pew Polls

• Box 43—14 folders (1999-2012)
  • many polls from 2004 and 2008 (7 of the 14 folders);
  • other years with polls:
  • 1999-2001;
  • 2010-2012
  • Sample:

  Box 43—Folder 5: Global Attitudes Project: Iraq, One Year Later Survey, 9 countries surveyed, March 2004.

   Miscellaneous Polls

• Box 44—10 folders (1988-2006):
  • folders 2-7 related to the National Issues Convention (1996) or other deliberative polls
• Box 45—6 folders (2008-2011):
  • 5 folders related to 2004 and 2008 presidential elections

Series 8: Gallup Organization Papers—total of 7 Hollinger boxes
(1978-1990)

1)    Andrew Kohut Correspondence: interoffice memos, purchase orders, and other office related documents (mostly sent from Andrew Kohut)

• Box 46—19 folders (1978-1981)
• Box 47—20 folders (1982-1987)
• Box 48—6 folders (1988)

2)    Diane Colasanto Correspondence: interoffice memos, purchase orders, and other office related documents (mostly sent from Diane Colasanto)

• Box 49—9 folders (1983-1984)
• Box 50—9 folders (1985-June 1986)
• Box 51—9 folders (July 1986-1987)
• Box 52—12 folders (1988-1990)

Series 9: Miscellaneous Materials—total of 4 items

1)    Large framed awards—3 items. Note: Harvard University and Roper Center awards are stored together in box 53.

• Box 53—The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, honors Andrew Kohut for his participation in the seminar of the “Theodore H. White Lecture on the Press and Politics: ‘The Meaning of the 2004 Election’.” Framed, 12.5” x 16.25”.
• Box 53—The Roper Center 2014 Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research to Andrew Kohut. Framed, 15” x 17.5”.
• Box 54—Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from Washington College (2009). Framed, 23.75” x 28”.

2)    Non-Voting (book)—1 clamshell book box

• Box 55—University of Chicago Press (1924): Non-Voting: Causes and Methods of Control by Charles Merriam and Harold Gosnell. In fragile condition.