Stony Brook University (SBU) is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. It is one of four university centers of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. SBU traces its roots back to Oyster Bay, where a group of citizens petitioned the New York State Legislature for a college on Long Island’s North Shore in 1957. The legislature subsequently approved the establishment of SUNY at Oyster Bay, which opened in September 1962 as the State University College on Long Island. In 1966, legislation was passed to make SUNY at Oyster Bay into a degree-granting institution, and it was renamed the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The first class graduated from SBU in 1971.
SBU has grown rapidly since its inception, with an enrollment of nearly 26,000 students as of Fall 2019. It comprises 11 schools and colleges: School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences; School of Dental Medicine; School of Nursing; Renaissance School of Medicine; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Stony Brook Southampton; Stony Brook Manhattan; Honors College; Graduate School; and Health Sciences Center. The university offers over 200 undergraduate programs and 100 graduate programs across these schools and colleges. In addition to its academic offerings, SBU is home to several world-renowned research institutes, including the Stony Brook Cancer Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory spinoff Life Technologies Corporation (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), and the Center for Biotechnology Education & Training.
SBU is classified as an R1 Doctoral Research University by the Carnegie Classification System, indicating “very high research activity.” In 2019 alone, SBU faculty members garnered over $257 million in external research funding from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Notable alumni include Nobel Prize laureate Harold Varmus (’61), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan (’85), Academy Award winner Ang Lee (’87), U.S Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (’88), Emmy Award winner Billy Crystal (’70), comedian Kevin James (’93), Olympic gold medalist Tom Dolan (’96), NFL Pro Bowlers Trevor Scott (’08) and Muhammad Wilkerson (’11), WNBA All-Star Tina Charles (’10), Stanley Cup champion Matt Martin (’08), among many others.