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Village Times Herald

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A debate. Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

Do you want to know the honest truth?

No, do me a favor. Lie to me. In fact, come up with something so outrageous that I might crack a broad smile and even allow a chuckle to bubble out of my mouth. 

Whenever anyone asks if you’d like them to share the honest truth, it’s often not particularly positive or flattering and is a way of giving them the opportunity to say that you asked for it, whatever the “it” happens to be.

Here’s the honest truth: you didn’t do all that well in the debate. You said your name correctly and your political party, but after that, you kind of lost the thread of what you were saying, particularly when you forgot where you were and starting picking your nose. Not a good look.

Or, perhaps, the honest truth? I don’t like Chinese food and you always ask if we can go to a Chinese restaurant. I know you like the Peking duck and the moo shu pork, which makes you think of the small funny character from Disney’s “Mulan” voiced by Eddie Murphy, but I’m not a fan and I’d prefer to go somewhere else.

People often use phrases that are a big set up or, despite being unnecessary, have become a part of the way we speak.

Take the phrase “going forward,” as in, we are going to institute a policy in which everyone has to come to the office four days a week going forward. Can we go backwards? Does the going forward part suggest now, as opposed to something that might start in two weeks, two months or two years?

Or, how about “at the end of the day?” People will ask if some change brings any value at the end of the day. How about at the end of a meal or at the end of a sentence?

Then there’s the word “literally,” as in I literally laughed my head off. No, actually, you didn’t, because you’re speaking to me and your head still seems to be attached.

I “literally” dropped my fork on the floor. Can you figuratively drop a fork on the floor? I suppose in the “Matrix” world of Keanu Reeves, where there is no fork, you might figuratively drop it on the floor as a part of some epistemological challenge, but most of us live in a world where the utensil we hold in our hands is made of matter and makes a sound when we drop it, even if we’re in a forest and no one is there to hear it.

Then there are all the extra words that delay the punchline. People regularly say, “do you want to know my all time favorite food?”

No, actually, I’d rather know the food you preferred when you were a toddler. Do you remember that one? Was it peas, carrots, or sweet potato? We gave our daughter so much sweet potato when she was young — she seemed to like it and made happy noises when she ate it — that it turned her face orange. And that was the color without any make up.

I might want to know your all time favorite movie, as opposed to your favorite movie for this year or from the 1980’s. I will reluctantly admit that the phrase in such a discussion has merit.

While we’re delving into the language of today, I would like to share a few cliches that, if you’ll pardon the cliche, sound like nails on a chalkboard to me. 

By the way, we should probably retire that because, if you want to know the honest truth, not many people are using chalkboards anymore.

Cliches, yes, cliches, like beating a dead horse, are non specific and overused.

The phrase, “it is what it is,” which is fun to say when people are complaining about the food, the service, the poor play of your favorite baseball team, or the weather, is a logical shrug.

We might as well write, or say, A is A, eh? It’s a tautology. Of course, it is what it is. Maybe we should change it to, “it isn’t what it isn’t,” or, perhaps, “it can’t be what it couldn’t be.”

So, if you want to know the honest truth at the end of the day, I prefer to avoid words going forward that act like fog in front of my all time favorite painting, which, after all, is what it is.

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METRO photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief,
Publisher

Getting enough sleep is one of the tenets of staying healthy and aging well. But what to do when you get into bed and can’t fall asleep? The Science Times section of The New York Times this past Tuesday offered an interesting solution from Emergency Physician, Joe Whittington.

“Now I Lay Me Down to Play,” written by Christina Caron, explains the doctor’s technique. It’s called cognitive shuffling, and it is designed to calm a busy brain sufficiently to allow sleep. While he had tried deep breathing, meditation and melatonin, to no avail, the following strategy works for him. Incidentally, he has 750,000 followers on Instagram.

“Cognitive shuffling,” according to the Times, “is a mental exercise that involves focusing your mind on words that have no association with one another, as a way of signaling to your brain that it’s time to fall asleep. The task is meant to be engaging enough to distract you from the thoughts that may be impeding sleep, but not so interesting that your brain perks up.” 

So how do you do cognitive shuffling?

Take a random word, any word, like “adobe.” Then think of all the words that you can, beginning with that same first letter, like apple, arrow, across, attire. Visualize each word, then move on to the next. When you no longer can think of any more words beginning with “a” go on to the next letter, “d” and do the same thing: dog, depart, done, dope, detritus, and so forth. Again, visualize each word before moving on.

Luc P. Beaudoin, a cognitive scientist at Simon Fraser University in Canada, developed the cognitive shuffling strategy, and he suggests that as people drift off to sleep their minds have distant thoughts or vivid images. This technique is intended to mimic that process.

“These images don’t create a clear story line and may help your brain to disengage from problem solving or worry loops,” said Dr. Beaudoin, who conducted a study in 2016 using various sleep inducing techniques. He himself suffered from insomnia. The study was then discussed at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies conference in Denver, written up in Forbes magazine, then circulated widely online.

It can’t hurt to try cognitive shuffling.

I can tell you what I do to fall asleep. First, with full disclosure, I confess not to often having a problem falling asleep. In fact, I’m like a teapot. Just tip me over and pour me out. Usually, all I need is to get horizontal on a mattress and doze off. However, lately I have been waking up around 4 a.m., feeling rested and not able to resume sleeping. But I know if I get up and start my day at that hour, I will pay for the remaining lack of sleep in the late afternoon. I’m an 8 1/2 hour a night sleeper. So here’s what I do after 20 minutes of tossing and turning. 

I get out of bed, put on a lamp that offers dim light and read until my eyes get tired. I am selective in my reading choice: not a page turner. Then I shut off the light, get back into bed and usually fall right back to sleep.

It’s not a researched and tested technique but for me, it works. I enjoy sleeping and require the restorative effects in order to enjoy my waking hours. Hope these strategies work for you.

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File photo by Greg Catalano

By Sabrina Artusa

Three Village Central School District Superintendent Kevin Scanlon released a letter on March 21 informing families of incidents of antisemitism in the schools and assured them that the district is going to tackle the issue.

“There have recently been incidents of antisemitism in our schools,” the letter reads. “We believe that there is a larger issue occurring that we need to address.”

The letter suggests that a conglomeration of incidents is leading the district to initiate programs and curriculum changes: “Although some individuals may perceive these incidents as isolated, we cannot afford to take them lightly.”

Rabbi Aaron Benson of the North Shore Jewish Center said he has been in touch with some families whose children have been affected by antisemitism with Three Village middle schools. Benson said his understanding is that no major altercation occurred, but that on one or multiple occasions, students made an antisemitic remark that was heard by several other students, including Jewish students.

“As I understand it, the comments weren’t particularly directed at anybody but there were Jewish students present,” he said. “But also comments of that sort should not be tolerated regardless if a Jewish person is present.”

Rabbi Joshua Gray from Temple Isaiah emailed Scanlon after receiving the letter. Scanlon invited him to the school for a conversation, following through on the district’s commitment to “work together as a community” as written in the letter.

The conversation went “very well” according to Gray, and he left the meeting feeling assured that the district is addressing the issue with consideration and care.

“They are being very proactive,” he said. “It is good when people call it by its name and say it as it is.” Benson, too, was glad that the district acknowledged the issue and is taking an active role in combating hate speech.

“These are all the things I want them to be doing and I am thankful that they are,” he said. Benson, who has been an ordained rabbi for over 20 years, said he likes “to believe that there is just simple ignorance combined with perhaps a desire to be shocking or irreverent” but that there is “a stronger presence of antisemitic commentary that is out there and trickles down to kids.”

Both rabbis live in the district and have children. They said that they have noticed an uptick in antisemitism since Hamas attacked Israel Oct. 7, 2023.

Stefanie Werner, whose child attends a Three Village school, said that her child had experienced antisemitism over five years ago. Glad that the village acknowledged the issue, but upset that antisemitism is still present enough to warrant a letter, Werner called the letter “a double-edged sword.”

“I hate that it has gotten to this point,” she continued. “We’ve gotten this letter and we don’t exactly know what has happened.”

Werner said she would like to see more discussion integrated into the curriculum, a step Scanlon plans to take, according to the letter. Werner said that it is clear that preexisting programs, like assemblies, talks or electives, aren’t enough.

“We have to teach them that it is not okay,” she said. “They don’t see the line.”

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Photo courtesy of Stony Brook University Athletics

Stony Brook softball took on the Charleston Cougars at University Field on March 23 and when it was all over, the Seawolves clinched a series win 5-4. Kyra McFarland capped off a perfect day at the dish with a walk-off homer. Down to their final out, the Cougars tied the game in the seventh, but it was McFarland’s heroics that ultimately decided the Sunday matinee on Long Island.

Crimson Rice made her second start of the weekend series on Sunday, starting her day with a 1-2-3 inning. Stony Brook’s offense put up three runs in the home half of the first. Alyssa Costello started things with a single through the middle, scoring on Mia Vannelli’s fielder’s choice. Emma Scheitinger plated a run on a single and a third run scored on a fielding error.  Rice worked around an error behind her to complete a second straight scoreless inning to start her Sunday.

After the Seawolves went down in order in the second, Charleston evened things at 3-3 with a three-run inning of its own. The Cougars loaded the bases with nobody out and pushed a pair of runs across before registering an out.

Gabrielle Maday entered in relief of Rice, who failed to record an out in the third and allowed the first five hitters to reach base. Maday allowed one inherited runner to score, but stranded a pair of runners to keep things tied. Stony Brook put runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but could not capitalize on the opportunities.

Maday retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth, then worked around trouble to strand a pair of runners in scoring position in a tied game in the sixth.

Nicole Allen pinch hit to lead off the sixth, doubling down the left field line. Allen moved up 60 feet on a Kaiya Simpkins sacrifice bunt and then scored the go-ahead run on a Costello sacrifice fly.

Down to their final out, the Cougars tied things up on a Paradis double over Scheitinger’s head in right. Maday induced a grounder to limit the damage to one run and give her offense a chance to win it in the bottom of the seventh.

McFarland did just that, slamming the second pitch she saw over the fence in center to walk it off.

“What a terrific ballgame. I think all around, all three parts of the game, our best game of the year,” head coach Megan T. Bryant said. “She’s a good hitter, she’s a fifth-year player. She works super hard in the weight room. She refused to lose there and that’s what you love to see out of a fifth-year veteran player,” Bryant added regarding McFarland’s walk-off homer.

The team hit the road for a mid-week doubleheader at Sacred Heart on March 25. The results were not available at press time but were posted online at www.tbrnewsmedia.com.

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#2 Charlotte Wilmoth scored eight points for her team during Sunday's game. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook University Athletics

Stony Brook women’s lacrosse scored nine of the game’s final 10 goals to pick up its sixth win of the season, defeating the Delaware Blue Hens 16-8 in Newark, Del. on March 23. The Seawolves improve to 6-3 on the season and a perfect 2-0 in CAA action.

It was a team-effort for the Seawolves offensively as Charlotte Wilmoth led the Stony Brook squad with a season-high eight points on four goals and four assists, as Riley McDonald and Alexandra Fusco each tallied three goals. Molly LaForge and Casey Colbert notched a pair apiece, while Isabella Caporuscio and Olivia Schorr each scored one goal.

Defensively, Avery Hines collected a team-high four ground balls and four caused turnovers. In net, Natalia Altebrando continued her string of successful outings, making a career-high eight saves on the day with her third-straight contest with a .500 save percentage.

After a Delaware tally to start the game, A. Fusco notched a goal to tie it up early. The Blue Hens then got their second of the day as it became a back-and-forth affair with the Seawolves collecting a pair of goals for their first lead. Delaware answered with two of their own to take a 4-3 advantage into the second quarter.

Stony Brook scored four with Molly LaForge scoring her first of the season and Wilmoth collecting a quick hat trick with three straight. The Blue Hens’ Ella Rishko would score at the buzzer to bring Delaware back within one and the Seawolves led 7-6 at halftime.

The Blue Hens added another coming back from the break to level the score 7-all, as Stony Brook went on a 7-0 scoring run through almost 15 minutes of play to conclude the third quarter and continue into the fourth.

Delaware got one more on the board before a pair from the Seawolves to close out the Sunday matinee and secure their second CAA victory of the season.

The team heads back to Long Island to begin a three-game homestand on March 26.

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A recent rally in Hauppauge. Photo by William Stieglitz

Almost every week this past month, crowds of people have congregated at street corners, politician’s buildings or on the side of highways. The sound of synchronized chants overlay the ambient whir of traffic and pithy signs face the street. Some of the rallies consist of hordes of people, with numbers nearing a thousand; others are smaller, with maybe a few dozen. We’ve covered these rallies, both small and large, in towns across our coverage area. This week, there were two rallies in Smithtown and one in Northport. 

Protests can be divisive and political. They are arguments, meant to persuade. Protests have been used throughout history, and have created change of both national and local scales. We learn about them in school as representations of the public feeling.

Some, like the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in which Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, have been the catalyst for action that changes the trajectory of our nation. They hold weight and signify unrest, and most of the time, ignite controversy. Most people have opinions that flare up, either in agreement or disagreement, in witnessing a protest. 

This type of mobilization is a privilege. An organized display of protest is an essential facet of our freedom of speech, and the ability to voice dissent without fear of political retaliation or punishment is what forms a healthy democracy. 

The protesters at these rallies are driven by care for their community and country. Furthermore, they encourage consideration for opposing or uncommon viewpoints. Projecting an opinion to the hundreds or thousands of passers-by promotes discourse. When multitudes of people protest, our elected officials gain a better sense of their constituents’ needs and concerns. It might help them lead. Further, it shows that people are paying attention–that what happens matters to them. Some may look upon the increased number of protests in our area as an annoyance. Others may be supportive. But the foundational concern behind these constitutionally-protected displays is care for the community. 

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The Wellness Committee at Ward Melville High School cuts ribbon on new Farmer’s Fridge. Photos courtesy of the Three Village Central School District

The Wellness Committee at Ward Melville High School has launched a new initiative to provide students and staff with greater access to nutritious food options. A Farmer’s Fridge vending machine has been installed in the gymnasium lobby, marking the first time the innovative vending solution has been introduced in a school setting.

The machine offers a variety of fresh, healthy selections, including salads, sandwiches, wraps, yogurts and vegetarian and vegan options. Available to staff throughout the day and to students after school, the vending machine provides a convenient way to enjoy balanced meals and snacks beyond traditional cafeteria hours. Designed for ease of use, the Farmer’s Fridge accepts cashless payments through credit cards and mobile apps. Additionally, users can take advantage of a preorder option to reserve their preferred items via the app. Strategically placed in a central location, the vending machine ensures accessibility for all members of the school community.

This initiative reflects a commitment to promoting healthier eating habits and enhancing the availability of nutritious choices at Ward Melville High School.

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Vincent Iacono (second from left) with research and PhD. students in 1982. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine

By Daniel Dunaief

When Dr. Vincent Iacono first starting teaching at the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine, he was contemporaries with the students.

That was back in 1974, when Gerald Ford was president, when Post-It Notes were invented and when supermarkets first started scanning bar codes.

A great deal has changed since then. One of the constants over the next half century has been Iacono, who has taught every one of the students who has graduated from the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine.

“When I started out, the students and I were about the same age,” said Iacono. “Now, I’m like a grandparent to some of the students.”

From left, Vincent Iacono, Jeanne Garant, Port Jefferson Mayor from 1999 to 2005 and Phil Garant, Dean of the School of Dental Medicine from 1979 to 1992. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine.

Iacono, who is the chair of Periodontics and Endodontics and the Director of Postdoctoral Education at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine, has served in a host of roles at the university as well as in professional societies, gathering appreciative admirers along the way and serving as a skilled local doctor, a leader and role model.

“It’s a remarkable achievement for someone to have touched so many lives as a part of their career,” said Dr. Ira Lamster, a consultant for Santa Fe Group, a think tank dedicated to oral health. Lamster was in the first class to graduate from the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine in 1977 and served as Dean of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.

“I’m proud to have been taught by him,” said Dr. Wayne Aldredge, who works in private practice in Holmdel, New Jersey. Aldredge completed his postdoctoral program at Stony Brook in 1999. Aldredge described Iacono as a “great mentor” and an “encyclopedia of all things related to periodontics and dental implants.”

Indeed, Aldredge suggested that Iacono could “sit down tomorrow and write a paper overnight that would take me three weeks to get done.”

A long-time contributor to education at the dental school, Iacono has earned numerous honors, has served as a clinician and has held a host of leadership positions for national dental groups.

He led the American Academy of Periondotology as president, and was a past Periodontics Commissioner for the Commission on Dental Accreditation. He was also the chair of the Academy of Osseointegration.

Iacono has won numerous awards, including the Isadore Hirschfeld Award and Irwin Scopp Award from the Northeastern Society of Periodontists and the Oral Research Award and Fellowship from the Academy of Osseoointegration. He earned the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, where he graduated with his DMD in 1972 and earned his Certificate of Periodontology and Oral Medicine in 1974.

“It’s the selfless side of what you do outside school and teaching where he’s had a huge contribution,” said Aldredge.

Building from the beginning

Growing up in Brooklyn and with family who lived in the tri-state area, Iacono was pleased with the opportunity to join Stony Brook after graduating from Harvard.

He felt he was getting in on the “ground floor” and that the early years were an exciting time to build up the school.

“The opportunities continued to grow as I grew in age,” said Iacono.

The Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine is a highly competitive program.

In the class of 2028, the dental school had 1,484 applicants for 46 available spots. The periodontics residency program also had 86 applicants for three spots.

“They want to come here because our dental school’s reputation is phenomenal” and where students get considerable one-on-one interaction with educators, Iacono said.

A defining interaction

When Iacono first started teaching, he was also more involved in research.

Indeed, Dr. Steve Zove, Director of Predoctoral Periodontics at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine, recalls walking into Rockland Hall before the start of the dental program. He was searching for a summer research position. When he introduced himself in the building, the first person he saw directed him to Iacono’s lab, where Iacono did microbiological and immunology research.

“Dr. Iacono is the reason I went into periodontics,” said Zove, who graduated from Stony Brok Dental School in 1983. The two are close friends, with Zove’s children referring to Iacono as “uncle.”

Among many other superlatives, Zove called Iacono one of the”best lecturers he’s ever come across.”

Iacono effectively gets students involved in lectures, sharing anecdotal information while bringing the class together, Zove said.

Educational changes

Indeed, education has changed considerably over the years.

In the earlier days, Iacono used a blackboard and chalk. Now, students can download lectures and presentations from the cloud and take exams electronically.

Iacono appreciates the opportunity to learn from and tap into the expertise of residents, who help him stay up-to-date technologically.

The change in student demographics means that he has sometimes struggled to find a common vocabulary outside the world of dentistry to communicate.

“If I’m lecturing on bone morphology and I’m describing the shape and pattern of bone resorption around a tooth” and he says the bone resorption is in the shape of a moat, some of his students “don’t know what the word ‘moat’ means. I have to explain a castle with a moat and alligators swimming around.”

He has to express terminology in a way that the class as a whole can understand.

Dental advancements

Iacono has seen numerous changes in periodontics, implant dentistry and general dentistry.

Zove recalled that Iacono was one of the first people to go to Sweden in the 1980’s to study dental implants with the late Per-Ingvar Brånemark, who is considered a pioneer in the field.

Dentists have also enhanced their use of technology to regenerate bone lost to disease and to enhance the esthetic outcomes of surgery.

The use of biologics has already increased exponentially in using growth factors and looking at chemical mediators.

Periodontists also classify the stages of gum disease into one, two and three, a system they didn’t have years ago.

Keeping on

Iacono has enjoyed his work and plans to continue with his teaching and clinical efforts.

He knows it’ll be time to consider retiring when residents don’t come to him for advice in their academic or clinical work.

“If I see that I’m not being asked by my colleagues, by residents for assistance, by students to teach, to provide clinical care, to administrators in developing educational tools to comply with the standards, then I’ll know it’s time to fade away,” he said.

After Iacono has spent more than 50 years and plenty of rinse-and-spit moments at Stony Brook, his colleagues say his help and views remain in high demand.

“He’s one of the most respected individuals within our profession,” said Zove. “He’s a go-to person” in numerous roles, including the accreditation process.

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Shelley Germana. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook University

By Daniel Dunaief

Performance on tests, essays and presentations can often reflect as much, if not more, about what’s going on with a student outside the classroom as it does during a course.

A sociologist by training who earned her PhD from Rutgers, Shelley Germana, Senior Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stony Brook University, recognized the impact and importance of health, family life, and financial strains when she taught a class of conditionally admitted students to Rutgers University.

“It’s the first time I realized [student performance] was largely about the non-academic stuff,” said Germana. “I was teaching as if it was just about academics, give them theory, give them concepts, break down the information for them. It wasn’t about that.”

Instead, mental health and social challenges, among others, affected how well they did in class.

That realization changed her career path from a plan to become an educator into one in which she dedicates herself to student success.

Indeed, fast forward to today, and Germana helped create the Summer Academic Resilience Program Stony Brook for students in 2024 who were struggling academically after their first year.

The five credit summer course, which was offered as part of a pilot program for 30 students, was given at no cost to the students. While living on campus and having access to dining facilities, the students not only received classroom support, but also had wrap around services.

This includes accessibility support, mental health aid, and employment. Students took a three-credit general education course and a two-credit academic success course for five weeks.

The students in this course had grade point averages that were close to or below 2.0, which could have led to a suspension.

The effort on the part of the students and the school paid dividends, with four students still below 2.0 in the fall and the remainder above that threshold. At the same time, 11 students earned a grade point average above a 3.0 this past fall.

“What this demonstrates is that this degree of structured, holistic support can be really transformative,” said Germana.

The university is preparing for the 2025 summer session and is hoping to increase the number of student participants to 50.

Embracing a bigger role

Provost Carl Lejuez applauded the work Germana has done with this pilot program and her overall efforts on behalf of student success.

Germana “was in the number two role for undergraduate education for many years and everyone was really aware of how hard she worked and how talented and strategic and student focused she was,” said Lejuez. “I was really excited about the possibility of her being in that role and it has worked out in every way I thought it would.”

Indeed, in academic year 2024-2025, Stony Brook had record enrollment, while the university has also managed to increase student retention to around 90 percent.

“That’s because of the holistic approach she takes,” said Lejuez.

Germana credits a number of other parts of the university for the increasing percentage of students who return for their second year of classes.

“Everybody has a hand in student success and retention, from student affairs to faculty,” said Germana. “It’s all part of the package.”

Germana added that student advisors have had a positive influence on success as well.

In a recent Boyer Commission report that looks ahead to 2030, the commission has specific recommendations for advising, including lowering case loads. This enables advisors to meet regularly with students.

The commission also urges advisors to move beyond academic support and into areas like the transition from high school to college.

“The recommended case loads were lower than what we had at Stony Brook,” said Germana. The administration, from the president to Lejuez supported the university’s investments in academic advisors.

Germana and Vice President for Student Affairs Rich Gatteau run a working group that meet regularly to discuss holistic success and have advocated for greater support for advisors.

Two years ago, Stony Brook invested about a million dollars in adding academic advisors.

The university plans to make a similar type of investment again this year.

“What I love about [Germana] is that she understands traditions and best practices and is always working with people to be innovative and think about new ways to do it.”

Flipping the script

Germana suggested that institutions of higher learning have sometimes approached struggling students by suggesting they have a learning deficit.

While she does not dismiss the fact that some students have preparation issues, she prefers to focus on the assets they bring to the classroom, despite the challenges they face in their lives.

“We should not be underestimating what the students bring” to the classroom, Germana said.

“They are clearly capable or they would not have been admitted,” said Germana.

Like some students at Stony Brook, Germana, who is a native of southern New Jersey, is the first member of her family to attend college.

Higher education is a “transformative experience” that has enriched her life.

She added that the college experience and the opportunities that follow are empowering. 

Stony Brook can and should be a “place where they’re going to grow and transform and become citizens of the world,” Germana added.

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Stony Brook University Libraries. Photo from SBU

The Marian B. and Jacob K. Javits Foundation recently gave $1 million to Stony Brook University Libraries, creating its largest-ever endowment. This endowment was established to help preserve, promote and make accessible the Senator Jacob K. Javits Collection at Stony Brook.

Additional funding for the Jacob K. Javits Collection Engagement Fund will be matched by the New York State endowment match program and the Simons Infinity Investment Match Challenge, tripling the impact of this endowment gift. This project also received institutional support to begin programming as the endowment builds.

The Javits family, 1956; left to right: Marian B. Javits, Carla Javits, Senator Jacob K. Javits, Joshua Javits, and Joy Javits. Photo from Special Collections, Stony Brook University Libraries

“We thought a high-caliber New York State academic institution, which already had a long and deep familiarity with our father’s papers, would be the perfect venue to maintain and disseminate his ideas and achievements,” said Senator Javits’ son, Joshua Javits.

“By making the collection more accessible, we hope the practical ideas and concepts that he worked on his whole life will inspire people and the future of policymaking,” said Carla Javits, Senator Javits’ daughter.

Senator Javits played a critical role in shaping national policies on civil rights, social justice, the arts and environmental protection during his more than three decades of service as an elected official from New York. He also had a long-standing relationship with former Stony Brook University President John H. Marburger III and spent time at the university, meeting with faculty and students and giving lectures on campus.

The collection was received in 1981, when Senator Javits contributed his life’s papers, highlighting resources over the senator’s 34-year career. The collection features almost 2 million items, containing speeches, bills and campaign literature, audio and film recordings, photographs, artifacts and memorabilia, cartoons and correspondence.

“This collection serves as a powerful educational resource,” said Kristen Nyitray, director of Special Collections and University Archives. “It is not only an archive of the past, but a source for informed citizenship and critical thinking about the present and future.”

“We are profoundly grateful for the generous endowment received to maintain the Sen. Jacob K. Javits Collection. As we navigate these challenging times, it’s more important than ever to ensure access to such invaluable resources,” said SBU Libraries Dean Karim Boughida. “By facilitating enhanced access to the collection, we honor Sen. Javits’ legacy and reaffirm our commitment to serving as a hub of knowledge and collaboration for all.”

Information about the collection can be accessed on the SBU Libraries Special Collections website.

 

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