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President Maurie McInnis

maurie mcinnis

Maurie McInnis is the sixth president of Stony Brook University, an internationally recognized public research institution and center of academic excellence designated as a flagship university and ranked as the number one public university in New York State. Appointed in July 2020, President McInnis also oversees Stony Brook Medicine, Long Island’s premier academic medical center. She is a key player in furthering economic development on Long Island and in Stony Brook’s role as part of the management team of nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility.  

President McInnis serves as the inaugural board chair of the New York Climate Exchange that was selected in April 2023 to build an international climate solutions center on Governors Island. This historic partnership brings together universities, researchers, non-profits, community leaders, entrepreneurs and businesses to develop equitable climate solutions for New York City that can be scaled and applied globally. Under President McInnis’ leadership, Stony Brook University received a transformational $500 million gift from the Simons Foundation – the largest-ever unrestricted endowment gift made to a U.S. institution of higher education.

Advancing Access, Opportunities and Social Mobility For All Students

President McInnis is focused on providing a high-quality, affordable education for all students, which has resulted in a diverse student population that includes 20 percent underrepresented minority students, over one-third of undergraduates who are Pell Grant-eligible, and one-third of undergraduates who are the first in their families to go to college. Along with her leadership team, she continues to advance opportunities to recruit accomplished faculty to improve teaching and learning, conduct groundbreaking research, provide the best clinical care for patients, and boost students’ socioeconomic mobility. 

To promote excellence through equity and diversity in STEM fields, President McInnis  announced the Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars Program in May 2022, supported by a  $56.6 million gift from the Simons Foundation and the Simons Foundation International, to improve pathways to STEM careers and doctoral degrees for under-represented students. The inaugural cohort represents the top one percent of students nationally and is helping Stony Brook lead the next generation in scientific research while ensuring that the future of STEM research and education is inclusive, equitable, diverse, and collaborative.

Achieving Financial Sustainability and Pursuing Bold Opportunities 

President McInnis initiated a university-wide Strategic Budget Initiative shortly after taking office in 2020 to enhance research, academic program development and opportunities in the health sciences while reducing administrative burdens and building new revenue sources. Notable resulting  accomplishments to date include a 24-percent increase in research expenditures attributed to investments in additional support for research administration and new seed grant programs, human resources-focused technology and support services enhancements and improvements in graduate tuition revenue sharing.  A results-oriented leader, President McInnis strategically moved the campus to a multi-year all-funds budgeting model to invest in strategic priorities and enable the university to identify areas for new revenue-increasing opportunities and new growth. 

To propel Stony Brook University to even higher levels of excellence, President McInnis continues to make significant investments that put bold opportunities within reach. In late 2021, she launched the $75 million-dollar President’s Innovation and Excellence Fund, which is fully supported by philanthropic gifts, to enhance externally funded research on campus. Monies from the PIE Fund were invested to advance Stony Brook’s successful bid to lead development of  a climate solutions center on Governors Island. Support from the PIE Fund continues to fuel the university’s boldest ambitions in areas where it has an opportunity to lead the nation, such as quantum computing and communications, computational biology, healthy aging, and battery storage, among others.

Additional Leadership and Service Highlights

In addition to leadership service as a member of The Yale Corporation (the board of trustees) at her alma mater, Yale University, President McInnis serves as chair of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Commission on Economic and Community Engagement. She chairs the Brookhaven Science Associates and serves on the boards of the Long Island Association and Accelerate Long Island. The recipient of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s (CASE) District II Chief Executive Leadership Award in 2024, President McInnis was selected by Crain’s New York Business as a notable leader in sustainability and was honored for her leadership contributions by numerous local and regional publications, including recognition on City and State New York’s Higher Education Power 100 as well as additional accolades from Long Island Business News and the Long Island Herald in 2023.

A renowned cultural historian and author, President McInnis’ academic scholarship has focused on race, slavery, and power in the 19th century American South. She brings to Stony Brook her humanist values , among them her conviction that institutes of higher learning should use their expertise and influence to address major societal problems. As such, she is deeply committed to the mission of public research universities.

Before coming to Stony Brook, she served four years as executive vice president and provost at the University of Texas at Austin and spent nearly 20 years at the University of Virginia in various academic and administrative appointments.

 

Maurie McInnis' CV