# 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.
   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."
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.
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.

## Dean of State University College on Long Island

| Dean | Dean | Term of office | Notes |
| | Leonard K. Olson (1914 - 2002) | 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. |

## Presidents of Stony Brook University

| No. | President | Term of office | Education | Notes |
| 1 | John Francis Lee (1918–1999) | 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. |
| 2 | John S. Toll (1923–2011) | 1965 – 1978 (13 years) | B.S., Yale University (1944) Ph.D., Princeton University (1952) | 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 |
| 3 | John H. Marburger III (1941–2011) | 1980 – 1994 (14 years) | B.A., Princeton University Ph.D., Stanford University | 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) | 1994 – 2009 (15 years) | B.A., University of Texas M.A., University of Minnesota Ph.D., University of Chicago | 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 |
| 5 | Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD (born 1954) | 2009 – 2019 (10 years) | B.A., University of Chicago M.D., Harvard University | 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 |
| | Michael A. Bernstein (born 1955) | Interim August 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020 (11 months) | B.A. (1976), M.A.(1978), M.Phil.(1980), Ph.D.(1982), Yale University | 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 |
| 6 | Maurie D. McInnis (born 1966) | July 1, 2020 – August 1, 2024 (4 years, 7 months) | B.A., University of Virginia M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University | 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 | 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 (interim) | 2019–2020 (1 year) |
| | Michael A. Bernstein | 2020 (3 months) |
| | Fotis Sotiropoulos (interim) | 2020–2021 (6 months) |
| 13 | Paul Goldbart | 2021–2022 (10 months) |
| | Mónica Bugallo (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 |