President of Stony Brook University

The President of Stony Brook University serves as the university's chief executive officer. Stony Brook's President, in addition to his or her duties to the university's many academic programs, also oversees the Stony Brook University Hospital with its five health science programs and 120 community-based service centers. The President additionally plays an integral role in the economic development of Long Island, New York through Stony Brook's capacity as co-manager of the Brookhaven National Laboratory. ^[1]

What will be required is a new attitude toward public higher education, a new state of mind, a new desire to put some real meaning into the motto inscribed in the seal of the State University of New York which says “Let each become all he is capable of being."

—  Henry T. Heald, Chairman of the Committee on Higher Education , Meeting the Increased Demand for Higher Education in New York State: A Report to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and the Board of Regents, ^[2]

The duties of the President are tied to a broader governance structure of the State University of New York system, including its Chancellor, Board of Trustees, University Faculty Senate and Student Assembly. Furthermore, the President receives oversight and advice from the Stony Brook Council, presently chaired by Kevin S. Law, President and CEO of the Long Island Association. ^{[3] [4]}

The current Interim President is Richard L. McCormick. On July 1, 2020, Maurie D. McInnis assumed office as the 6th President of Stony Brook, the second woman in the university's history appointed to that position. Andrea Goldsmith was appointed as the 7th President of Stony Brook in February 2025. ^[5]

Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York (1959-1973), commissioned the construction of a state university on Long Island to "stand with the finest in the country"

State University on Long Island, Announcement of a new college of The State University of New York, 1948

Ward Melville, businessman and philanthropist (1887–1977), donated 400 acres of land in Stony Brook, New York to establish a major public research institution on Long Island.

Dean of State University College on Long Island

Dean		Term of office	Notes
	Leonard K. Olson (1914 - 2002) [7]	1957 - 1961 (Four years)	Oversaw the managing of the Oyster Bay campus while organizing and planning for the Stony Brook campus. He recruited top faculty from elite institutions such as Oxford University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, and Yale University. Olsen was considered a strong leader and champion for student rights, a beloved figure within the Oyster Bay community. [8]

Presidents of Stony Brook University

No.	President		Term of office	Education	Notes
1		John Francis Lee (1918–1999) [9] [10]	1961 (11 months)		At the Coe Estate of Oyster Bay, Lee presided over the first Commencement ceremony with "all appropriate pomp and circumstance," and Dean Olsen distributed the first 25 degrees from the university. [11] [12]
2		John S. Toll (1923–2011) [13]	1965 – 1978 (13 years)	B.S., Yale University (1944) Ph.D., Princeton University (1952) [14]	Increased student population from 1,800 to over 17,000 while developing competitive academic departments and recruiting elite scholars such as Nobel Prize Laureate Yang Chen-Ning [15]
3		John H. Marburger III (1941–2011) [16]	1980 – 1994 (14 years)	B.A., Princeton University Ph.D., Stanford University [17]	Presided over the opening of the Stony Brook University Medical Center, today known as the Stony Brook University Hospital, which helped develop the university as among the nation's premiere institutions in the biological sciences
4		Shirley Strum Kenny (born 1934) [18]	1994 – 2009 (15 years)	B.A., University of Texas M.A., University of Minnesota Ph.D., University of Chicago [19]	First female and humanist President of Stony Brook University, expanded the university's community outreach on Long Island and formed close partnerships with business and industry [20]
5		Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD (born 1954) [21]	2009 – 2019 (10 years)	B.A., University of Chicago M.D., Harvard University [22]	Prioritized fundraising initiatives, including the sixth-largest donation to a public university in history from Jim Simons and the Simons Foundation, supported Stony Brook's Higher Education Opportunity Program [20]
		Michael A. Bernstein (born 1955) [23]	Interim August 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020 (11 months)	B.A. (1976), M.A.(1978), M.Phil.(1980), Ph.D.(1982), Yale University [23]	Guided the university during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. He used his platform on the "Beyond the Expected" podcast to educate the campus community on matters related to the virus [24]
6		Maurie D. McInnis (born 1966) [25]	July 1, 2020 – August 1, 2024 (4 years, 7 months)	B.A., University of Virginia M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University [1]	Second female President, assumed the presidency during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted campus activities and has kept student taking courses online.

Provosts of Stony Brook University

No.	Provost [26]	Term of office
1	H. Bentley Glass	1965–1971 (6 years)
2	Sidney Gelber	1971–1981 (10 years)
3	Homer A. Neal	1981–1986 (5 years)
4	Jerry R. Schubel	1986–1989 (3 years)
5	Tilden G. Edelstein	1989–1994 (5 years)
6	R. Bryce Hool	1994–1995 (1 year)
7	Rollin C. Richmond	1996–1999 (3 years)
8	Robert L. McGrath	1999–2007 (8 years)
9	Eric W. Kaler	2007–2011 (4 years)
10	Dennis Assanis	2011–2016 (5 years)
	Charles Taber (interim)	2016 (Jun-Oct)
11	Michael A. Bernstein	2016–2019 (3 years)
	Minghua Zhang [27] (interim)	2019–2020 (1 year)
	Michael A. Bernstein	2020 (3 months)
	Fotis Sotiropoulos [28] (interim)	2020–2021 (6 months)
13	Paul Goldbart	2021–2022 (10 months)
	Mónica Bugallo [29] (interim)	2022 (5 months)
14	Carl Lejuez	2022–present (2 years, 7 months)

Presidents of University Senate

Presidents of Stony Brook University Senate

Term	President
1975	Max Dresden
1976	Norman Goodman
1977	Bill Jim Layton
1978-1979	Gary Thomas
1980-1981	Fred Goldhaber
1981-1983	Ron Douglas
1984	Joel Rosenthal
1985	Lawrence Slobodkin
1986	Benjamin Walcott
1987	Donald Petrey
1988	Andrea Tyree
1989	William Van Der Kloot
1990	Norman Goodman
1991	Barbara Elling
1992	Richard Porter
1993	Bernard Dudock
1994	Egon Neuberger
1995	Aldustus Jordan
1996-1997	Jolyon Jesty
1997-1999	Robert Kerber
1999-2001	Bill Godfrey
2001-2002	Benjamin Walcott
2002-2006	W. Brent Lindquist
2006-2009	Bernard Lane
2009-2010	Michael Schwartz
2010-2014	Frederick Walter
2014-2018	Edward Feldman
2018-2020	Nancy Tomes
2020-2024	Richard Larson
2024-	Brenda Anderson

References

1. "Maurie McInnis Named Sixth President of Stony Brook University". Stony Brook University News. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
2. "Meeting the increasing demand for higher education in New York State :a report to the Governor and the Board of Regents" (PDF). [Albany] : The Committee, 1960. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
3. "Stony Brook Council". Stony Brook University Council. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
4. "Kevin S. Law, Stony Brook Council". Stony Brook University Council. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
5. Gasparino, Michael (2025-02-19). "Andrea Goldsmith Named Seventh Stony Brook President" . Retrieved 2025-02-20.
6. "Stony Brook University Special Collections & Archives". Stony Brook University Libraries. Archived from the original on 2014-05-27. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
7. "Leonard Olsen, Professor Emeritus in the Humanities, Ideas and Methods, the College, dies at age 88". University of Chicago Chronicle. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
8. "Stony Brook University, Shared Vision" (PDF). Stony Brook University. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
9. "Library of Congress record of John Francis Lee" . Retrieved February 2, 2022.
10. "John Francis Lee, President, 1961". Stony Brook University, Special Collections and University Archives. Archived from the original on 2014-05-27. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
11. "Stony Brook University's Inaugural Commencement, 1961" (PDF). SUNY Connect. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
12. "Past Presidents, John Francis Lee". Stony Brook University Library. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
13. "John S. Toll, President, 1965-1978". Stony Brook University, Special Collections and University Archives. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
14. "Office of the President". Washington College. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
15. "Past Presidents, John S. Toll". Stony Brook University Library. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
16. "John H. Marburger III, President, 1980-1994". Stony Brook University, Special Collections and University Archives. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
17. "Dr. John Marburger, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy" . Retrieved 22 October 2016.
18. "Shirley Strum Kenny, President, 1994-2009". Stony Brook University, Special Collections and University Archives. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
19. "Shirley Strum Kenny" . Retrieved 30 March 2020.
20. "Stony Brook University, History and Mission" . Retrieved 30 March 2020.
21. "Samuel L. Stanley Jr., President, 2009-2019" . Retrieved 30 March 2020.
22. "Get to know university President Samuel L. Stanley Jr" . Retrieved 30 March 2020.
23. "Bernstein CV" (PDF). Stony Brook University News. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
24. "Beyond the Expected: To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate - Sharon Nachman". Beyond the Expected Vodcast. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
25. "Maurie McInnis Named Sixth President of Stony Brook University". Stony Brook University News. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
26. "Past Provosts". SBU: History and Timeline. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
27. Ledda, Brianne (2019-08-25). "Minghua Zhang takes over as interim provost". The Statesman. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
28. Nassiri, Niki (2020-09-20). "Fotis Sotiropoulos appointed as Interim Provost". The Statesman. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
29. Nassiri, Niki; Lynders, Maria (2022-01-23). "Paul Goldbart, executive vice president and provost, steps down". The Statesman. Retrieved 2023-08-08.