Frequently Asked Questions

The Stony Brook University Plan for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, finalized and announced on May 19, 2016, identifies specific goals and tactics to enhance the University’s student, faculty and staff diversity and to build an inclusive community for all, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, religion, ability, veteran status, socioeconomic level and sexual orientation.

The plan was developed to build on successes and address new opportunities to take Stony Brook to the next level in its efforts to enhance student, faculty and staff diversity, and to build an inclusive community. It also aligns with SUNY's 2015 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy, which states that "SUNY aspires to be the most inclusive state university system in the country."

A high-level Steering Committee will set priorities, handle emerging issues and problems and be held accountable for implementation, planning, resource allocation and assessment. The Steering Committee will provide regular updates regarding implementation and will bring in other campus leadership as needed.

Working groups chaired by key campus leaders responsible for the interest areas will develop specific plans for implementation; review existing efforts to determine their efficacy; outline obstacles, resource needs and assessment measures; and keep the Steering Committee up to date on implementation efforts.

Members of a broad-based Advisory Council will serve as ambassadors and will review ideas and strategies, raise concerns and suggest implementation steps as well as new areas of focus, and review existing efforts.

View a complete listing of these groups and their representatives.

In April 2016, a draft plan was shared with the campus for feedback, which was reviewed and included, where possible, in the final plan. The plan was finalized and announced on May 19, 2016. The implementation Steering Committee and the Working Group chairs met over the summer to review employment, enrollment and campus climate data as a means of providing a framework for measuring progress. Additionally, these working groups have started to build their memberships and are developing strategies and priorities that will enable us to reach the key goals articulated in the plan.

The Steering Committee will evaluate and prioritize key initiatives and programs highlighting our commitment to diversity. In addition, various events were scheduled for the fall semester, including a President’s Lecture with Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Defamation (a play that explores the highly charged issues of race, religion, gender, class and the law), and the UN’s release of the HeForShe University Parity Report.

The university also began working in the fall with all academic and administrative areas on building cultural competencies and eliminating hidden biases in the workplace and classroom. Updates on plan implementation will be provided on a regular basis on this website and at forums twice yearly.

The University will be moving into Phase 2 of the implementation of the Plan for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity.  The Diversity Plan Steering Committee will reconvene after commencement to revisit the University mission and realign the goals of the Plan for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity. 

PRODiG Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion and Growth aims to increase the representation of historically underrepresented faculty at SUNY (Historically Underepresentend Faculty and Women in Science Technology, Engineering, and Math).  This is consistent with SUNY's Role in creating pathways to social and economic opportunity for all of our students, as well as pesonal and intellectual.  For information about PRODIG please visit: www.suny.edu/prodig.

Stony Brook University professionals are currently working in several advisory commitees to create a comprehensive application which will be due by July 15, 2019.  Please stay tuned for updates.