Leadership Update: School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

October 5, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to share an update about the leadership of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Effective January 15, 2027, Paul Shepson will step down as the dean of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and return full-time to his position as a SUNY Distinguished Professor in SoMAS, where he will continue his highly impactful research program in atmospheric science.

Since joining Stony Brook as dean in 2018, Shep has helped build a larger, stronger school with an expanding role in addressing some of our most pressing environmental challenges. During his tenure, SoMAS recruited and appointed 18 tenure track faculty, increased undergraduate student enrollment and more than doubled annual research expenditures from around $12 million to $27 million. The school also developed new academic programs related to climate change and revised its master's and doctoral programs to give students greater flexibility.

Shep led the development of two strategic plans and established three divisions: marine sciences, atmospheric sciences, and sustainability studies. He is also working with faculty and colleagues, governance bodies and university partners to complete the formal approval process for recognizing sustainability in the school's name. The proposed name, School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Sustainability Sciences, will retain the SoMAS acronym and more fully reflect the school's teaching and research.

His leadership has extended to the facilities and partnerships that make this work possible. He oversaw significant investments in research facilities, including upgrades to the R. Lawrence Swanson Marine Laboratory in Flax Pond, and encouraged philanthropic support for the school. He advanced work on the restoration of the Peconic Estuary Partnership (housed in SoMAS), helped secure Stony Brook's role as the anchor institution of the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island, and has been a consistent advocate for the Collaborative for the Earth. He also helped establish the Governors Island Environmental Observatory.

Throughout his deanship, Shep has remained an active researcher, studying the exchange of gases between Earth's surface and atmosphere in environments ranging from the Arctic and coastal waters to cities and forests. He has conducted much of that research from aboard a twin-engine aircraft, serving as its principal pilot.

I have especially valued Shep's passion for our planet and for the school whose work is so central to protecting it. He brings urgency and conviction to that work, and he has pushed us to think ambitiously about what SoMAS and Stony Brook can contribute. I am grateful for his partnership and look forward to his continued contributions as a researcher and colleague.

We will soon launch a search for the school's next permanent dean. In the meantime, I am following my usual approach of gathering community feedback before appointing an interim leader. I invite your suggestions through a brief anonymous survey by Wednesday, October 14. We expect to complete the interim appointment process shortly, allowing the incoming interim dean to work closely with Shep on a strong transition plan.

Submit your suggestions by October 14

Please join me in thanking Shep for what will be eight and a half years of dedicated leadership and for the lasting contribution he has made to SoMAS and Stony Brook.

Sincerely,

Carl

Carl W. Lejuez

Executive Vice President and Provost