Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
in
Stony Brook, New York
Stony Brook is a political subdivisions of New York#Hamlet, hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the No ...
, United States, on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
. Along with the
University at Buffalo
The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...
, it is one of the
State University of New York
The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...
system's two
flagship institutions.
Its campus consists of 213 buildings on over of land in
Suffolk County and it is the largest public university (by area) in the state of New York.
Opened in 1957 in
Oyster Bay as the State University College on Long Island, the institution moved to
Stony Brook in 1962.
Stony Brook is part of the
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of predominantly American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 69 public and private ...
and the
Universities Research Association
The Universities Research Association (URA) is a non-profit association of more than 90 research universities, primarily but not exclusively in the United States. It has members also in Japan, Italy, and the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1965 ...
.
It is
classified
Classified may refer to:
General
*Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive
*Classified advertising or "classifieds"
Music
*Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper
* The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Stony Brook University, in partnership with
Battelle, manages
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratories, United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, New York, a hamlet of the Brookhaven, New York, Town of Brookhaven. It w ...
, a national laboratory of the
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...
. The university acquired land for a
Research & Development Park adjacent to its main campus in 2004, and has four business incubators across the region. Stony Brook is the largest single-site employer on Long Island; over 25,500 students are enrolled at the university, which has over 15,000 employees and over 2,850 faculty.
Stony Brook is a member of the
Coastal Athletic Association
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...
, and its intercollegiate athletic teams have competed at the
Division I level of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) since 1999.
History
Origins in Oyster Bay
The State University of New York at Stony Brook was established in
Oyster Bay in 1957, as the State University College on Long Island (SUCOLI). Established almost a decade after the creation of New York's public higher education system, the institution was envisioned as a college for the preparation of secondary school teachers.
Leonard K. Olson was appointed as the first dean of the institution
and was instrumental in the recruitment of faculty staff and planning of the later Stony Brook campus. SUCOLI opened with an inaugural class of 148 students,
on the grounds of the
William Robertson Coe Planting Fields estate. These first students were admitted on a tuition-free basis.
1961 was a year of firsts as 30 students were conferred degrees in the first commencement
and the university was appointed its first president,
John Francis Lee.
Lee left later that year due to political and bureaucratic matters regarding the future of the university and the central administration at Albany.
Nevertheless, he had fulfilled his primary task of reshaping the university from a technical science and engineering college of limited degree options to a full-scale university featuring liberal arts programs.
Move to Stony Brook
In 1960 the Heald Report,
commissioned by Governor
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...
, recommended a major new public university be built on Long Island to "stand with the finest in the country," a report that would ultimately shape most of the university's growth
for years to come.
Ward Melville, a philanthropist and businessman from the Three Village area in western
Suffolk County donated over of land to the state for the development of a state university
and in 1962 the institution relocated to Stony Brook
and officially renamed as the State University of New York at Stony Brook. However, the longer name has fallen out of favor; since 2005, it has usually been called simply Stony Brook University (SBU).
The campus had 782 students enrolled in 1962, but enrollment had increased more than tenfold by 1969, surpassing the 8,000 mark,
fueled by the large funding of public higher education in the Sputnik era. In 1963, only three years after the release of the Heald Report, the Governor commissioned the "Education of Health Professions" (Muir Report) report.
The report outlined the need for expansion of the university system to prepare medical professionals for the future needs of the state.
The report was particularly important for Stony Brook as it recommended creation of a Health Sciences Center and academic hospital at the campus to serve the need of the fastest-growing counties (Nassau and Suffolk) in New York at the time.
Growth

In 1965, the State University appointed
John S. Toll, a physicist from the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
as the second president of Stony Brook.
In 1966, the university set forth initial timetables for the development of the Health Sciences Center, which would house the university's health programs and
hospital
A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
. Despite the budgetary concerns and challenges from Albany, the university released a formalized plan early in 1968 and funding for recruitment of faculty was provided. At the same time, residential housing was expanded to 3,000, the Stony Brook Union opened in 1970, and in 1971, the massive expansion project for the campus library (named in memory of Frank Melville Jr., father of philanthropist
Ward Melville) was completed.
Despite the fast-paced growth, campus infrastructure often struggled to keep pace: overcrowding,
expansion,
landscaping, lighting, and safety were persistent problems at the university, which led to multiple protests and growing tension between the student body and the administration. In January 1968, the infamous "Operation Stony Brook" drug raid resulted in the arrest of 29 students, and in the fall of 1968, tension climaxed as the administration and students decided on a three-day moratorium to bring together the entire university with the goal of improving communication between the students, faculty, and administration.

The 1970s witnessed the growth of the university and its transformation as a major research institution within New York's public school system, with strong graduate programs and scientific breakthroughs like the development of
magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and ...
. But the university lagged significantly in undergraduate education, prioritizing graduate education and research over undergraduate studies and student life. By 1975, enrollment had reached 16,000 and expansion crossed over Nicolls Road with the construction of the Health Sciences Center, which would be completed in 1980.
In 1981,
John Marburger
John Harmen "Jack" Marburger III (February 8, 1941 – July 28, 2011) was an American physicist who directed the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the administration of President George W. Bush, serving as the Science Advisor to the Pres ...
was inaugurated as the third president, and continued the expansion. By the late 1980s, the administration affirmed the need to improve other areas of the institution, which included undergraduate education, student and residential life, and intercollegiate athletics. In 1994, the university approved a decision to transition athletics to the Division I of the NCAA by 1999 and followed with the construction of the Stony Brook Arena and the expansion of the Indoor Sports Complex.
Further expansion into the 21st century
The 1990s affirmed Stony Brook's success at building a research university with a strong undergraduate education. Under the leadership of its fourth president,
Shirley Strum Kenny
Shirley Strum Kenny (born 1934) is an English scholar and retired university president. Kenny was the fourth president of Stony Brook University from 1994 until the end of the 2008–2009 academic year. She was the first woman to hold that positi ...
, the administration sought out to showcase the value of the institution. Kenny was responsible for campus wide improvement projects, which included large-scale landscaping, renovations of every residence hall, the continued growth of the athletics programs, the improvement of student life, ever-increasing research expenditures, a branding/marketing campaign, and the university's increasing ties with private philanthropy.
In the mid-1990s, the school began to distance itself from the SUNY system, as Kenny believed that the SUNY name was hurting the school's reputation.
In 1998, the university became one of the top 100 American research universities in the ''
U.S. News & World Report''. That same year, the university and Battelle Memorial Institute were chosen by the Department of Energy as joint operators of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, joining a selective group of universities that operate national laboratories across the nation. Enrollment reached the 20,000 mark in 2001, and the administration's improvement efforts climaxed with the invitation to the highly selective
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of predominantly American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 69 public and private ...
, an organization of North American universities committed to a strong system of research and education.
2002 saw the opening of the $22 million
Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium
The Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium is the main stadium for Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, United States. Construction began in 2000 at a cost of approximately $22 million. With a capacity of 12,300 people (10,300 seating and 2,000 s ...
and the inauguration of the massive
Charles B. Wang Center
The Charles B. Wang Center, located at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, Stony Brook, New York (state), New York, in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, on Long Island, is a building dedicated to understanding Asian and Ameri ...
dedicated to Asian and American culture, funded by a $50 million donation from Charles B. Wang. At the time, it was the largest private donation to a SUNY institution. In 2003, chemistry professor
Paul Lauterbur
Paul Christian Lauterbur (May 6, 1929 – March 27, 2007) was an American chemist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003 with Peter Mansfield for his work which made the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) possi ...
received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research and discovery of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, which was instrumental in the development of NMR Imaging (MRI) while at Stony Brook. In 2005, the university bought the Flowerfield property adjacent to campus through eminent domain as land for the development of a Research and Development Park. Plans for a law school were in the talks but scrapped shortly after.
In 2009, president Shirley Strum Kenny stepped down, and in May,
Samuel L. Stanley was announced as Stony Brook's fifth president. The late 2000s saw the university receive historic philanthropic donations. Hedge funder
Jim Simons
James Harris Simons (April 25, 1938 – May 10, 2024) was an American hedge fund manager, investor, mathematician, and philanthropist. At the time of his death, Simons's net worth was estimated to be $31.4 billion, making him the 55th-richest ...
made multiple multi-million donations, including a $25 million donation to the Stony Brook Foundation in 2006, a $60 million donation for the development of the
Simons Center for Geometry and Physics
The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics is a center for theoretical physics and mathematics at Stony Brook University in New York. The focus of the center is mathematical physics and the interface of geometry and physics. It was founded in 20 ...
in 2008, and a landmark $150 million donation to the university in 2011. Other major donations were provided by alumni
Joe Nathan
Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detro ...
,
Stuart Goldstein, and
Glenn Dubin
Glenn Russell Dubin (born April 13, 1957) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager and the Principal of Dubin & Co. LP, a private investment company. He is the co-founder of Highbridge Capital Management, founder of Engineers Gate, and a fo ...
for major renovation of athletic facilities. In 2010, Stanley announced Project 50 Forward, a comprehensive plan for the development of the university in the next 50 years with a focus on "operational excellence, academic greatness, and building for the future."

In 2012, the $40 million Walter J. Hawrys Campus Recreation Center opened, soon followed by the on-campus
Hilton Garden Inn
Hilton Garden Inn is an American chain of full-service hotels targeting business and leisure travelers looking for an upscale experience. The brand is owned by Hilton Worldwide. , it has 862 properties with 126,086 rooms in 49 countries and ter ...
in May 2013. Frey Hall, named after alumnus Robert Frey, opened in 2013 after undergoing renovations as the former Old Chemistry building. The
Stony Brook University Arena underwent a $21 million overhaul, re-opening as the Island Federal Arena in 2014. In July 2015, a new $40.8 million Computer Science building opened, spanning . New dormitories, known as Chavez Hall and Tubman Hall, along with a new East Side Dining hall, opened in the fall of 2016. In January 2019, Stony Brook Medicine opened their $194 million cancer center to the public.
President Stanley left Stony Brook effective August 1, 2019, to become the president of
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
following the
Larry Nassar scandal. Provost Michael A. Bernstein was named interim president in his place. On March 26, 2020,
Maurie McInnis
Maurie Dee McInnis (born January 11, 1966) is an American art historian, currently serving as the 24th president of Yale University since July 2024. She previously served as the sixth president of Stony Brook University from 2020 to 2024.
McIn ...
, the executive vice president and provost of the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
, was named the sixth president of Stony Brook, effective July 1, 2020.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
constructed $50 million temporary field hospitals on the campus of Stony Brook University. However, the beds were dismantled in 2021 without ever being used. A $63.4 million renovation of the Stony Brook Union was completed during the pandemic and opened in 2020.
Flagship status era
On January 5, 2022, New York Governor
Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Hochul ( ; ; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she is New York's List of female ...
officially designated Stony Brook University and the University at Buffalo as the two flagship universities of the State University of New York system.
The announcement came with the dedication of a new $100 million multidisciplinary engineering building. About three weeks later, Stony Brook announced its departure from the America East Conference after 21 years to the
Colonial Athletic Association
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...
, effective July 1, 2022. Later that year, distinguished professor
Dennis Sullivan
Dennis Parnell Sullivan (born February 12, 1941) is an American mathematician known for his work in algebraic topology, geometric topology, and dynamical systems. He holds the Albert Einstein Chair at the Graduate Center of the City University ...
earned the 2022
Abel Prize, the top honor in mathematics.
In the 2022–23 edition of the ''U.S. News & World Report'' national college rankings, Stony Brook was ranked 77th, its highest-ever placement, as well as the first time that Stony Brook held sole possession of the highest-ranked public university in New York. It advanced to 58th the following year.
In April 2023, Stony Brook University was selected as the anchor institution for a new $700 million, 172-acre climate change research and education hub on
Governors Island
Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk ...
in New York City, set to open in 2028. Two months later, the university received a $500 million unrestricted gift from the
Simons Foundation
The Simons Foundation is an American private foundation established in 1994 by Marilyn and James Harris Simons, Jim Simons with offices in New York City. As one of the largest charitable organizations in the United States with assets of over $5 ...
, the second-largest gift to a public university in U.S. history.
McInnis stepped down in May 2024 to become the president at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, and former
Rutgers
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
president
Richard L. McCormick was named interim president. In February 2025,
Princeton
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
dean of engineering and applied science
Andrea Goldsmith was named SBU's seventh president.
Campuses
Main campus

The main campus is in the area of the historic
North Shore hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of
Stony Brook near the geographic midpoint of
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, approximately east of Manhattan and west of
Montauk. Bounded to the north by
New York State Route 25A
New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York (state), New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, running ...
(North Country Road), the campus is subdivided into "West Campus" and "East Campus" by the thoroughfare
County Road 97 (Nicolls Road). The Ashley Schiff Forest Preserve separates the South Campus from West Campus. The
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
serves the community with the
Stony Brook station situated along the northern edge of the campus.
The Stony Brook University campus area is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP),
with a population of 10,409 at the
2020 census. As of the 2020 census, the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
defines the Stony Brook University CDP as a census-designated place separate from the CDP of Stony Brook.
The municipality containing the university is
Town of Brookhaven.
[ The university is not located in a ]village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
.
West
The West Campus is the center of the academic life of the university. It houses the majority of academic, athletic, and undergraduate student housing facilities while also being the original site of the university.
The modern campus is centered around the Academic Mall, which stretches for more than a quarter of a mile from the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics
The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics is a center for theoretical physics and mathematics at Stony Brook University in New York. The focus of the center is mathematical physics and the interface of geometry and physics. It was founded in 20 ...
at the west end to the Administration Building at the east end. The Academic Mall includes the Student Activities Center, Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library, Staller Center for the Arts, Humanities building, Psychology A & B, Harriman Hall, Frey Hall (previously known as Old Chemistry), the Earth and Space Sciences building, Math Tower, and Physics building.
The Engineering Quad is located near the Academic Mall, and contains the Engineering, Light Engineering, Heavy Engineering, and Computing Center facilities. The Javits Lecture Center, Social and Behavioral Sciences building, Computer Science building, New Computer Science building and Student Union facilities are also on the West Campus. The Life Sciences complex, also on the West Campus, consists of the Life Sciences building, Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Centers for Molecular Medicine, Bioengineering building, and the Institute for Advanced Computational Science.
Among the latest additions to the campus are the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, the new Walter J. Hawrys Campus Recreation Center, the Hilton Garden Inn hotel, Frey Hall, and a new Computer Science building. The Staller Center, which contains the largest movie screen in Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
's Suffolk County, holds the annual Stony Brook Film Festival The Stony Brook Film Festival, presented by Island Federal Credit Union and produced by Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University, presents a program of new, independent films every summer since 1995. Features and short films from the ...
.
The athletic facilities are in the northwest quadrant of West Campus, which include the Stony Brook Sports Complex, Island Federal Credit Union Arena
Stony Brook Arena is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Stony Brook, New York. It is the home of the Stony Brook Seawolves men's and women's basketball teams.
Originally built in 1990 as the Stony Brook University Arena, it underwent a $21.1&n ...
, Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium
The Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium is the main stadium for Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, United States. Construction began in 2000 at a cost of approximately $22 million. With a capacity of 12,300 people (10,300 seating and 2,000 s ...
, Joe Nathan Field
Joe Nathan Field is a baseball field on the campus of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, United States. The field is home to the team of the NCAA Division I America East Conference. It is located at the northern end of the scho ...
, University Track, and University Field.
South
The South Campus is about half a mile south of the Academic Mall and separated from West Campus by the Ashley Schiff Forest Preserve. It is home to the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), the Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, and the University Police headquarters.
Research and development
The Research and Development Park is on Stony Brook Road, a mile from the center of campus. On November 3, 2005, the university announced it had formally acquired of the adjacent Flowerfield property, originally owned by the St. James Gyrodyne Company of America
Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns, leases, and manages commercial properties along the Eastern Coast of the United States.
Gyrodyne's headquarters are located in Saint James, New York, in Eastern Long ...
, through eminent domain
Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...
, three years after the university had expressed its desire to acquire the property.
Stony Brook is using this property as a Research and Development Park, similar to other university-affiliated science parks around the country. The campus will ultimately house ten new buildings. The first building, the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT), was completed in October 2008. CEWIT houses the world's first (and currently the largest) immersive gigapixel facility in the world, called the Reality Deck. In 2019, Stony Brook University celebrated the opening of its new SMART Cluster in CEWIT, a dual-use GPU cluster for both machine learning and visualization. The SMART Cluster is also the first hardware-accelerated ray-tracing cluster for real-time cinematic quality rendering, allowing scientists, engineers and physicians to visualize huge amounts of data in a new way. Construction for the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center, designed by Flad Architects, commenced in the summer of 2008 and opened in the spring of 2010.
East
The East Campus is separated from the main campus by Nicolls Road (County Road 97). It is home to the Stony Brook University Hospital and the Health Sciences Center. Stony Brook University Hospital, completed in 1980, is Suffolk County's only tertiary hospital and Level 1 Trauma Center, and the only academic medical center
The Academic Medical Center (Dutch: ''Academisch Medisch Centrum''), or AMC, was the university hospital affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. After merging with the VU University Medical Center, it now operates as the Amsterdam Universi ...
in Suffolk County—larger also than any in Nassau County.
The hospital is the largest in Suffolk County, and the attached Health Sciences Center (HSC) and Basic Science Tower (BST) houses numerous laboratories, the School of Medicine
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...
(1972), the School of Nursing (1970), the School of Health Professions (1970) and the School of Social Welfare (1971). The area also includes the Ambulatory Surgery Center and the Center for Outpatient Services.
Construction on the Medical and Research Translation (MART) building began in November 2013, and the 240,000 square foot building opened on November 1, 2018, with its $194 million cost funded by state grants and donations from Jim Simons. The MART building is the home to the Stony Brook Cancer Center. In November 2019, Stony Brook Medicine opened a four-story, $73 million expansion to the Stony Brook Children's Hospital.
Also in the east side of campus are the Chapin apartments, which provide housing for graduate students. The Long Island High Technology Incubator, one of the four business incubators of the university, is a short walk north of the hospital. The Long Island State Veterans Home serving the Long Island veteran community is in this part of campus.
Manhattan campus
In 2002, the university established a presence in Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
with the opening of Stony Brook Manhattan. The original site was at 401 Park Avenue South; a newer operation opened in late 2008 in the adjacent building on the third floor of 387 Park Avenue South. The university consolidated operations in 2011 to just the 3rd floor of 387 Park Avenue South, with a classroom entrance around the corner at 101 East 27th Street. The site allows Stony Brook to offer professional and graduate courses targeted towards students in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
; undergraduate courses are held primarily during the summer and winter sessions. Conferences and special events take place throughout the year. In February 2017 however, the lease for this campus was terminated, and there are no classes offered at this location.
Southampton campus
On March 24, 2006, the university completed the purchase of the Southampton College
Southampton College, formerly known as Southampton City College, is a general further education college located in Southampton, Hampshire, England. There has been a school of some kind on the site since the 1930s, but the current institution o ...
(on the east end of Long Island) property from Long Island University
Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...
with the intent to develop it as a full college campus focusing on academic programs related to the environment and sustainability. Stony Brook expanded its original program, started in Fall 2005, when it offered an undergraduate marine sciences program, with teaching and research facilities at the campus leased from Long Island University. An enrollment of about 2,000 students is expected within the next five years. Professor Martin Schoonen was appointed interim dean of Southampton campus on August 3, 2006, and conservationist Mary Pearl was appointed dean and vice president in March 2009.
On April 7, 2010, the university had suspended residential programs and transferred sustainability programs to the main campus. The change was prompted by severe state budget cuts. Although the Marine Sciences and Graduate Writing programs are still in session at Southampton, undergraduates were relocated to the main campus. As a result of the suspension of residential programs, all dining services and retail operations were suspended by the Faculty Student Association. The old LIU radio station and National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
affiliate no longer operate on the campus.
In September 2011, Stony Brook Southampton began offering an undergraduate program called Semester by the Sea, where students attend undergraduate classes to study the ocean or the arts. Students studying the ocean are immersed in marine topics that are enhanced with close proximity to the water, a fleet of research vessels and graduate research projects that are ongoing. Students studying the arts are engaged in studies for filmmaking and creative writing. Both programs offer a Public Lecture Series.
As of 2015, the Stony Brook Southampton campus has shown growth, despite almost being closed down in 2010. Programs had been added back, and the board of trustees of the State University of New York approved a long-awaited partnership agreement between Southampton and Stony Brook University hospitals. Enrollment increased to over 400, after being around 175, three years following the addition of new funding.
As of 2019, Stony Brook University operates the Stony Brook Southampton Hospital
Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, centrally located in the Village of Southampton, New York, is a 125-bed hospital accredited by the Joint Commission. A location of Stony Brook Medicine, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital is a New York State-desig ...
with plans to take ownership of more eastern Long Island hospitals.
South Korea
Stony Brook University has operations in Incheon
Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...
, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
as part of the Incheon Global Campus (IGC). The other schools involved include George Mason University
George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...
, the University of Utah
The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
, Ghent University
Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium.
Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...
and the Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...
.
In July 2011, Stanley announced that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in South Korea approved the establishment of SUNY Korea as part of Songdo International Business District
Songdo (), officially known as Songdo International Business District (Songdo IBD), is a smart city built on of reclaimed land along Incheon's waterfront, southwest of Seoul, South Korea. It is connected to Incheon International Airport by a r ...
in Incheon
Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...
. The campus was expected to begin academic programs in March 2012 with an enrollment of 200. As of 2021, the student body contained roughly 1,000 students from over 40 countries. Its president is Arthur H. Lee, who was appointed to the role effective January 1, 2022. Stony Brook University students are allowed to apply for an exchange program at SUNY Korea, while SUNY Korea students are required to take a year of classes at Stony Brook University.
Beginning in 2017, FIT joined Stony Brook in offering degree programs at SUNY Korea.
Art on campus
Stony Brook University has four gallery spaces on campus. As was the desire of donor Paul W. Zuccaire, the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, formerly known as the University Art Gallery, showcases professional exhibitions as well as annual graduate and undergraduate student works. The Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery is in the Staller Center for the Arts.
Also on campus is the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center's Art Gallery, which features works from Latino and Latin American artists as well as local artists who fall under that category. The SAC Art Gallery is a center for interactive and participatory art projects.
The Tabler Center for Arts, Culture, and Humanities includes an art gallery and blackbox theater performance space. The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics includes an art gallery as well.
Organization and administration
The Stony Brook University consists of a main campus in Stony Brook, and additional satellite campuses in Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
and South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. The university is composed of 12 schools and colleges. By enrollment, the largest college or school is the College of Arts and Sciences.
The university is governed by the State University of New York
The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...
board of trustees, a body of 18 members, which regulate all the individual units of the SUNY system. The trustees have the authority to appoint the president of each state-operated institution; grant all degree diplomas and certificates for the completion of studies at any state-operated campus; and regulate admissions, tuition, curricula, and all other matters pertaining to the operation and administration of each state-operated campus. The president of Stony Brook is the principal executive officer of the university. The position was first held by John Francis Lee and is held by the sixth president in the institution's history, Maurie McInnis
Maurie Dee McInnis (born January 11, 1966) is an American art historian, currently serving as the 24th president of Yale University since July 2024. She previously served as the sixth president of Stony Brook University from 2020 to 2024.
McIn ...
, who took office on July 1, 2020.
Endowment
Stony Brook's financial endowment
A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of Financial instrument, financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to Donor intent, the will of its fo ...
is managed by the Stony Brook Foundation. The foundation was established in 1965 as a not-for-profit corporation under the New York State Education Law, chartered to collect and manage gifts from private and non-state resources to supplement the funding of the university and managed by a voluntary board of trustees. Donations can be made to a wide selection of funds which benefit different areas of the university.
In 2012, the endowment was valued at approximately $125 million with total assets amounting to nearly $350 million and has fully recovered from the losses endured in the 2008 economic downturn. After a strong fundraising campaign led by Jim Simon's $150 million donation, the university's fundraising amounted to more than $180 million for the 2011–12 year and raised $200 million by March 2013. It is the second largest endowment among State University of New York
The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...
university centers behind the University at Buffalo
The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...
. However, the university's endowment remains far below the average of its Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of predominantly American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 69 public and private ...
peers.
On June 1, 2023, The Simons Foundation announced a historic $500 million endowment gift, making it the largest unrestricted donation to an institution of higher education in U.S. history.
Student government
Housed in the Student Activities Center, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is the governing body representing the undergraduate students of the university. The main functions of USG involve regulation, funding, and recognizing official clubs and organizations of the university. Undergraduate students are obligated to pay a Student Activity Fee per semester which is then administered by the Undergraduate Student Government. USG manages the yearly Homecoming events, Roth Pond Regatta and the traditional end-of-the year Brookfest concert and a series of concerts and events branded as "Stony Brook Concerts" that occur throughout the academic year while also directly funding undergraduate organizations, clubs, and other student services. USG at Stony Brook has a long history going back to the founding of the Student Polity Association (Polity) in 1959. After the controversial de-certification of Polity by the administration in 2002, USG was founded in 2003.
Like USG, the Graduate Student Organization (GSO) is the governing body representing the graduate students of the university. The GSO advocates for graduate student interests to senior university administration and is part of shared governance at the university. Graduate students pay a per-semester activity fee which is used to fund events and programs for the graduate community. The GSO provides services for graduate students including funding for conferences, seminars, speaker events, travel to Brookhaven and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, funding for social events, departmental organizations, and student clubs. The GSO hosts social events, professional development programming, and free legal and tax clinics. Traditional events hosted by the GSO include graduate student orientation, Three Minute Thesis, an annual speaker event, and national conferences. The GSO co-manages the University Cafe. GSO executive board members partake in national advocacy, and work with organizations such as the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS) on advocating for higher education policy issues.
Academics
Stony Brook was one of ten national universities awarded a National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
recognition award in 1998 for their integration of research and education. Between 2005 and 2007, two Nobel Prizes
The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred ...
were awarded to professors for their work conducted at Stony Brook. The university has an annual $4.65 billion economic impact on the region. Stony Brook co-manages Brookhaven National Laboratory through Brookhaven Science Associates, a 50-50 partnership with Battelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute (or simply Battelle) is an American private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
History
The institute was founded in 1929 by Gordon Battelle. Originall ...
. Stony Brook is also one of two public schools in New York to have a medical school and a dental school, the other being University at Buffalo
The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...
.
The university's health science and medical component, collectively referred to as Stony Brook Medicine, includes the Renaissance School of Medicine and the Schools of Dental Medicine, Nursing, Health Professions, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Social Welfare, as well as the Hospital, major centers and institutes, programs, clinics and community-based healthcare settings, and the Long Island State Veterans Home.
Tuition
For the 2021–22 academic year, annual undergraduate tuition and fees was $10,410 for in-state students and $28,080 for out-of-state students. Tuition alone cost $7,070 and $24,740, respectively, with $3,020 in fees. Average room and board cost is $14,884.
78% of full-time enrolled freshmen received financial aid, with an average of $13,100 per student. 71% of full-time enrolled freshmen received a scholarship or aid from a federal or state government institution. 42% of full-time enrolled freshmen received loan aid from the federal government at an average of $5,000 per student.
Undergraduate admissions
Admission to Stony Brook University is classified as "more selective" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and universities in the United States. It was created in 1970 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Ad ...
. The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...
gives Stony Brook an "Admissions Selectivity Rating" of 93.
In 2023, the university received 50,341 applications. It extended offers of admission to 24,670 applicants, or 49%, after holistic review that includes examination of academic rigor, performance and admissions test scores. 3,569 accepted students chose to enroll, a yield rate of 14.5%.
Stony Brook does not require applicants to submit a standardized test score. Of the 36% of incoming students in 2023 who submitted SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...
scores, the interquartile range
In descriptive statistics, the interquartile range (IQR) is a measure of statistical dispersion, which is the spread of the data. The IQR may also be called the midspread, middle 50%, fourth spread, or H‑spread. It is defined as the differen ...
for math and reading was 680–770 and 640–720 respectively. Of the 3% of incoming students in 2023 who submitted ACT scores, the interquartile range was 28–33. Of all matriculating
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...
students, the average high school GPA is 93.52 on a 100-point scale.
Rankings and reputation
In 2023, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Stony Brook University 58th overall among national universities and 26th among public universities. In 2022, the QS US University Rankings ranked Stony Brook University as No. 39 in the US. In 2023, Stony Brook University was again ranked the top public university in New York.
In 2020, ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' ranked Stony Brook University tied with two others as the second-best public school in the Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...
.
In 2015, ''Kiplinger's Personal Finance
''Kiplinger Personal Finance'' ( ) is an American personal finance magazine published by Kiplinger since 1947. It claims to be the first American personal finance magazine and to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language". It off ...
'' ranked Stony Brook 33rd best value among the country's public institutions for in-state students, and 26th for out-of-state students. In 2012, ''The Wall Street Journal'' ranked Stony Brook 8th among public universities sending students to elite graduate programs.
, ''U.S. News & World Report'' has given the following rankings to graduate programs at Stony Brook:
The School of Engineering is ranked 63rd, the School of Medicine is ranked 58th in Research and 112th-123rd in Primary Care nationally. Clinical Psychology ranked 3rd; Nuclear Physics (categorized as a Physics specialty) ranked 3rd; Geometry (categorized as a Mathematics specialty) ranked 9th; Topology (categorized as a Mathematics specialty) ranked 12th; Algebra/Number Theory (categorized as a Mathematics specialty) ranked 17th; Physics ranked 21st; Nursing-Midwifery ranked 27th; Physician Assistant program ranked 27th; Political Science ranked 28th; Mathematics ranked 30th; Psychology ranked 39th; Occupational Therapy ranked 42nd; Sociology ranked 45th; Computer Science ranked 46th; Earth Science ranked 47th; History ranked 48th; Economics ranked 53rd; Public Health ranked 55th; Physical Therapy ranked 57th; Chemistry ranked 58th; Health Care Management ranked 60th; English ranked 62nd; Social Work ranked 62nd; Biological Sciences ranked 74th; and Fine Arts ranked 152nd.
In 2017, the Shanghai Global Rankings of Academic Subjects ranked Stony Brook's Mathematics program 13th best worldwide.'
''College Factual''s 2015 survey ranked Stony Brook University's Applied Mathematics program as 3rd best in the United States.
The Stony Brook College of Business earned AACSB
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is an American professional and accreditation organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to business ...
International Accreditation in 2021.
In 2023, Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) was named in ''Becker's Hospital Reviews list of "Great Hospitals in America".
The 2024 ''U.S. News & World Report'' has given the following rankings to undergraduate programs at Stony Brook: Computer Science ranked 56th; Nursing ranked 67th; Engineering ranked 67th; Economics ranked 88th; and Business ranked 135th.
In 2021, a team of students of the Journalism School won the Edward R. Murrow Awards for Excellence in Audio Feature Reporting.
Research
Stony Brook University is a public research institution, classified
Classified may refer to:
General
*Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive
*Classified advertising or "classifieds"
Music
*Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper
* The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
as "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". It is one of 71 member universities of the Association of Universities ( AAU) and one of 94 members of the Universities Research Association ( URA), both representing the leading North American research universities.
The university co-manages Brookhaven National Laboratory, which is affiliated with the United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...
. In the Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering area, some of the research centers of Stony Brook University are the Institute for Mathematical Sciences, the Institute for Advanced Computational Science, and the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics among others. In the biomedical sciences, Stony Brook houses the Center for Biotechnology and the Institute of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, among many others. In March 2008, the university received $60 million endowment from James Simons to establish the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics
The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics is a center for theoretical physics and mathematics at Stony Brook University in New York. The focus of the center is mathematical physics and the interface of geometry and physics. It was founded in 20 ...
. The Louis and Beatrice Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology was established by a generous gift in 2008 from Henry Laufer.
The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) is the SUNY center for marine and atmospheric research, education, and public service. More than 300 graduate and undergraduate students from 16 different nations work and study at SoMAS. The School's students study coastal oceanographic processes and atmospheric sciences. The Marine Sciences Research Center, the original institute for marine studies, was incorporated into the new School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences on June 15, 2007.
In July 2007, Stony Brook won a grant from the Department of Defense to devise ways to prevent terrorists from corrupting computers, and another from the Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
to design a system to detect radiation without triggering false alarms.
The New York Center for Computational Sciences (NYCCS), formed in 2007, is a joint venture of Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory. Its centerpiece is an 18-rack Blue Gene /L and 2 rack Blue Gene/P massively parallel supercomputer
based on the IBM system-on-chip technology, also known as New York Blue Gene supercomputer. In the June 2008 Top 500 supercomputer rankings New York Blue Gene/L was ranked 17th, and Blue Gene/P was ranked 75th. The total peak performance for both Blue Gene/L and Blue Gene/P consists 103.22 teraflops (trillion floating-point calculations per second).
In 2016, Stony Brook University placed second at the Long Island regional round of the New York State
New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
Business Plan Competition. New York Institute of Technology
The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a Private university, private research university, research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York (state), New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long I ...
placed first with four teams qualifying for the state competition's final round, while Stony Brook University had three teams qualifying for the state competition's final round.
Notable research and discoveries
There have been many notable research projects and important scientific discoveries at Stony Brook.
Student life
Stony Brook has a wide variety of student-run organizations on campus, which include sororities and fraternities, and a count of almost 300 recognized student clubs and organizations. The Undergraduate Student Government at Stony Brook University is trusted with the responsibility of budgeting the undergraduate student activity fee which funds most student run organizations on campus. The Graduate Student Organization is responsible for budgeting the graduate student activity fee, and supplies a variety of funding opportunities, programming, student services, and funding for departmental and student organizations.
The oldest campus newspaper is '' The Statesman'', which was founded in 1957 when the university was in Oyster Bay. Other publications include the ''Stony Brook Press'', '' Stony Brook Independent'', ''Blackworld'', and the Asian American E-Zine. Stony Brook also has a campus-wide public radio station, WUSB, which serves most of Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
and dedicates programming to Stony Brook athletics and other events on campus.
Stony Brook once had a reputation as a commuter school, though in 2024, more than half of its undergraduates live on campus, as do a quarter of its graduate students. Around 83% of freshmen students are on-campus residents. Other schools have since adopted similar practices to increase residential numbers.
Student body
In fall 2021, the university had an enrollment of 26,782 students: 18,010 undergraduate students
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
and 8,772 graduate student
Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...
s.
Of all students, 23,072 (86 percent) are U.S. citizen
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Consti ...
s or permanent residents
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...
representing all states of the United States and 3,536 (13 percent) are international student
International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own.
In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...
s representing over a hundred countries around the world.
21,103 students hail from New York state, accounting for 79 percent of the student body. 12,061 students (45 percent) of the student body reside in Nassau or Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
County on Long Island, while 6,766 students (25 percent) reside in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
2,276 students (8.5 percent) reside north of New York City, with Westchester County
Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...
, Rockland County
Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's ...
and Orange County as the three most common. 7.3 percent of students live out of state, most represented by New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
.
Half of Stony Brook's international students hail from China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. An additional 18% come from India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and 10% from South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. In 2021, there were more Asian American undergraduate students than White American students attending Stony Brook for the first time in the university's history.
Events and traditions
Incoming freshmen are welcomed to the university in August with First Night Out, a night of events taking place on the Friday in which they move in. Organized by Student Engagement and Activities, the night consists of a "Party on the Plaza" as well as various assorted activities. Wolfieland, an annual carnival, began in 2016 and takes place during September. Stony Brook University's annual Homecoming celebration, known as Wolfstock, takes place in October and features numerous activities throughout the week, including Homecoming Hoopla & Carnival on Wednesday and the Seawolves Showcase talent show on Friday. Wolfstock culminates in Stony Brook's annual Homecoming football game on Saturday, which traditionally draws record-breaking crowds upwards of 12,000 people. The homecoming court is presented during halftime, dating back to 1984. Beginning in 2018, Stony Brook shifted to the gender-neutral title of 'royal' in lieu of 'king' and 'queen'.
Academic activity pauses weekly on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in a period known as Campus Life Time, which was established in February 1991. During Campus Life Time, no classes are scheduled and events take place at the Academic Mall, allowing students to take a break from their studies and come together for social activity.
First-year students are assigned a book written by a notable figure, who speaks to the entire freshman class on Commons Day in the fall semester. Commons Day speakers have included Supreme Court associate justice Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
, author Janet Mock
Janet Mock (born March 10, 1983) is an American writer, television producer, and transgender rights activist. Her debut book, the memoir '' Redefining Realness'', became a ''New York Times'' bestseller. She is a contributing editor for ''Marie ...
, designer Joshua Davis and journalist Charles M. Blow.
The Festival of Lights started in 2000 as an annual Stony Brook tradition that celebrates the numerous cultures and faiths which celebrate during the holiday season. The festival is preceded by Light the Brook, a tree lighting ceremony at the Academic Mall. Midnight Breakfast takes place during the first Monday of Finals Week in both semesters as the dining halls open late to serve breakfast foods to students.
To celebrate Earth Day
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...
, Stony Brook holds a week-long Earthstock celebration in the week culminating in the Earthstock Festival. Numerous environment-themed events take place throughout the week, with the most known tradition being the Rubber Duck Race held at "The Brook" adjacent to the Administration building.
Starting in 1993, Strawberry Fest is held on the first Wednesday of May, where students and faculty gather at the Academic Mall to eat an array of strawberry-themed foods with live music and student performances. In 1998, Stony Brook began to hold Diversity Day during the same day as Strawberry Fest, planned and organized by the Office of Multicultural Affairs to highlight the diverse cultures which make up the university.
The yearly Roth Pond Regatta, held since 1989, attracts dozens of competitors and thousands of attendees, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The competition involves groups making boats out of cardboard and tape, with the challenge to get across the Roth Pond first without sinking.
Stony Brook holds two annual concerts – Back to the Brook during the fall semester and Brookfest during the spring semester. The inaugural Back to the Brook took place in 2012 and featured Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album '' Turn the Radio Off''. So ...
at the Staller Steps. Since then, Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...
, Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer and Music education, music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his gue ...
, Walk the Moon, Fetty Wap
Willie Junior Maxwell II (born June 7, 1991), better known by his stage name Fetty Wap, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He quickly rose to mainstream prominence after his 2014 song " Trap Queen" peaked at number two on the ''Bil ...
and Post Malone
Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...
have headlined Back to the Brook. 2018's Back to the Brook was infamously cancelled after only 24 tickets were sold for headliner Ashanti a week before the concert. 2019's Back to the Brook was controversially cancelled again. The historic Stony Brook concert series was revived in 2011 with Brookfest hosting headliners Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...
and Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe Robinson ( ; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and actress. She has received ten Grammy Award nominations, and is the recipient of a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Children's and Family Emmy Award. ...
. Brookfest has since been headlined by Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...
and Miguel
-->
Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to:
Places
* Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands
*São Miguel (disamb ...
, Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
and Grouplove
Grouplove (often typeset as GROUPLOVE) is an American alternative rock band formed in 2009 by Christian Zucconi (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Hannah Hooper (lead vocals, keyboards), Sean Gadd (bass), Andrew Wessen (lead guitar, backing vocals), a ...
, Childish Gambino
Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick ...
and Diplo
Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
, Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band formed in Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2004 by high school friends Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (musician), Spencer Smith (drums), who recruited classmates Brendon Urie (vocals and ...
and Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who both left in 2011. Since their departure, the line-up h ...
, Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...
and Cash Cash
Cash Cash is an American EDM-pop rock band / producer / DJ trio from Roseland, New Jersey. The group consists of three DJs / musicians: brothers Jean Paul and Alex Makhlouf and Samuel Frisch. They produce, record, mix and master all their mus ...
, DNCE
DNCE is an American dance-rock band consisting of lead singer Joe Jonas, drummer Jack Lawless, and guitarist JinJoo Lee. Bassist and keyboardist Cole Whittle was a part of the band from when it started in 2015 to when it went on hiatus in 2018. ...
and Joey Badass
Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he formed the regional hip-hop group Pro Era in 2011, with whom h ...
, 21 Savage
Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...
and A Boogie wit da Hoodie
Artist Julius Dubose (born December 6, 1995), known professionally as A Boogie wit da Hoodie or simply A Boogie, is an American rapper, and singer-songwriter. He released his debut studio album, '' The Bigger Artist'', via Atlantic Records in ...
, and ASAP Ferg
Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr. (born October 20, 1988), known professionally as FERG (previously A$AP Ferg ( /ˈeɪsæp/ ''AY-sap'')), is an American rapper from Harlem, New York City. He is a lead member of the hip hop collective ASAP Mob, f ...
and Aminé
Adam Aminé Daniel (born April 18, 1994) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He first gained notability for his commercial debut single, " Caroline", which peaked at number 11 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Aminé released ...
.
In the early 2010s, Stony Brook's Graduate Student Organization sponsored a concert series on the first Thursday of every month titled Stony Brooklyn, focused on exposing the student body to up-and-coming indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
musicians from the New York area. This concert series included acts like The Antlers, Parquet Courts
Parquet Courts is an American rock music, rock band from New York City. The band consists of Andrew Savage (artist), Andrew Savage (vocals, guitar), Austin Brown (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Sean Yeaton (bass, vocals), and Max Savage (drums).
H ...
, Beach Fossils
Beach Fossils is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2009. They are currently signed to Bayonet Records, having previously been signed to indie label Captured Tracks. The group's live band currently includes founder D ...
, The Drums
The Drums is an American indie pop band/project from New York City. It was initially formed by Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham as Goat Explosion, and later added Adam Kessler and Connor Hanwick. Graham exited the band in 2016. Since then, ...
, Ra Ra Riot
Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard.
History
Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and ve ...
, Das Racist
Das Racist was an American alternative hip hop group based in Brooklyn, composed of MCs Heems and Kool A.D. and hype man Ashok Kondabolu (a.k.a. Dapwell or Dap). Known for their use of humor, academic references, foreign allusions, and unconv ...
and The Front Bottoms
The Front Bottoms are an American rock band from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, formed in 2006. They are currently a duo consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Brian Sella and drummer Mat Uychich. During live performances, they are currently ac ...
playing concerts on the Stony Brook campus. As interest in this scene declined, the series was shut down by 2017.
Spirit of Stony Brook marching band
The Spirit of Stony Brook marching band was created in 2006 by Jerrold Stein, the dean of students at the time, and plays at athletic games and other events. The first public performance was at the September 2006 convocation
A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a specia ...
. The band grew to 70 members in the second year and added additional staff. The band first traveled to the America East men's basketball tournament in March 2007 and has done so regularly ever since. By July 2008, the band had reached 100 members, and by the mid-2010s had attracted over 200 members. John Leddy was the first director of the marching band, from 2006 to 2013. Leddy was followed by Shayna Stahl (2013–2016) and Christopher Parks (2016–2018). Justin Stolarik has been the band director since 2018.
Athletics
Stony Brook University's intercollegiate athletics teams, known as the Stony Brook Seawolves
The Stony Brook Seawolves are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Stony Brook University (SBU) in Stony Brook, New York. The Seawolves play as members of the Coastal Athletic Association (formerly known as the Colonial Athletic As ...
, compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) at the Division I level and are members of the Colonial Athletic Association
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...
, beginning on July 1, 2022. The school's current director of athletics is Shawn Heilbron, who was hired in May 2014 after serving as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development at Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...
.
The university's athletics teams were originally known as the Soundmen or the Baymen in the early 1950s when the campus was located in Oyster Bay. Their name was changed to the Warriors in 1960, and again to the Patriots and Lady Patriots in 1966. In 1994, as Stony Brook prepared to become a Division I program, the team nickname was changed again, this time to its current day incarnation, the Seawolves. The team's mascot is named Wolfie
Wolfie was an indie rock rock band, band from Champaign, Illinois, Champaign, Illinois. The band was active from 1996 to 2001 and toured nationally. They released three albums, an extended play, EP, and some singles before dissolving.
Members ...
.
Beginning in 2019, Stony Brook announced a partnership with SNY to broadcast football, basketball and lacrosse games on the channel. Stony Brook games on WUSB were announced by Josh Caray, grandson of famed broadcaster Harry Caray
Harry Christopher Caray (; March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) was an American radio and television Sports commentator, sportscaster. During his career he called the play-by-play for five Major League Baseball teams, beginning with 25 years of ...
and son of Skip Caray
Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray Jr. (August 12, 1939 – August 3, 2008) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. He was the s ...
until his departure in 2019.
The Stony Brook Patriots participated at the Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Third ...
level until 1995, when they moved up to Division II with the ultimate goal of soon reaching Division I. On June 3, 1997, President Shirley Kenny announced that the Seawolves' entire athletics program would play at the Division I level beginning during the 1999–00 season. Stony Brook joined the America East Conference
The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...
in 2001 until leaving in 2022 and also played women's tennis in the Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...
.
Stony Brook garnered national attention during their 2012 College World Series
The 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, June 1, 2012, as part of the 2012 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 team double elimination tournament concluded with the 2012 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, starting ...
run. The Seawolves upset the LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...
in a three-game series to win the Baton Rouge Super Regional and reach the College World Series in Omaha, the first America East team to do so. Coach Matt Senk was awarded the National College Baseball Writers Association's Coach of the Year award. Outfielder Travis Jankowski was drafted by the San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft
The 2012 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto Rico Baseball Ac ...
.
After going winless in four consecutive America East Finals in men's basketball, the Seawolves earned their first bid to the NCAA tournament in 2016 by defeating the Vermont Catamounts
The Vermont Catamounts are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of the University of Vermont, based in Burlington, Vermont, United States. The school sponsors 18 athletic programs (8 men's, 10 women's), most of which compete in the Natio ...
80–74. They lost to Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by a score of 85–57.
Stony Brook has established itself as a dominant force in women's lacrosse
Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a field sport played at the international level with two opposing teams of ten players each (12 players per team at the U.S. domestic level). Originally played by indigenous ...
. Since 2013, the Seawolves have finished in first place in the America East for eight straight seasons, making eight consecutive NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship tournaments. During the 2018 season, the Seawolves were ranked No. 1 nationally in all three major polls (IWLCA Coaches' Poll, Cascade/Inside Lacrosse, Nike/US Lacrosse) for at least ten weeks.
In recent years, Stony Brook's athletic facilities have undergone several additions and renovations. The Goldstein Family Student-Athlete Development Center opened in 2006 after a million-dollar donation by alumnus Stuart Goldstein. In 2011, Joe Nathan Field
Joe Nathan Field is a baseball field on the campus of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, United States. The field is home to the team of the NCAA Division I America East Conference. It is located at the northern end of the scho ...
, dedicated to six-time MLB All-Star relief pitcher and Stony Brook alumnus Joe Nathan
Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detro ...
, opened after renovations to the former University Field were made possible by Nathan's $500,000 donation. Island Federal Arena, formerly known as the Stony Brook University Arena, opened in 2014 after a two-year, $21.1 million renovation. The Pritchard Gymnasium
Pritchard Gymnasium is a 1,970-seat, 20,000 square-foot multi-purpose gymnasium located within the Stony Brook Sports Complex in Stony Brook, New York. The gym opened in 1964 and is the current home for the Stony Brook Seawolves volleyball team. I ...
, current home of the volleyball team and former home of the men's and women's basketball teams, underwent a $1.5 million renovation in 2008. Alumnus Glenn Dubin
Glenn Russell Dubin (born April 13, 1957) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager and the Principal of Dubin & Co. LP, a private investment company. He is the co-founder of Highbridge Capital Management, founder of Engineers Gate, and a fo ...
donated $4.3 million to a strength and conditioning facility named the Dubin Family Athletic Performance Center, which opened in 2012. The Dubin family also pledged $5 million for a $10 million for the Dubin Family Indoor Training Center, which opened in 2020.
Transportation
In 2013, Stony Brook University launched its own bike share system to provide a sustainable transportation alternative for students (Wolf Ride Bike Share). As of 2016, the university provides 8 stations and 63 bikes. Docking stations and bikes are supplied by PBSC Urban Solutions
Lyft Urban Solutions, formerly PBSC Urban Solutions and originally Public Bike System Company, is an international bicycle-sharing system equipment vendor with their headquarters based in Longueuil, Quebec. The company develops bicycle-sharing s ...
.
There is also a system of buses operated by the university. This system is accessible to anyone on the Stony Brook Campus at no charge.
The university is located next to the Stony Brook LIRR station on the Port Jefferson Line.
The university is served by Suffolk County Transit
Suffolk County Transit is the provider of bus services in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island and is an agency of the Suffolk County government. It was founded in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private con ...
Route 51
The following highways are numbered 51:
Australia
* Kamilaroi Highway
* Plenty Road
Cambodia
*National Road 51 (Cambodia)
Canada
* Alberta Highway 51 (defunct)
* Saskatchewan Highway 51
Cuba
* Caimito–Salado Road (2–51)
Finland
* F ...
, operating between Patchogue Railroad and Port Jefferson Railroad via Smith Haven Mall.
Notable people
Notable alumni
* Chris Algieri, 2007, professional boxer and former WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...
junior welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
title holder
* Michael R. Anastasio, Ph.D., 1980, physicist; 9th director of Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...
* Thomas Balcerski
Thomas J. Balcerski (born 1982) is an American historian, author, and professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University. Balcerski was named the systemwide recipient of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Faculty Researc ...
, 2008, author, historian; professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State
* Kim Barnes Arico
Kimberly Ann Barnes Arico (born August 9, 1970) is an American basketball coach and the current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team. She is the all-time winningest Michigan basketball coach. Previously, she was head co ...
, current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines women's basketball
The Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team is the college basketball, intercollegiate women's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I (NCAA), Division I of the Na ...
team (transferred)
* Bruce Bawer, Ph.D., 1983, Norway-based literary, film, and culture critic; gay rights activist
* Joy Behar
Josephine Victoria "Joy" Behar (; née Occhiuto; born October 7, 1942) is an American comedian, television host, and actress. She co-hosts the ABC talk show '' The View'', on which she has appeared since the beginning of the series. For her wor ...
, 1966, co-host of ''The View''
* Pat Benatar
Patricia Mae Giraldo (née Andrzejewski; formerly and still professionally Benatar ; born January 10, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 US ''Billboa ...
, musician, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
nominee (dropped out)
* Yasemin Besen-Cassino
Yasemin Besen-Cassino (born 1978) is an American sociologist. She is a professor of sociology at Montclair State University and editor for ''Contemporary Sociology''. Besen-Cassino is married to political scientist Dan Cassino and the two often ...
, Ph.D., 2005, Sociologist and expert on gender and labor issues; professor of sociology at Montclair State University
Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...
and editor for ''Contemporary Sociology
''Contemporary Sociology'' is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed academic journal of sociology published by SAGE Publications in association with the American Sociological Association since 1972. Each issue of the journal publishes many in-depth as well as ...
''
* Spencer Black
Spencer Black (born May 25, 1950) is an American educator and retired politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Madison in the Wisconsin State Assembly for 26 years, and was Minority Leader for most of the 2001-2002 session. ...
, educator and politician who represented Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
in the Wisconsin State Assembly
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...
* Mark Bridges, 1983, Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-winning costume designer
* Adrien Brody
Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama '' The Pianist'' (2002) becoming the youngest acto ...
, youngest winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading ...
for '' The Pianist'' (2002)
* Dan Clawson, Ph.D., 1978, sociologist and activist
* Harris Cooper
Harris Cooper is an American academic social psychologist and an author of nonfiction books. He is the Hugo L. Blomquist Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Duke University.
Cooper is best known for his works on research synthesis methodology an ...
, Hugo L. Blomquist Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Duke University
* Patricia S. Cowings, 1970, aerospace psychophysiologist
* Steve Cuozzo
Steven D. Cuozzo (born January 17, 1950) is an American writer, newspaper editor, restaurant critic, real estate columnist, and op-ed contributor for the ''New York Post''.
Early life
Cuozzo was born in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn, New York. He a ...
, 1971, journalist, contributor to the ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
''
* Dabuz
Samuel Robert Buzby (born August 7, 1993), also known as Dabuz, is an American professional '' Super Smash Bros.'' player. In '' Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'', he won several major tournaments and was ranked between 3rd and 6th best player in t ...
, 2017, professional ''Super Smash Bros.
is a series of platform fighting video games published by Nintendo. Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series is a crossover featuring many characters from other video game series created by Nintendo and other develope ...
'' player
* Buck Dharma
Donald Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known professionally as Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and ...
, lead guitarist and sole constant member of rock band Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967.
They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...
* Glenn Dubin
Glenn Russell Dubin (born April 13, 1957) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager and the Principal of Dubin & Co. LP, a private investment company. He is the co-founder of Highbridge Capital Management, founder of Engineers Gate, and a fo ...
, 1978, billionaire hedge fund manager
* Patricia Eddington
Patricia A. Eddington (born 1947/1948) served from 2001 through 2009 in the New York State Assembly, representing District 3 which comprises Patchogue, Medford, Coram and Yaphank, among other neighboring communities within Suffolk County, Ne ...
, former member of New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
; currently Brookhaven, New York
Brookhaven is a large Suburb, suburban town in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York (state), New York. With a population of 488,497 as of 2022, it is the second most populous town in New York (after Hempstead, New Yo ...
, Town Clerk
* Carolyn Ellis, Ph.D., 1981, sociologist
* Ayşe Erzan, Ph.D., 1976, theoretical physicist
* Diane Farr
Diane Farr (born September 7, 1969) is an American actress, producer, and writer. Her television roles have included FBI agent Megan Reeves in '' Numb3rs'', the firefighter Laura Miles in '' Rescue Me'', and the division chief Sharon Leone in ...
, 1995, actress on ''Numbers'' and ''Rescue Me''
* Hume Feldman, Ph.D., 1993, physicist; professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
* Jonine Figueroa
Jonine Figueroa is an American epidemiologist specializing in breast cancer epidemiology. She is a senior investigator and distinguished scholar in the integrative tumor epidemiology branch at the National Cancer Institute. She was previously a ...
, Ph.D., 2004, epidemiologist; senior investigator and distinguished scholar at the National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
* Lee A. Fleisher, M.D., chief medical officer and director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer M ...
Center for Clinical Standards and Quality.
* Marie-Josée Fortin
Marie-Josée Fortin (born October 21, 1958) is an ecologist and Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. Fortin holds the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Spatial Ecology at the University of T ...
, Ph.D., 1992, ecologist
* Keiko Fujimori
Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi (, , Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: , ; born 25 May 1975) is a Peruvian politician and business administrator. Fujimori is the eldest daughter of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori and Susana Higuchi. From ...
, Peruvian politician
* Robert L. Gallucci
Robert L. Gallucci (born February 11, 1946) is an American academic and diplomat, who formerly worked as president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He previously served as dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Ser ...
, 1968, diplomat, author, academic
* Steven K. Galson
Steven Kenneth Galson (born 1956) is an American public health physician. He is currently a Senior Advisor at the Boston Consulting Group and Independent Board Member at Biocryst Pharmaceuticals and Elephas Biosciences. Until 2021 he was Senior V ...
, 1978, former acting Surgeon General of the United States
The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. T ...
* David Gelernter
David Hillel Gelernter (born March 5, 1955) is an American computer scientist, artist, and writer. He is a professor of computer science at Yale University.
Gelernter is known for contributions to parallel computation in the 1980s, and for book ...
, 1982, computer science professor at Yale
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
and Unabomber
Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; May 22, 1942 – June 10, 2023), also known as the Unabomber ( ), was an American mathematician and domestic terrorist. He was a mathematics prodigy, but abandoned his academic career in 1969 to pursue a reclusi ...
victim
* Richard Gelfond, 1976, CEO of IMAX Corporation
IMAX Corporation is a Canadian production theater company which designs and manufactures IMAX cameras and Projection screen, projection systems as well as performing film development, production, post-production and distribution to IMAX-affiliat ...
* Rohini Godbole, Ph.D., 1979, physicist
* Christine Goerke, 1994, dramatic soprano
* Carol K. Hall, Ph.D., 1972, chemical engineer; Camille Dreyfus Distinguished University Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...
* Victoria Hart, 2010, YouTube personality, educator, inventor
* Brosl Hasslacher, Ph.D., 1971, theoretical physicist
* Daria Hazuda, 1989, biochemist; discovered the first HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors
* Carl Heastie
Carl Edward Heastie (; born September 25, 1967) is an American politician from New York. Heastie has served in the New York State Assembly since January 2001, and was elected Speaker of the New York State Assembly on February 3, 2015.
Early l ...
, 1990, Speaker of the New York State Assembly
The speaker of the New York State Assembly is the highest official in the New York State Assembly, customarily elected from the ranks of the majority party.
As in most countries with a British heritage, the speaker presides over the lower hous ...
2015–present, Assemblymember from the 83rd Assembly District, 2001–present
* Julia Heiman, Ph.D., 1975, sexologist and psychologist; sixth director of The Kinsey Institute
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (often shortened to The Kinsey Institute) is a research institute at Indiana University. Established in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1947 as a nonprofit, the institute merged with In ...
for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction at Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
* John L. Hennessy
John Leroy Hennessy (born 22 September, 1952) is an American computer scientist and chairman of Alphabet Inc. Hennessy is one of the founders of MIPS Technologies and Atheros, serving as 10th president of Stanford University from 2000 to 2016. ...
, 1975, tenth president of Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, 2017 Turing Award
The ACM A. M. Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to computer science. It is generally recognized as the highest distinction in the fi ...
winner
* Scott Higham
Scott Higham is an American journalist and author who documented the corporate and political forces that fueled the opioid epidemic, in addition to conducting other major investigations. He is a five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and won the Pul ...
, 1982, winner of 2002 Pulitzer Prize
A listing of the Pulitzer Prize award winners for 2002:
Journalism
* Public Service:
**''The New York Times'', for ''A Nation Challenged,'' a special section published regularly after the September 11th terrorist attacks on America, which coherent ...
in investigative journalism
* Mitch Horowitz, 1988, PEN Award-winning historian and former vice-president, Penguin Random House
* Leslie Irvine (sociologist), Leslie Irvine, Ph.D., 1997, sociologist specializing in human-animal interaction
* Travis Jankowski, 2012, Major League Baseball, MLB player, first-round draft pick, currently with the Tampa Bay Rays (baseball), Tampa Bay Rays
* Peter R. Jennings, Canadian physicist and entrepreneur; created, Microchess, MicroChess
* Suzanne Bennett Johnson, Ph.D., 1974, psychologist and past president of the American Psychological Association (APA)
* Latoya Joyner, 2008, assembly member for the 77th District of the New York State Assembly
* Rinat Kedem, Ph.D., 1993, mathematician and physicist
* Mark Kishlansky, 1970, historian
* Tom Koehler, 2008, former MLB pitcher
* Melanie Kreis, 1994, German businesswoman, chief financial officer, Deutsche Post
* Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, first woman and first African-American president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
* Marshall Leonard, M.D., 2016, former Major League Soccer player
* Steve Levy (politician), Steve Levy, 1981, 7th County Executive of Suffolk County, New York
* Kevin Kwan Loucks, 2013, CEO of Chamber Music America
* Gilda Lyons, Ph.D., 2005, composer, vocalist, and visual artist
* Steven Mackey, 1980, composer, electric guitarist, Professor of Composition at Princeton University
* James L. Manley, Ph.D., 1976, biologist
* Kevin M. McCoy, 1978, U.S. vice admiral; 42nd commander of Naval Sea Systems Command
* Jeffrey Meldrum, Ph.D., 1989, anatomist, cryptozoologist, Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at Idaho State University
* Mark Mizruchi, Ph.D., 1980, sociologist
* Leah Modigliani, Ph.D., 2010, Associate Professor of Visual Studies at Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University
* Dianne Morales (born 1967), non-profit executive and political candidate
* Momina Mustehsan, Pakistani singer, musician, and social activist
* Richie Narvaez, 1986, 1988, novelist
* Joe Nathan
Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detro ...
, 1997, six-time MLB All-Star and Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer
* Callistus Ndlovu, Zimbabwean politician
* Jon Oringer, 1997, billionaire founder and CEO of Shutterstock
* Vinay Pathak, Indian actor
* Sandy Pearlman, 1966, music producer and band manager for Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967.
They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...
, Black Sabbath
* Andrew S. Penson, billionaire real estate developer
* Nan Phinney, 1972, accelerator physicist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, SLAC, program coordinator for the world's first linear collider
* Carolyn Porco, 1974, planetary scientist
* Colin Quinn, comedian, director, writer, actor
* Gwendalyn J. Randolph, Ph.D., 1995, immunologist; Emil R. Unanue Distinguished Professor in the Department of Immunology and Pathology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
* Sumathi Rao, Ph.D., 1983, physicist
* Jef Raskin, 1964, Apple Inc., Apple manager and creator of the Macintosh
* Dominick Reyes, 2013, mixed martial artist, currently #14 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC light heavyweight rankings
* Burton Rocks, 1994, sports attorney and current agent of Paul DeJong
* G. Samantha Rosenthal, 2015, historian, writer, and professor at Roanoke College
* Ranjan Roy, Ph.D., 1974, mathematics professor at Beloit College
* Deane Rykerson, 1972, architect, served in the Maine House of Representatives
* Peter Sarnow, Ph.D., 1982, German virologist; professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
* Laura Schlessinger, 1968, talk radio host
* Andrew Sega, 1997, video game music composer
* Ashoke Sen, Ph.D., 1982, Indian theoretical physicist
* Charles N. Serhan, 1978, experimental pathologist, Simon Gelman Professor of Anaesthesia (Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology) at Harvard Medical School
* Chia Shen, 1983, computer scientist, a program director at the National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
* Drew Shindell, Ph.D., 1995, physicist and climate specialist based at Duke University
* Duane Silverstein, 1974, award-winning conservationist, executive director of Seacology
* Tanya M. Smith, Ph.D., 2004, human evolutionary biologist; professor at the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Australia
* Eric Stach, M.B.A., 2018, materials scientist; professor at the University of Pennsylvania
* Bettie Steinberg, Bettie M. Steinberg, 1976, chief scientific officer for The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
* T. Bill Sutherland, Ph.D., 1968, theoretical physicist; Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Utah
The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
* Henry Swieca, B.A., 1979, billionaire hedge fund founder
* Kara Thomas, 2013, author of young adult fiction
* Jaw-Shen Tsai, Ph.D., 1983, physicist
* Michael Tuts, Ph.D., 1979, particle physicist; professor and chair of the Columbia University Physics Department.
* Peter Ungar, Ph.D., 1992, evolutionary biologist and paleoanthropologist at the University of Arkansas.
* Gabriel Vicéns, D.M.A., 2022, Puerto Rican composer, guitarist, and visual artist
* Jameel Warney, 2016, former NBA player
* Kent Washington, 1978, basketball player
* Bernd Würsig, Ph.D., 1978, marine mammal behavioral ecologist; professor emeritus at Texas A&M University
* Daniel Zamora, 2015, MLB pitcher, currently a free agent
* Stephen Shing-Toung Yau, PhD, 1976, mathematician
Notable faculty
* Anissa Abi-Dargham, psychiatrist
* Qanta Ahmed, British-American physician specializing in sleep disorders, author, women's rights activist, journalist, and public commentator
* Alan Alda, actor
* Luis Álvarez-Gaumé, Luis Alvarez-Gaume, theoretical physicist
* Katherine Aubrecht, chemist
* Barry Barish, experimental physicist, 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics
* Elizabeth M. Boon, biochemist
* Ken A. Dill, biophysicist and chemist
* Simon Donaldson, mathematician, 1984 Fields Medal, 2014 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics
* Richard Dyer-Bennet, singer of folk music
* Kenji Fukaya, mathematician
* James Glimm, mathematician, former president of American Mathematical Society
* Bernard Greenhouse, Cello, cellist, one of the founding members of the Beaux Arts Trio
* Yusuf A. Hannun, Yusuf Hannun, molecular biologist, biochemist
* Alfred Kazin, writer and literary critic
* Richard Leakey, paleoanthropologist
* John Milnor, mathematician, 1962 Fields Medal, 2011 Abel Prize
* Mary C. Rawlinson, philosophy professor
* Stanley Siegel, psychotherapy
* Jim Simons, founder of Renaissance Technologies
* Dennis Sullivan
Dennis Parnell Sullivan (born February 12, 1941) is an American mathematician known for his work in algebraic topology, geometric topology, and dynamical systems. He holds the Albert Einstein Chair at the Graduate Center of the City University ...
, mathematician, 2022 Abel Prize
* Esther Takeuchi, chemical engineer
* Patricia Wright (primatologist), Patricia Wright, primatologist
* Yang Chen-Ning, C.N. Yang, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate, one of the first Chinese Nobel laureates
* Alexander Zamolodchikov, physicist
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Stony Brook University,
Universities and colleges on Long Island
Public universities and colleges in New York (state)
Flagship universities in the United States
SUNY university centers
Coastal Athletic Association schools
Former America East Conference schools
Former New England Collegiate Conference (Division II) schools
Universities and colleges established in 1957
1957 establishments in New York (state)