Appointment of Wendy Pearson as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives
October 5, 2023
Dear Members of the Stony Brook Community,
I am pleased to announce that Wendy Pearson will join Stony Brook University as vice president for strategic initiatives, effective November 1, 2023. Wendy brings exceptional experience in higher education administration and a demonstrated record of success advancing strategic initiatives in support of academic and research excellence, student success and enrollment management.
Reporting directly to me, I look forward to her joining my senior leadership team. She will work in close partnership with campus leaders and partners to identify and advance Stony Brook’s institutional priorities, such as ensuring implementation and assessment of the recently completed strategic plan, taking the lead in developing an overall plan for our Southampton campus, and assisting in supporting our work as anchor institution for The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island in New York City.
In her most recent role as the senior advisor to the provost at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Wendy’s responsibilities focused on advancing institutional priorities supporting accreditation, academic innovation, strategic planning, and other campus-wide initiatives. She successfully led the institution’s collaborative four-year effort that resulted in the maximum 10-year reaffirmation from the Senior College & University Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Her leadership role in the university’s Strategic Investment Initiative, a campus-wide competition to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, included solicitation and selection of proposals that awarded $3 million in start-up funds.
Wendy’s previous roles at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa include academic affairs program officer in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, where she managed academic program review and the development and modification of academic programs, and special projects manager for the School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies. She also served as program coordinator in the Center for Peace & Conflict Studies/Detroit Council for World Affairs at Wayne State University where she coordinated curriculum development and Japan study tours for public school teachers.
She earned her master's degree in Asian Studies (Japan) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa through a degree fellowship with the East-West Center and a bachelor of arts in Journalism from Michigan State University.
As we prepare for Wendy’s arrival to Stony Brook in the coming weeks, I want to thank the search committee, chaired by Judy Greiman, chief deputy to the president and senior vice president for government and community relations, for cultivating and recruiting an outstanding pool of candidates following a national search. I am confident Wendy will be an excellent addition to our team as we accelerate our goal of elevating our university to new levels of excellence.
Please join me in welcoming Wendy to Stony Brook University.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President