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Dr. Stanley inaugurated
Calls on state to 'unshackle' university, wants 400 more faculty
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| | | Dr. Samuel Stanley Jr. said SUNY and SBU ‘have never been more important in the history of New York than now.’ Past presidents John Marburger and Shirley Strum Kenny shared the stage with Dr. Stanley. Photo by Jennifer Choi (click for larger version) | |
October 28, 2009 | 04:39 PM
The sports complex at Stony Brook University was filled Friday to celebrate the inauguration of Dr. Samuel Stanley, the fifth president in the university's five-decade history.
With SBU Senate President Michael Schwartz facilitating the inaugural ceremony, members of the university community and elected officials offered greetings to the new president.
State Senator Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) advised Dr. Stanley to learn from SBU's history and "ensure that your leadership gives [students and staff] the direction, the encouragement they need to be the idealists and philosophers." "The past serves as guidance for the president," LaValle said, "and the president serves as an investment of the future."
Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) said the new president was "selected so perfectly to match the challenge of the time." Describing Dr. Stanley's arrival as "the beginning of the next chapter in the history of this great university," Englebright said to Dr. Stanley, "We need your vision, your sense of balance and your sense of optimism."
Michael Russell and Cary Staller, members of the SUNY Board of Trustees, also welcomed the new university leader. "We all are here to help drive this university forward," Russell said, noting that the SUNY system is fortunate to have both a new chancellor and a new SBU president.
Describing Dr. Stanley as an individual with an "outstanding combination of intellect, drive and integrity," Staller said, "You should be proud of your accomplishments."
Citing the nearly 30 years that have passed since his undergraduate days at SBU, Stony Brook Council Chair and LIPA CEO Kevin Law said returning to campus reminds him "how lucky I am, how blessed I am and how well this university has prepared me for where I am." Noting the importance of Dr. Stanley's role in preparing "the future leaders of Long Island," Law said he hopes the new president will "continue to lead us to the next level."
Representing the university's graduate students, Graduate Student Organization President Dylan Selterman said he believes Dr. Stanley will "steer our ship to greener pastures," while Jasper Wilson, president of Undergraduate Student Government, said the undergraduate student body is "very happy" to have Dr. Stanley on board. "All of us are here to help him and help Stony Brook reach its new potential," Wilson said.
Stony Brook Foundation Chair Richard Gelfond, who served as vice chair of the search committee that interviewed SBU president hopefuls, said Dr. Stanley's "intellect and leadership skills just stood out." "We saw great things," Gelfond said, "and we know he'll deliver great things."
During the Ceremony of Investiture, new SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher said, "This is a day to celebrate leadership." Noting that "a great leader constantly and tirelessly tells the story of a great institution," she said Dr. Stanley is "just that leader."
Following the abundant praise from colleagues and students, Dr. Stanley proposed several initiatives in his inaugural address. SUNY and SBU, he said, "have never been more important in the history of New York than now" and are "solutions to the economic problem." SBU is "a place where students live what they learn," he said, noting that the institution has "long been an international university" whose current students come from 105 different countries.
Dr. Stanley, who was joined by his wife Ellen Li and many other family members at the ceremony, said "we must return to a strategic vision that has as its core the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty." The president said his goal over the next eight to 10 years is to recruit more than 400 faculty members and strive to create 40 new endowed professorships by making this a "focal point of fundraising activities."
Dr. Stanley also stressed the importance of reviewing all academic programs, support services, administrative structure and off-campus activities to ensure success. "We must be focused and strategic if we are to survive the present and build for the future," he said, noting that "greater flexibility in all of our financial affairs" is necessary to become "a great research university."
"The current situation, where state support continues to erode yet we are unable to increase revenue through rational increases in tuition, or easily engage in creative public-private partnerships, is not sustainable," Dr. Stanley warned. "If the state cannot maintain its level of support for SUNY — and it has fallen consistently over the past decade in constant dollars — then it must unshackle us from the rules and regulations that hinder our chance to be great."
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