2024

Richard L. McCormick was appointed interim president of Stony Brook University, effective August 1, 2024, by the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees during a public session on July 16.

McCormick came to Stony Brook with more than four decades of experience in higher education, having previously served as president of Rutgers University and the University of Washington, as well as provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

"I look forward to working alongside Stony Brook’s talented leadership team to continue the university’s momentum and elevate Stony Brook to even greater heights," McCormick said after his appointment.

McCormick has authored numerous books and articles in the field of American political history, beginning with his first book on New York State politics in the Progressive era. 

Stony Brook University welcomed the largest incoming class of first-year students in its more than 66-year history, with a first-year undergraduate student enrollment increase of 13% in 2024.

New first-year students attending Stony Brook for the Fall 2024 term totaled 4,042 with 1,334 new transfer students. Transfers increased 4% over the prior fall. Stony Brook received the most undergraduate applications of any State University of New York (SUNY) school. 

The increases reflect Stony Brook's reputation as a world-class academic institution where students from all backgrounds are welcomed and supported throughout their college journey.

“This historic enrollment of first-year students is a testament to Stony Brook University’s steadfast commitment to providing an exceptional educational experience and its rise in reputation as one of the nation’s most prominent public flagship research universities,” said Interim President Richard McCormick. “Stony Brook today exemplifies dramatically all the most important developments in modern American higher education — a growing and highly diverse student body, an expanding research enterprise, and research achievements that are contributing mightily to the economy and society.”

Jim Simons, a pioneering mathematician and philanthropist who was Stony Brook University's most vocal champion for six decades, passed away on May 10 at the age of 86.

He forever transformed the university and his generosity of spirit was matched only by his probing intelligence and profound optimism for the future. Whether as chair of the Department of Mathematics or his leadership on the Stony Brook Foundation Board of Trustees, Simons always saw Stony Brook’s potential, and he helped bring that future to life.  

He helped establish the renowned Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, inspired the next generation of volunteer leaders through his participation in and stewardship of the Stony Brook Foundation Board of Trustees, and together with his wife, Marilyn, created an extraordinary legacy of impactful philanthropy for the university that has surpassed $1 billion. The Simons also directly inspired more than 2,100 people to contribute an additional $230 million in philanthropy for scholarships, faculty support, and the university’s endowment.

In November, the university held a special event to celebrate the impact he left on the university and in the mathematics and physics world.

Instantly creating a must-see meeting place for students, faculty, staff, alumni and the entire Seawolf community, Stony Brook University unveiled a new, seven-foot-tall statue of everyone’s favorite mascot, Wolfie, September 26 on the Academic Mall.

Attended by an enthusiastic crowd — which included Interim President Richard McCormick, the Spirit of Stony Brook Band and, of course, Wolfie himself — the curtain was pulled away to reveal the sculpture of Wolfie standing behind a bench where fellow Seawolves can come over and relax, or take a photo with their favorite mascot.

The bronze sculpture was created by artist Virgil Oertle, who for more than a decade has created unique, branded, mascot benches and sitting areas for fans to interact with the sculptures.

The statue was made possible by alumnus Ken Marcus ‘71, who generously donated the funds for the statue.

Stony Brook University Interim President Richard McCormick delivered his first Stony Brook State of the University address on September 25, sharing how the university will meet the challenges it faces while continuing to excel as the flagship university of New York. 

McCormick formally introduced himself to the university community with the address, sharing his life-long commitment working in higher education. McCormick, who holds a PhD in history, provided “a brief history lesson” on the importance of higher education, highlighting how Stony Brook represents the most important developments in American higher education.

In his speech, McCormick referenced Stony Brook being a flagship university of New York State. “That designation is a point of pride, but it must also be our North Star,” he said. “It sends a clear message that we are being entrusted to attract outstanding students from all backgrounds, to recruit the most accomplished faculty, and to win even more highly competitive federal research funding.”

Stony Brook University's multidisciplinary, faculty-driven initiative, Collaborative for the Earth (C4E), made significant strides in 2024, with the launch of a new podcast and by hosting a series of town hall events on campus in the fall.

The podcast, C4E Presents, is hosted by director Heather Lynch, professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the first Endowed Chair for Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook’s Institute for Advanced Computational Science.

The topics of the three town halls, held in October, November and December, were: fostering interdisciplinary environmental research, reimagining academic programs, and strengthening community and industrial partnerships.

C4E is guided by a desire to support the health of our planet through breaking down the barriers between scholarly disciplines, between environmental problems and their solutions, and between campus and the community.

Stony Brook University continued to be a world leader in quantum science in 2024.

In a landmark achievement, Stony Brook, in collaboration with Columbia University, Yale University and Brookhaven National Laboratory, was chosen to lead a project in the competitive National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NQVL) program. This initiative, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, marks a pivotal moment in advancing Quantum Information Science and Technology (QIST) in the United States.

Led by PI Eden Figueroa, Stony Brook Presidential Innovation Endowed Professor and director of the Center for Distributed Quantum Processing, the team’s proposal targets to design and implement a 10-node quantum network connecting state of the art laboratories at Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia University, and Yale University, creating the Stony Brook-Columbia-Yale Quantum Network (SCY-QNet).

Additionally, theorists and computational scientists at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory ran a series of quantum simulations to explore entanglement. The study seeks to explain the behavior of subatomic particles.

“The essential idea behind entanglement is that two quantum objects — say, two particles — can be correlated, or aware of one another, even if they are separated by very large distances,” explained Dmitri Kharzeev, distinguished professor in Stony Brook University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, who led the research.

Kharzeev and his colleagues developed simulations that revealed persistent strong entanglement, at least for short distances. The method offers insights into ways to retrofit and leverage existing computing assets for running quantum calculations until more practical quantum computers come along.

Stony Brook University’s sixth annual Giving Day was a record-breaking success, as the 24-hour fundraising event brought home more than 3,800 gifts totaling $1.6 million, more than doubling the amount raised last year.

The milestones shattered the event’s goal of 3,500 gifts and $1 million, with the Stony Brook community coming together like never before to support 105 programs across the university. More than 3,000 students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends gave to support any combination of programs that matter most to them — including scholarships, athletics, the arts, medicine and many others.

An anonymous couple from the Class of 1967 made a $1 million planned gift to support scholarships in physics, math and the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. The couple has already supported more than 20 students through prior giving.

“I am more inspired every year by the engagement and generosity of the Stony Brook community on Giving Day,” said Justin Fincher, vice president for advancement and executive director of the Stony Brook Foundation. “Our students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends came together yet again to make an incredible impact.”

Stony Brook University Hospital had a banner 2024, earning several honors that illustrate why it is known as one of the best hospitals in the region, in New York State, and the nation.

For the second year in a row, SBUH was the only Long Island hospital to be named among America's 50 Best Hospitals from Healthgrades, placing it among the top one percent of hospitals nationwide. Healthgrades also named it one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care, making it the only hospital in New York State to be recognized for Stroke Care for 10 years in a row.

SBUH was recognized as a 2024-25 Best Hospital by U.S. News & World Report, climbing to No. 12 overall in New York, up from No. 13 last year. It also rated high performing in five adult specialties nationwide, including Geriatrics, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Urology and Pulmonology & Lung Surgery.

The American Heart Association recognized SBUH for the 14th straight year and the sixth straight year for high-quality patient care for stroke and heart failure, respectively; Stony Brook Southampton Hospital (SBSH) was honored for the 11th consecutive year for stroke care.

Other honors included a Silver Beacon Award for the Neurocritical Care Unit, SBUH and SBSH acknowledged as Pediatric Innovators by the Always Ready for Children Pediatric Recognition Program, and all four Stony Brook Medicine hospitals — SBUH, SBSH, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital — were named “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leaders” for 2024 in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI).

Stony Brook University brought home three Coastal Athletic Conference (CAA) championships in 2024 in women's lacrosse, men's cross country and women's soccer.

The women’s lacrosse team continued its run of title-winning excellence by winning its second straight CAA championship and 10th conference crown overall, defeating Drexel, 9-6, to advance to the NCAA tournament for the 11th time in program history. Head coach Joe Spallina was named Coach of the Year.

The women’s soccer team, led by coach Tobias Bischof,  entered the Stony Brook record books with 14 wins in 2024 — the most in program history — and a .738 winning percentage. The team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time.

The men’s cross country team continued its legacy in the CAA with its third straight conference title under coach Andy Ronan. The Seawolves placed 13th at the NCAA Regionals.

The university celebrated the fall championships with a special ceremony in December.