President Stanley Unveils New Library Renovation Plan in State of the University Address
|
| Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD |
STONY BROOK, N.Y., September 17, 2015 – In delivering his sixth annual State of the University Address on Wednesday, Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD, expressed his most optimistic view of the University’s future since becoming president in 2009. He highlighted the growth of capital projects on both main and Medicine campuses, and brought attention to the faculty research that received attention around the world; reinforced the importance of continued federal, state and philanthropic support; and announced a new plan to renovate and update the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library.
President Stanley talked about the overall growth of the University, described its national and global reach, and pointed out the upward trend in caliber of students, citing that the class of 2019 is the most competitive and selective ever in terms of average GPA and SAT scores. He praised the work coming out of the Economic Development Office, noting recent awards including the federally-funded Bioscience Hub and the most recent New York State Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) award, bringing Stony Brook’s total number of CATs to three, an unprecedented distinction for any SUNY campus. He also highlighted that Stony Brook is home to 18 Start-Up NY companies, including one from Korea.
He spoke optimistically about the future of the University and its continued commitment to managing costs and resources with initiatives like Project 50 Forward, which has saved the University more than $48M in operating expenditures since its introduction during the past four years. He praised the success of NYSUNY 2020 legislation and described how it helped manage tuition costs; advanced Stony Brook’s completion agenda with a four-point rise in four-year graduation rate; and resulted the hire of 243 new world-class faculty, many of whom are contributing to Stony Brook’s growing sponsored research expenditures, up 5.5 percent in the past year alone.
Renovations of the Melville Library will begin December 2015 and completed by the start of 2016 spring semester. The new space will be better utilized, made more user-friendly, feature new furniture and upgrade the learning spaces to be equipped with modern-day technology.
He also mentioned a $19M renovation to the Student Union that will commence within the year, and reinforced a commitment to a five-year capital plan for critical maintenance projects to improve the University’s infrastructure. He emphasized the importance of student programs that have been introduced on campus to promote tolerance, safety, and equality, including Green Dot, Red Watch Band, HeForShe, StandUp and Safe Space.
Finally, Dr. Stanley emphasized the importance of philanthropy, praising the University’s Advancement Office for raising more than $428M in four years, and referenced the upcoming capital campaign to support faculty, infrastructure, scholarships and student financial aid, and for providing access to excellence.
To watch/listen to the full University Address visit http://bit.ly/1KjMLRG.
###
About Stony Brook University
Part of the State University of New York system, Stony Brook University encompasses 200 buildings on 1,450 acres. Since welcoming its first incoming class in 1957, the University has grown tremendously, now with more than 24,600 students and 2,500 faculty. Its membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU) places Stony Brook among the top 62 research institutions in North America. U.S. News & World Report ranks Stony Brook among the top 40 public universities in the nation and Kiplinger named it one of the 35 best values in public colleges. One of four University Center campuses in the SUNY system, Stony Brook co-manages Brookhaven National Laboratory, putting it in an elite group of universities that run federal research and development laboratories. Stony Brook is ranked in the top 1 percent of the world’s higher education institutions by the
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
. It is one of only 10 universities nationwide recognized by the National Science Foundation for combining research with undergraduate education. As the largest single-site employer on Long Island, Stony Brook is a driving force of the regional economy, with an annual economic impact of $4.65 billion, generating nearly 60,000 jobs, and accounts for nearly 4 percent of all economic activity in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and roughly 7.5 percent of total jobs in Suffolk County.
