Suzanne V. Shane Appointed Chief Campus Counsel
December 13, 2023
Dear Members of the Stony Brook Community,
I am pleased to share that Suzanne V. Shane has been appointed Chief Campus Counsel, effective October 27, 2023. In this role, Suzanne will serve as lead attorney managing and supervising the Office of General Counsel (OGC) for Stony Brook University including Stony Brook Medicine and its health sciences schools, hospitals, and the Long Island State Veterans Home. I deeply appreciate the strong ongoing leadership on high-level operational and governance issues Suzanne has provided to me and the OGC team in her role as Interim Chief Campus Counsel while a competitive, comprehensive national search to fill this position was conducted.
Working closely with Suzanne, I have witnessed a collaborative leader committed to advocating in the best interests of Stony Brook and its students, faculty and staff. We are fortunate to have her experience and honest, thoughtful counsel guiding our path to the highest levels of institutional excellence. As a member of Stony Brook’s executive management team, Suzanne will report to both me and Kapil Longani, Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel at the State University of New York.
Suzanne served as Associate Counsel at Long Island University before joining Stony Brook University in 2010 as Associate Counsel. She was named Assistant Chief Campus Counsel in 2015 and since her arrival to campus, Suzanne has provided critical legal guidance around complex civil litigation and administrative matters, commercial transactions, free speech and First Amendment issues, student affairs and Title IX matters. Her legal knowledge and analytical skills continue to expertly guide Stony Brook’s establishment of international programs and institutes as well as provide critical counsel on institutional research and intellectual property matters.
In addition to representing the University before New York State and federal agencies, Suzanne continues to be instrumental in advising on governance matters including policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees and Stony Brook Council.
Suzanne is a proud Stony Brook University alumna and earned her JD cum laude from New York Law School. Please join me in congratulating Suzanne on her appointment as Stony Brook’s Chief Campus Counsel and thanking her for her dedicated service to Stony Brook.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President