As a part of Stony Brook University’s 2025 Homecoming, President Andrea Goldsmith joined faculty, staff, alumni, and students in the Charles B. Wang Center Theater on October 23 for “Meet the President: Connecting Past, Present and Future,” a relaxed Q&A that mixed personal reflections with concrete proposals about access, research, and the university’s role in the region and beyond.
The program opened with a short welcome video of past Seawolves reminiscing on their education and experience at Stony Brook, followed by remarks that introduced Goldsmith’s background in engineering and research, her entrepreneurial work, and her commitment to public education.
After the formal introductions, Goldsmith — joined onstage by Interim Vice President for Advancement Scott Barrett — spent the majority of the session addressing questions she has received since her inauguration and outlining priorities she has emphasized since arriving on campus in August.
Goldsmith spoke repeatedly about Stony Brook’s mission of access and upward mobility. “We educate students for their entire dimension of professional and personal success,” she said, adding that she feels “incredibly honored to be leading this university” and that she sees the appointment as a trust to “take this university to new heights of excellence and impact.”
She offered a direct view of the sorts of headlines she hopes to see for Stony Brook in 2035, saying she wants the university to seize opportunities created by disruption in higher education. Among her aspirations: broader tuition access for first-generation students, a deepened entrepreneurship and innovation system across Long Island and New York City, and a dramatically larger endowment to support student aid and faculty recruitment. “I think that Stony Brook and New York State, driven by Stony Brook, can surpass California as an important hub,” she said.
Goldsmith described a recent, state-level investment as central to that effort: “The governor… invested $300 million in a quantum innovation and research hub here at Stony Brook, to ensure that we continue to be the world leader in this advanced technology and all of the surrounding technologies.” She described the global infrastructure for secure communications that is quantum networking, and noted the university’s partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Several attendees emphasized the same themes Goldsmith raised — including access, community impact and research growth — while also focusing on student experience and local healthcare needs.
“I think it’s amazing. There’s a lot of excellent initiatives that really represent what we’re doing as a public university; serving our community is going to be a driving force and moving us in that direction,” said Stacy Jaffee Gropack, dean of the School of Health Professions. She described the focus of new initiatives “all about community health, promotion, wellness — we have about 20 different programs that align with that.”
Anjanette Schildhorn, assistant director of advancement events, said the goal was for Goldsmith “to share her vision… She’s very enthusiastic and very optimistic.”
Nicole Morris, assistant director of development for Student Affairs, added that she hoped to hear the president’s vision, adding that she’s “truly authentic, genuine, and approachable,” and hoping that people would relate to her.
Questions throughout the night ranged from the impact of new investments to the university’s plans for expanding its presence in New York City and for healthcare on the Stony Brook Southampton campus. Goldsmith discussed both local and statewide ambitions, including building healthcare capacity on the Southampton campus, igniting arts and lifelong learning initiatives there, and leveraging Stony Brook’s role as the lead institution for The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island as an example of how the university can extend its reach.
As the session wrapped, Goldsmith closed with gratitude and an optimistic, problem-solving posture: “There is nothing that I’ve seen about this university that I don’t think can be overcome, especially working together with all of our stakeholders and with all of you,” she said. Attendees then moved to a reception where dinner was served and conversations continued.
— Lily Miller
If the University of California system is going to be challenged, Stony Brook University has to have a law school. Look at the campuses of UC most have law schools. Stony Brook was suppose to be the UC Berkeley of the East let’s get this done.