It was standing room only as a jubilant crowd waited for Dr. Samuel L. Stanley to be called to the podium and officially announced as Stony Brook University’s new president. Just an hour before the press conference was held to mark the announcement inside the Charles B. Wang Center, the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York voted unanimously to name Dr. Stanley the university’s fifth president.
After conducting a seven month long nation wide search that attracted strong candidates from the nation’s top research universities, all parties involved in the selection process appeared quite satisfied with the selection.
“It feels quite good to come to a SUNY event where everyone is happy,” said Carl T. Hayden, chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees.
Dr. Stanley received his B.A. in 1976 from the University of Chicago and his M.D. in 1980 from Harvard Medical School. As Vice Chancellor for Research at Washington University, Dr. Stanley is credited with substantially advancing the research enterprise at the institution. He oversees a research portfolio of $548 million, including $391 million in NIH funding. His responsibilities encompass a broad array of activities associated with the management of these extramural research funds, including, but not limited to the full range of matters related to undergraduate, graduate, and faculty research, and technology transfer.
For a complete view of Dr. Stanley’s 13 page resume, click on the following link: http://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/pressearch/docs/cv.pdf
“I will be accessible,” a beaming Dr. Stanley said to the crowd of students and administrators. “You can find me at the gym almost every day.”
Dr. Stanley said he is very gracious for the job current president Shirley Strum Kenny has done in the past 15 years, mentioning how her work has brought the university into the Association of American Universities. AAU is an association of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.
Speaking open and honestly, Dr. Stanley said he will spend the next few months becoming a student of the university, learning everything he can about Stony Brook to keep it moving forward.
When asked how he will help develop a plan to bring more state aid to the university, Dr. Stanley said he needs to do his homework first. “I need to understand the lay of the land before mapping out strategies,” he said.
Part of his strategy will be to build a case for why SUNY schools matter so much to the state. Dr. Stanley plans to implement his strategy by working with new SUNY Chancellor-elect Nancy L. Zimpher and other administrators to tell the story of the tremendous impact both Stony Brook and all SUNY schools have on the state both economically and educationally.
At the end of the press conference, Dr. Stanley was presented with a number five jersey by the basketball team to represent him being the fifth university president. “Now I really feel like a number one draft pick,” he said.
