Support the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Fund for Excellence
Thanks to the generosity of our alumni and friends, we continue to make a meaningful
impact in the lives of those across our community. Your support of the CAS Dean's Fund for Excellence helps us provide students with the enriching experiences that elevate their Stony
Brook journey — from research and innovative, hands-on opportunities to mentorship
and beyond.
Please consider making a small gift to help strengthen our vibrant community. You’re
also welcome to connect with the CAS Advancement team to explore meaningful ways to give.
Guru Krupa Foundation Invests in the Future of Sanskrit and South Asian Studies
The Guru Krupa Foundation, led by founder and President Mukund Padmanabhan, PhD, recently
made a gift to establish an endowment to support the Guru Krupa Foundation Lecture
Series in South Asian Studies in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies.
The endowment will support lectures, workshops, visiting scholars and short‑term instructional
opportunities that advance the study and public understanding of Sanskrit, South Asian
languages and South Asian cultural and literary traditions.
Distinguished Professor Emerita Mary Jo Bona Established Lecture Series in Women's,
Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Distinguished Professor Emerita Mary Jo Bona, who joined Stony Brook University in
1999 and spent 25 years helping build the Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality
Studies (WGSS) from a single course into a full department, has established the Bona
Distinguished Lectureship with her spouse, Judith Pfenninger. The endowed fund will
support an annual public lecture by a distinguished scholar in the department's interdisciplinary
field, extending Bona's legacy of advocacy for feminist knowledge production and institutional
support for WGSS.
Motivated By The Matches: Alumni Establish New Endowed Chair in Cheminformatics
Steve '63 and Shelly Heller '64, have established the Dr. Stephen R. Heller Endowed
Chair in Cheminformatics, motivated by the New York State and Simons Infinity Investment
match opportunities. The couple's gift will support a faculty member in cheminformatics,
strengthening Stony Brook's Department of Chemistry and honoring the education that
shaped their success.
Family Honors Professor Peter W. Bretsky's Legacy Through Geoscience Scholarship
The late Peter W. “Pete” Bretsky Jr. was a professor of paleontology and geological
sciences at Stony Brook University with a zest for continued learning. In fact, he
would often sit in on history or Greek lectures. “My dad was immensely curious academically,”
said Bretsky’s son Philip Bretsky. As a way to honor his father and keep that legacy
of learning alive, Philip and his wife, Marian Henry, established an endowed scholarship
to support undergraduate students studying geosciences.
