International students crowded into a redesigned space on the ground floor of Melville Library, eager to chat, eat and make the space their own. For the first time, Stony Brook’s international students have their very own dedicated space in the heart of campus.
“This is for the students. Everything we have and everything we are building is for you,” said Lindsi Walker, senior associate provost for global affairs. “Now you have a physical space dedicated to serving you, but this is about more than physical space. This is about our commitment at Stony Brook to standing with you and seeing you succeed — academically, culturally, socially, and into your future.”
The International Student Center officially opened in early October with a ribbon cutting, raffles of SBU-branded swag from around campus, and treats as diverse as the international student body. The moon cakes disappeared almost immediately and the gulab jamun didn’t last much longer; the trays of coffee cake, brownies and cookies were slightly less popular with the crowd of nearly 100 students, faculty and staff.
The redesigned space offers students places to study and relax. Staff offices for members of the International Student Success team also make it easy for students to ask questions and get help, including tutoring.
The center reflects the university’s commitment to recruiting and supporting international students. International enrollment reached a high of nearly 4,600 students in Fall 2019 before plummeting to 3,600 the next fall because of the COVID pandemic.
Since, numbers have rebounded to nearly 4,000 this fall. Of those, approximately 1,100 are new freshman, transfer or graduate students.
Most international students at Stony Brook are from China and India, in keeping with national enrollment trends. Stony Brook students come from more than 100 countries, including the United States.
“At Stony Brook, we believe that international students make us a better country and a better place to be. We don’t take the privilege of you being here for granted,” said Carl W. Lejuez, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “We’re going to work everyday to help you feel that you made the right choice in coming here, that you are wanted here, and that your presence here makes this university better.”
Congratulations to everyone who helped make this happen, and to our international students! This is fantastic and long overdue!!