SBU celebrates successful fundraising campaign

SBU celebrates successful fundraising campaign

Stony Brook University President Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr. recently announced the success of The Campaign for Stony Brook fundraising efforts which raised more than $600 million for the school. File photo by Greg Catalano

Stony Brook University continues to make history.

After graduating the largest class in May since SBU opened, the university announced Aug. 21 it concluded the most successful fundraising effort in the State University of New York’s history.

The breakdown of donations to The Campaign for Stony Brook and what areas the funds will go to. Graphic from Stony Brook University

In the past seven years, The Campaign for Stony Brook raised $630.7 million, according to a press release from SBU. A total of 47,961 friends, alumni, foundations and corporations donated to help the university achieve its campaign goal of $600 million.

“Philanthropy, and the generosity of our donors, provides the margin of excellence for an R1, [Association of American Universities] public research university like Stony Brook, during a time when state support is waning, and more and more students are seeking access to excellence,” said university President Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr. in a statement. “The Campaign for Stony Brook dramatically underscores the importance and impact of philanthropy across our campus and I am extremely grateful to my fellow campaign leaders, and to those who contributed the extra resources we need to continue to educate and prepare the leaders of tomorrow.”

The money raised from the campaign has enabled the university to add 44 endowed chairs and professorships in various departments. Before the campaign, SBU only had 11 endowed faculty positions on campus, according to the press release. In addition to the endowed positions, new investments have been made in areas such as the Southampton graduate programs in creative writing and film, undergraduate research, the Alda Center for Communicating Science, the Gelfond Fund for Mercury Research, and the Dubin Family Athletic Performance Center.

The university will use $52.6 million of the funds raised for student financial aid, with $40.3 million for current use and $12.3 million for endowed undergraduate scholarships and graduate student fellowships. According to the press release, the contributions will also benefit the Medical and Research Translation and Stony Brook Children’s Hospital buildings scheduled to open this fall, the university pool will be refurbished, and plans are underway to modernize the North and Central Reading Rooms in the Melville Library and to expand the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics. To create and support academic centers, $209.1 million has been set aside. Among the centers that will benefit are the Bahl Center for Metabolomics and Imaging, the Institute for Advanced Computational Science, the Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, the Mattoo Center for India Studies, the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program, the Lourie Center for Pediatric MS and the Thomas Hartman Center for Parkinson’s Research.

“The Campaign for Stony Brook dramatically underscores the importance and impact of philanthropy across our campus.”

— Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr.

The campaign began in the fall of 2011 with a lead gift of $150 million from the Simons Foundation and former Math Department Chair Jim Simons and his wife Marilyn. After the Simons’ donation, employees of Renaissance Technologies in Setauket, a hedge fund firm Jim Simons founded, donated more than $127.4 million.

Richard Gelfond, chair of the Stony Brook Foundation board and CEO of IMAX Corporation, said in a statement that the Simons’ donation “created a groundswell of support.”

“Their confidence in Stony Brook and the investments they inspired have given the University the financial capacity to compete for the best researchers, clinicians, teachers and students and to aim for excellence in every way,” Gelfond said.

Funds raised have already helped to catalyze several innovative and impactful research and clinical programs, according to Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, Stony Brook University School of Medicine dean and senior vice president for Health Sciences.

“Campaign funding has also greatly enhanced our strength in imaging technology to diagnose and treat disease, in leveraging big data to help detect patterns of disease and response to treatment, and in new procedures to reduce the risk of stroke, colon cancer and heart disease,” Kaushansky said.

For more information on The Campaign for Stony Brook results, visit www.stonybrook.edu/campaign.