Recommended Naming Resolution Roy Nicholson Art Fund; Harrison-Nicholson House and Artist or Scholar in Residence Fund; and the Harrison-Nicholson House 

RECOMMENDATION 

It is recommended that the Stony Brook Council approve naming of the “Roy Nicholson Art Fund; Harrison-Nicholson House and Artist or Scholar in Residence Fund; and the Harrison-Nicholson House” in recognition of Helen Harrison Nicholson and Roy Nicholson’s generosity and deep connection with Stony Brook Foundation and Stony Brook University. 

BACKGROUND 

WHEREAS, during her 34 years as an employee of Stony Brook University as the director of Stony Brook Foundation’s Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, Helen Harrison Nicholson made an extraordinary contribution to its evolution as an internationally recognized major cultural heritage site and an important resource for the study of modern American art; 

WHEREAS, Roy Nicholson is a well-known artist whose work is in numerous private and several public collections, including the Royal College of Heralds, London; Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal; Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington; Federal Reserve Bank, Atlanta; and the Texas Commerce Bank, Houston; and  

WHEREAS, Helen Harrison Nicholson and Roy Nicholson are important and well-known members of the arts community on the East End of Long Island, where they have made their home for over 4 decades; and   

WHEREAS, Helen Harrison Nicholson and Roy Nicholson have generously gifted and bequeathed property valued at over $7,000,000 to establish two endowed funds to support the use of their former home as a residence for visiting artists and scholars, serving to further Stony Brook’s connection to the arts on the East End of Long Island.  

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE STONY BROOK COUNCIL, THAT: 

In recognition of Helen Harrison Nicholson and Roy Nicholson’s generosity and deep connection with Stony Brook Foundation and Stony Brook University, the Stony Brook Council endorses the naming of the Roy Nicholson Art Fund, the Harrison-Nicholson House and Artist or Scholar in Residence Fund and the Harrison-Nicholson House. 

The Stony Brook Local Council authorizes Chair, Kevin Law, to transmit this resolution to the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York.  

February 9, 2026