Yesterday, Stony Brook University Interim President Richard L. McCormick delivered his first Stony Brook State of the University address to faculty, staff, administrators, students, alumni, healthcare workers, elected representatives and local community members.
Dr. McCormick expressed his gratitude for being welcomed to the Stony Brook community with warmth and generosity and how he immediately felt at home having spent many of his early years and most of his adult life on public university campuses. President McCormick grew up near Rutgers University where his father was a history professor and where he served on the history faculty for sixteen years and later returned as the university’s president. He spoke fondly of his experience team-teaching a course with his father on the history of American politics.
President McCormick indulged in “a brief history lesson” that clearly illustrated the link between Stony Brook’s extraordinary trajectory and the most important developments in modern American higher education including:
- Stony Brook has been attracting a growing and highly diverse student body with half who are from economically disadvantaged families.
- Stony Brook has a large and expanding research enterprise that is fueled by more than $300 million annually, mostly from the federal government.
- Stony Brook graduates and research have a profound impact on the economies of Long Island, New York, the nation and the world.
Dr. McCormick touted the university’s historic enrollment increase of first-year students this fall saying, “Their presence testifies to our university’s reputation as a top choice for talented, diverse, and ambitious students from all backgrounds across New York State, the nation, and the world.” He added “over forty percent of our undergraduates receive federal Pell grants, which means they come from financially qualifying families. And, by the way, our Pell students graduate at a rate that is slightly higher than that of the rest of the student body.”
Dr. McCormick praised the university’s best fundraising year in its history, including securing $655 million dollars in contributions with $563 million going directly to the endowment. He also acknowledged the passing of Dr. James Simons, who with his wife Dr. Marilyn Simons, has impacted Stony Brook University with their unwavering support, visionary generosity and decades long friendship.
Dr. McCormick recognized Stony Brook Medicine for greatly contributing “to the health and wellness of the Long Island community. They do so through the proud stewardship of the Long Island State Veterans Home, and a myriad of other health care programs that are carried on at Stony Brook University Hospital, our Children’s and East End hospitals, and in more than two hundred ambulatory care facilities. Stony Brook University Hospital is one of the first eight hospitals in the United States to attain Health Care Equity Certification from The Joint Commission. It is Long Island’s only institution to achieve this level of certification and demonstrates Stony Brook’s commitment to embracing diversity, addressing health disparities, and providing equitable, patient-centered care.”
While celebrating the university’s momentum, Dr. McCormick identified some institutional challenges including the need to:
- Expand and encourage more interdisciplinary research;
- Invest in the university’s facilities to support the needs of a true flagship university; and
- Make strategic decisions about increasing our enrollment as a first-choice destination for both undergraduate and graduate students
Dr. McCormick challenged the university community, “let’s take our university to the next level. Let’s be a true flagship. We can do it together.”