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Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University

Seal of Stony Brook University

Established 1957
School type Public
President Shirley Strum Kenny
Location Stony Brook, NY
Enrollment 14,084 undergraduate, 8,271 graduate and professional
Faculty 1,902
Campus Suburban, 1,100 acres (4.5 km²)
Sports teams 16
Mascot Seawolf
Homepage www.stonybrook.edu

Stony Brook University (SBU) or the University at Stony Brook (USB), or the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNYSB), located in Stony Brook, New York, USA, is one of the premier public universities in the United States with more than 21,000 students enrolled. Stony Brook is one of the four university centers of the State University of New York.

Contents

History

It was founded in 1957 as the State University College on Long Island with about 100 students enrolled. The first temporary campus was at the William Robertson Coe Planting Fields estate in Oyster Bay. Originally, SBU was a college for preparing secondary school teachers in mathematics and the sciences. The present campus (since 1962) is located on land donated by philanthropist Ward Melville. The original donation consisted of over 400 acres (1.6 km&sup2), but the campus is now about three times that size.

The Stony Brook campus was initially concentrated around what was called G-Quad (now Mendelsohn Quad), and almost all offices were contained here. Classes took place at the Humanities building, and some classes were still offered at Oyster Bay. However, the 1960s and 1970s witnessed rapid growth under President John S. Toll. More buildings went up around campus, and academic programs and enrollment grew.

During the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War, Stony Brook was a hotbed for activism -- so much so that it was given the nickname Berkeley of the East. The school is also notable for its numerous conflicts with the government of New York State, often over budgetary considerations. Among the best known revolves around the University Hospital that now dominates the campus' skyline, and how its construction apparently almost bankrupted the state.

In the 1990s the school underwent a project to revitalize the campus. Numerous buildings were renovated, most importantly the Student Activities Center, as well as each residential quad. More recently, the school has completed the building of a massive Asian-American Center that was funded largely by a donation from Charles Wang. The university also finished building a stadium, as well as new apartments for undergraduates. Renovations are now being done to the original Humanities building, and new apartments continue to be built.

The Campus

Logo of Stony Brook University

The campus, itself, is located at the geographic midpoint of Long Island, approximately 60 miles east of New York City and 60 miles west of Montauk. The campus is split into three portions: West Campus, East Campus, and South Campus.

The West Campus houses the majority of academic buildings, and campus housing. It is the location of the original buildings at the Stony Brook site, including Mendelsohn Quad, that now serves as a residential quad. In addition to this quad, there are five other residential quads located on the West Campus in addition to apartments for both graduates and undergraduates. The residential quads ring the Academic Mall, which contains the academic buildings. The center of the mall is the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library, and around this building are numerous acadmic buildings housing numerous departments that focus on the arts, sciences, and engineering. The Student Activities Center is the focus of campus life, and is located across from the library. The Staller Center sits adjacent to the library and contains the largest movie screen in Long Island's Suffolk County. The Stony Brook Sports Complex holds various facilities for athletics, and the largest gym in Suffolk County which can hold over 5,000 people. Behind the Sports Complex sits the newly built Kenneth P. Lavalle Stadium with a capacity of about 8,000.

East campus is separated from West campus by Nicolls Road. East campus is home to the University Hospital and Health Sciences Center. The hospital is the largest in Suffolk county, and the attached HSC houses numerous laboratories as well as a Medical School. A graduate apartment complex is located on East campus as well.

The South campus is the smallest of the three, and is separated from West Campus by a nature preserve. It is home to a dental school, as well as buildings devoted to marine sciences.

In 2002, the University opened up a presence in Manhattan, opening up "Stony Brook Manhattan". It consists of a few classrooms and facilities located in between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue.

Academics

The University is divided into numerous schools including:

  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
  • School of Dental Medicine
  • School of Health Technology and Management
  • School of Professional Development
  • Graduate Program in Public Health
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • School of Social Welfare
  • Harriman School for Management and Policy
  • Marine Sciences Research Center
  • Health Sciences Center

Libraries in the university contain nearly 2 million bound volumes.

Several doctoral programs at the university are highly ranked nationwide. In recognition of strong integration of research and education, it received an award from the National Science Foundation of the United States. Stony Brook co-manages Brookhaven National Laboratory making it one of the few universities that run federal laboratories. In 2002, Stony Brook was one of only two universities invited to join the elite Association of American Universities (AAU). Stony Brook is also one of the few public schools in New York to have a medical school and dental school.

Athletics

Image:StonyBrookSeawolves.jpg

The sports teams are known as the Seawolves. They participate in the NCAA Division I and the America East Conference. The basketball and volleyball teams play at the Sports Complex, while the football, soccer and lacrosse teams now play at Kenneth P. Lavalle Stadium. There are numerous other fields located in the northern portion of West Campus that are used by the baseball and softball teams, as well as track, tennis and other sports.

Stony Brook only joined Division I recently, and competes in Division I-AA in football in the Northeast Conference. All other sports compete in the America East Conference.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Organizations

External links

Last updated: 05-07-2005 11:24:52
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04