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“The transformation of the Stony Brook University campus over the past three decades has been remarkable.”

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The transformation of the Stony Brook University campus over the past three decades has been remarkable. In every aspect— classrooms, research buildings, grounds, athletic and recreational facilities, dormitories and dining halls—the campus has truly started to embody the outstanding faculty and students that call Stony Brook University home. But the change goes far beyond bricks and mortar. Our campus is home to a vibrant arts community, featuring our outstanding students and faculty, as well as some of the leading artists in the world, who perform at world-class venues like the Staller Center and the Charles B. Wang Center for Asian studies, enriching our campus and the surrounding region. Our athletics program has become a critical part of our identity and our regional and national outreach. In fact, the culture of our campus has changed, from a commuter school to a residential university with a world-class medical center, a secure and welcoming place, a place of art and beauty, a destination for our region, a place where people can learn, educate, explore, discover, create, communicate, compete, be healed and be entertained. The challenge is how to maintain and continuously improve our campus, how to make sure that we support our educational and research missions, safely house our students, provide the best medical facilities, and support our arts and athletic programs. And this must be done in the most energy-efficient way, for we are committed to building only LEED-certified structures. And if we are to remain competitive in all our endeavors, we must have a state-of-the-art IT infrastructure, requiring investment in wireless, data storage, communications and security.  

In collaboration with SUNY and the Construction Fund, and with the leadership of Senior Vice President for Administration Barbara Chernow, we have developed a comprehensive 10-year plan for the main campus, a plan that provides for critical renovations, new classroom spaces, new dormitories and dining facilities, the repurposing of South Campus to residential areas with new homes for SoMAS and the School of Dental Medicine, and a massive renovation of the Student Union, just to name a few.  Thanks to support from NYSUNY 2020 and philanthropy, we are ready to break ground on one of the largest projects ever undertaken at Stony Brook University—the new Medical And Research Translation (MART) building and a new Hospital Bed Tower addition, designed to support the extraordinary activities at Stony Brook Medicine. We must make sure we obtain the capital to pursue these vital projects, and we must obtain a restoration of our critical maintenance funding to keep the campus functioning at the highest level. We must invest if we want to improve our outstanding athletics program, which has become a powerful asset to the University, while making sure that it maintains our fundamental commitment to students and their academic success. The days of “Mudville” are long gone, but there is much to do if we are to fully support our students, faculty and staff in their remarkable endeavors. 

Of course, it takes resources to make this possible, and one of our critical investments in the next five years will be in Advancement. We have had extraordinary success in fundraising, surpassing all previous records during the past three years. And I will take this opportunity to thank Jim and Marilyn Simons and the Simons Foundation for everything they did to help make that possible. But I am proud to say they were not alone in their support, and there are thousands of individuals who now are investing in this great institution. I want to extend my thanks to each and every one of them. Their generosity is supported by the remarkable work of our Advancement Office, led by Dexter Bailey. We have much still to do, philanthropy is critical to our success, for it provides the margin for excellence.  We could not recruit or retain outstanding faculty at Stony Brook without the help provided by endowed professorships and the gifts that support start-up funds. Philanthropy is key to our ability to support outstanding students, and each year we raise millions for scholarships at the Stars of Stony Brook Gala. So you will not be surprised to learn that our quest for resources never stops, and every day we will continue to get the message out about the remarkable things that are happening at Stony Brook University, telling the stories about how investment in this university can have an enormous impact on people’s lives.

 

 

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