Presidents of Stony Brook University

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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."

— Henry T. Heald, Chairman of the Committee on Higher Education, Meeting the Increased Demand for Higher Education in New York State: A Report to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and the Board of Regents,

The duties of the President are wide-ranging and the 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.

Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York (1959-1973), commissioned the construction of a state university on Long Island to "stand with the finest in the country"

State University on Long Island, Announcement of a new college of The State University of New York, 1948

Ward Melville, businessman and philanthropist (1887-1877), donated 400 acres of land in Stony Brook, New York to establish a major public research institution on Long Island

Dean of State University College on Long Island

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

№	President		Term of office	Education	Notes
1	File:Jf-lee.jpg	John Francis Lee (unknown)	1961 (Jan - Nov)		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	File:Toll John.jpg	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, developed competitive academic departments, and recruited 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 premeire institutions in the biological sciences
4		Shirley Strum Kenny (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 (1954-)	2009 - 2019 (10 years)	B.A., University of Chicago M.D., Harvard University	Priortized 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 (1955-)	Interim August 1, 2019 - present	B.A. (1976), M.A.(1978), M.Phil.(1980), Ph.D.(1982), Yale University	Since assuming the Office of Interim President as Provost, Bernstein has been instrumental in guiding the University through the Coronavirus pandemic. He has used his platform on the "Beyond the Expected" podcast to educate the campus community on matters related to the virus
6		Maurie D. McInnis (1966-)	Assuming office July 1, 2020	B.A., University of Virginia M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University	Second female elected to the Office of President, McInnis will assume the presidency in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic which has disrupted campus activities and has kept student taking courses online

Provosts of Stony Brook University

№	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 (6 years)
10	Dennis N. Assanis	2011-2016 (6 years)
11	Charles Taber	2016 (Jun-Oct)
12	Michael A. Bernstein	2016-present (Incumbent)