List of presidents of Stony Brook University

The president of Stony Brook University is the chief executive of Stony Brook University.

Stony Brook's President, in addition to their 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]

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. [2][3]

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.[4]

Dean of State University College on Long Island

Dean Term of office Notes
Leonard K. Olson
(1914 - 2002)
[5]		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.[6]

Presidents of Stony Brook University

Several persons have led Stony Brook University since 1961:[7][8][9]

No. President Term start Term end Refs.
1 John Francis Lee January 1, 1961 November 9, 1961[a] [10][11][12][13]
Acting[b] Thomas H. Hamilton[b] November 9, 1961 August 31, 1962 [13]
Acting[c] Karl D. Hartzell[c] September 1, 1962 August 31, 1965 [14]
2 John S. Toll September 1, 1965 June 30, 1978 [15][16][17]
Acting T. Alexander Pond July 1, 1978 May 31, 1979 [18]
Acting Richard Schmidt June 1, 1979 June 30, 1980 [19]
3 John H. Marburger III July 1, 1980 August 31, 1994 [20][21]
4 Shirley Strum Kenny September 1, 1994 June 30, 2009 [22][23][24]
5 Samuel L. Stanley Jr. July 1, 2009 July 31, 2019 [d] [25][26][27][28]
Interim Michael A. Bernstein August 1, 2019 June 30, 2020 [29][30]
6 Maurie D. McInnis July 1, 2020 June 30, 2024 [e] [31][32]
Interim Richard L. McCormick August 1, 2024 July 31, 2025 [33]
7 Andrea Goldsmith August 1, 2025 present [34][35]

Table notes:

  1. ↑ Fired by Board of Trustees
  2. 1 2 Acting Administrative Head (direct rule by the President of the State University of New York)
  3. 1 2 Acting Chief Administrative Officer (direct rule by the Executive Dean in SUNY Central)
  4. ↑ Resigned to lead Michigan State University.
  5. ↑ Resigned to lead Yale University.


Provosts of Stony Brook University

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"[36]
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.
No. Provost[37] Term of office
1H. Bentley Glass1965–1971
(6 years)
2Sidney Gelber1971–1981
(10 years)
3Homer A. Neal1981–1986
(5 years)
4Jerry R. Schubel1986–1989
(3 years)
5Tilden G. Edelstein1989–1994
(5 years)
6R. Bryce Hool1994–1995
(1 year)
7Rollin C. Richmond1996–1999
(3 years)
8Robert L. McGrath1999–2007
(8 years)
9Eric W. Kaler2007–2011
(4 years)
10Dennis Assanis2011–2016
(5 years)
Charles Taber

(interim)

 2016
(Jun-Oct)
11Michael A. Bernstein2016–2019
(3 years)
Minghua Zhang[38]

(interim)

 2019–2020
(1 year)
Michael A. Bernstein 2020

(3 months)

Fotis Sotiropoulos[39]

(interim)

 2020–2021

(6 months)

13 Paul Goldbart 2021–2022

(10 months)

Mónica Bugallo[40]

(interim)

 2022

(5 months)

14 Carl Lejuez 2022–present

(4 years, 1 month)

Presidents of University Senate

Presidents of Stony Brook University Senate
TermPresident
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. ↑ "Stony Brook Council". Stony Brook University Council. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "Kevin S. Law, Stony Brook Council". Stony Brook University Council. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. ↑ Gasparino, Michael (2025-02-19). "Andrea Goldsmith Named Seventh Stony Brook President". Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  5. ↑ "Leonard Olsen, Professor Emeritus in the Humanities, Ideas and Methods, the College, dies at age 88". University of Chicago Chronicle. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "Stony Brook University, Shared Vision" (PDF). Stony Brook University. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "Past Presidents". Stony Brook University.
  8. ↑ "History & Mission". Stony Brook University.
  9. ↑ "Timeline of Events & Milestones". Stony Brook University.
  10. ↑ "Library of Congress record of John Francis Lee". Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "Engineer Will Head State College on LI". Newsday. September 16, 1960. p. 31. Board of trustees of State University's Long Island Center here has named Prof. John F. Lee, an engineering department head from North Carolina State College, to serve as the first president of the science-oriented institution. The 42-year-old appointee, who is presently head of the department of mechanical engineering at North Carolina, takes office here next Jan. 1.
  13. 1 2 Cummings, John (November 10, 1961). "Fire Head of State U. on LI in Hassle". Newsday. p. 3. John F. Lee was fired yesterday as president of the State University-Long Island Center, a school that has known little but trouble since it opened its doors four vears ago. Lee's immediate dismissal was ordered by the State University trustees just one day after Lee asked Gov. Rockefeller to investigate the university for permitting what he called "incompetence, corruption and cynical politics" to continue at the Oyster Bay school... Hamilton was ordered to take over as chief administrator until Lee's successor is chosen. There was not indication of when a successor would be named.
  14. ↑ Cummings, John (September 6, 1962). "State U. on LI Gets New Exec". Newsday. p. 39. Dr. Thomas H. Hamilton, president of the State University of New York, yesterday announced the appointment of Dr. Karl D. Hartzell as an executive dean of the university. Hartzell, a former dean of Bucknell University, will serve temporarily as chief administrative officer at the Stony Brook campus. In the administrative assignment, Hartzell will relieve Dr. Harry Porter, who will return to Albany to resume his duties as provost of the state university.
  15. ↑ "John S. Toll, President, 1965-1978". Stony Brook University, Special Collections and University Archives. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  16. ↑ Buskin, Martin (February 18, 1965). "Stony Brook Campus Finds Big Man at Last". Newsday. p. 7. He will officially take over his duties Sept. 1. The selection of Toll as president of the Dr. John S. Toll campus at Stony Brook ends a search that began soon after the unit's president, John F. Lee, was ousted from his post October, 1961, after a faculty revolt and a boycott were held in protest over his educational policies.
  17. ↑ Freedman, Mitchell (April 6, 1978). "Expected ed to Resign Today". Newsday. p. 4.
  18. ↑ Snider, Jane (April 27, 1978). "College President Chosen Despite Protests". Newsday. p. 19. In other action, the trustees, as expected, appointed Alexander T. Pond to serve as acting president of the State University at Stony Brook. Trustees are not expected to select a new president for about a year. President John S. Toll leaves July 1 to become president of the University of Maryland. Pond is now executive vice president.
  19. ↑ Freedman, Mitchell (May 17, 1979). "Campus Panel Balks at Search". Newsday. p. 3. Dr. Richard Schmidt, a neurologist who becomes acting president of the State University at Stony Brook on June 1, ended his first official visit there yesterday and said he would work to eliminate the campus "atmosphere of divisiveness..." Last week, the trustees decided to install Schmidt as acting president after refusing for the second time to approve the council's nomination of Pond as permanent president.
  20. ↑ "John H. Marburger III, President, 1980-1994". Stony Brook University, Special Collections and University Archives. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  21. ↑ Freedman, Mitchell (April 24, 1980). "Stony Brook Chief Optimistic". Newsday. p. 27. Marburger, 39, was picked yesterday to become Stony Brook's president on July 1 by a unanimous vote of the SUNY Board of Trustees here.
  22. ↑ "Shirley Strum Kenny, President, 1994-2009". Stony Brook University, Special Collections and University Archives. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  23. ↑ "Stony Brook University President Shirley Strum Kenny Announces Capital Campaign Raises Nearly $360 Million". Stony Brook University. June 24, 2009.
  24. ↑ "Stony Brook University president Shirley Strum Kenny to retire in 2009". New York Daily News. Shirley Strum Kenny, the first woman to serve as president of Stony Brook University, announced Thursday that she will retire next spring.
  25. ↑ "Samuel L. Stanley Jr., President, 2009-2019". Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  26. ↑ "Stanley named president of SUNY Stony Brook". Washington University in St. Louis. May 6, 2009. Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., vice chancellor for research, has been named president of State University of New York (SUNY) Stony Brook effective July 1.
  27. ↑ "Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson Announces Departure of Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., M.D." State University of New York. May 28, 2019. State University of New York Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson announced today that Dr. Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., M.D., will step down as the president of Stony Brook University on July 31.
  28. ↑ "Michigan State University Selects New President". Michigan State University. May 28, 2019. Today, the MSU Board of Trustees selected Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., as Michigan State's 21st President. President-designee Stanley will officially begin his term as MSU's President on Aug. 1, 2019. Dr. Stanley has served as President of Stony Brook University since 2009 and has nearly 15 years of higher education leadership experience.
  29. ↑ "Bernstein CV" (PDF). Stony Brook University News. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  30. ↑ "Michael Bernstein Named Interim President of Stony Brook University". Stony Brook University. June 20, 2019. Dr. Michael Alan Bernstein has been appointed Interim President of Stony Brook University, effective on or about August 1, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Maurie McInnis Named Sixth President of Stony Brook University". Stony Brook University News. March 26, 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020. Maurie McInnis, PhD, currently executive vice president and provost at the University of Texas at Austin and a renowned cultural historian, will become the sixth president of Stony Brook University, SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman Merryl H. Tisch and SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson have announced. Dr. McInnis's appointment, effective July 1, was announced following a vote by the State University of New York Board of Trustees.
  32. ↑ "Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis Stepping Down to Become Next President of Yale University". Stony Brook University. May 29, 2024. Stony Brook University — the number-one public university in New York and a state flagship university — today announced that President Maurie McInnis is stepping down after a four-year tenure to become the next president of Yale University. McInnis, a Yale graduate ('90, M.A., '93 M.Phil., '96, Ph.D.) and member of its Board of Trustees, will assume her new position effective July 1.
  33. ↑ "Richard L. McCormick Appointed Interim President of Stony Brook University". Stony Brook University. July 16, 2024. Richard L. McCormick has been appointed interim president of Stony Brook University, effective August 1.
  34. ↑ "Andrea Goldsmith Named Seventh President of Stony Brook University". Stony Brook University. February 19, 2025. Dr. Goldsmith's appointment was announced February 19 by The State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees Chairman Merryl H. Tisch and SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr., following a unanimous vote by the SUNY Board in New York City. Her appointment is effective August 1, 2025.
  35. ↑ Greco, Kristyn (2025-08-04). "Andrea Goldsmith, PhD, Takes the Helm as Seventh President of Stony Brook University - SBU News". Retrieved 2025-11-07. Andrea Goldsmith, PhD, officially begins her tenure today as the seventh president of Stony Brook University, following her appointment by the State University of New York Board of Trustees in February.
  36. ↑ "Stony Brook University Special Collections & Archives". Stony Brook University Libraries. Archived from the original on 2014-05-27. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  37. ↑ "Past Provosts". SBU: History and Timeline. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  38. ↑ Ledda, Brianne (2019-08-25). "Minghua Zhang takes over as interim provost". The Statesman. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  39. ↑ Nassiri, Niki (2020-09-20). "Fotis Sotiropoulos appointed as Interim Provost". The Statesman. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  40. ↑ Nassiri, Niki; Lynders, Maria (2022-01-23). "Paul Goldbart, executive vice president and provost, steps down". The Statesman. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
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