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Welcome Back, Stony Brook!
09/08/2023
Dear Colleagues,
With almost two weeks already behind us, it is so wonderful to have a new academic year in full swing.
We have started the year fueled by the momentum of significant new developments and advancements for Stony Brook University over the last year. Now we are geared toward building upon established and emerging strengths, and will be guided by our soon-to-be launched strategic plan to seize this unique moment in our history. This is the first of periodic updates I will be sharing with you on current news. I hope you will find it useful and informative.
Leading the Charge on Climate Change Solutions
Perhaps the biggest announcement last year was our selection as the anchor institution
for the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island. We are just beginning to unpack
our possibilities through this partnership, which positions Stony Brook University
as a leading institution around the world when it comes to climate justice and solutions.
As an early step toward this, we recently announced the launch of the Collaborative
for the Earth. This faculty-driven, multi-disciplinary “action-tank” seeks to develop
solutions in response to myriad human-generated global environmental stresses, as
the climate crisis, toxins crisis, extinction crisis, plastics crisis, water crisis,
and more converge and worsen. The Collaborative for the Earth builds upon Stony Brook
University’s robust academic tradition and strengths, including the university’s historic
role in banning DDT, its MacArthur-winning biological conservationists, its Pew-winning
ecologists, its leaders in developing clean energy technologies, and its Nobel-winning
climate scientists. As I shared last week, we are currently searching for a director
for the Collaborative and strongly encourage interested faculty to apply.
Welcoming Our Largest-Ever New First-Year Class
We are also welcoming our largest incoming class of new first-year undergraduate students to Stony Brook
this fall. This is the product of a year-long strategy, in collaboration with leaders
across the Provost’s Office, Enrollment Management, Undergraduate Education, Student
Affairs, Educational & Institutional Effectiveness, Finance & Administration, and
our schools and colleges. Through this partnership, we identified areas of potential
enrollment growth and made targeted investments to increase our capacity across a
broad number of majors so we can address any constraints before they arise and create
challenges for our students, faculty, and staff.
Reopening Javits
Perhaps one of the most notable changes we observed last week as classes began was
the reopening of Javits Lecture Center, which first opened in 1968. This was a floor-to-ceiling
overhaul, upgrading nearly every aspect of the building, from furniture to technology,
to the mechanical, electrical, and safety systems. Improvements include enhanced accessibility
features, such as electric lifts, an increase in accessible seating in the lecture
halls, and the addition of an accessible elevator. Other features that are in the
works to open later this year include the addition of an active learning space and
informal meeting spaces on the second floor.
I am also appreciative of the Classroom Technology support that has been dedicated
to Javits at the start of the semester, to ensure that assistance is readily available
as our instructors familiarize themselves with these renovated spaces.
While Javits was offline, our capacity for large lecture courses on campus was limited,
leading to several courses being taught online for the last year and a half. Aside
from delivering a building that better meets the modern needs for our students and
instructors, I am also pleased that with Javits reopened we again have ample capacity
to deliver in-person lectures across our large courses.
Welcoming New Colleagues in Academic Affairs
This fall semester also features outstanding additions to our Academic Affairs leadership
team as we have welcomed several new deans and vice provosts. They are diving headfirst
into meeting with faculty, staff, and leaders across the university to understand
the opportunities across each of their areas and establish partnerships to develop
solutions and strengthen cross-disciplinary and cross-unit collaborations. I am excited
about the ideas they are generating and expect to see many new initiatives unfold
over the course of the year, developed across our entire team of deans and vice provosts,
and the schools, colleges, and units they oversee.
Additionally, we are excited to welcome several new faculty to the university. We will highlight these new members of our
community in a feature later this month.
Closing Perspectives
I’m now entering my second year, and I’ve reflected often on the Stony Brook community’s
unique combination of pride in what this university has accomplished in its short
history and urgency for what it can now do in its next chapter. It is a privilege
to serve as provost and partner with our outstanding faculty, staff, and students
in upholding Stony Brook University’s legacy and ensuring its future success for generations
to come. As we prepare to launch our strategic plan on October 4, it is truly our
moment to seize this momentum and build the next great era for our university. I look
forward to what’s ahead in our new academic year and I thank all of you for what you
do to enable Stony Brook University's success.
Sincerely,
Carl
Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President