Courtesy Stony Brook University Media Relations
STONY BROOK, N.Y. - The Board of Trustees of the State University of New York voted unanimously
today to name Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr., Vice Chancellor for Research and
professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University
in St. Louis, as the new President of Stony Brook University.
Dr. Stanley’s appointment ? which is effective July 1 ? was announced officially
by John J. O’Connor, Officer in Charge and Vice Chancellor and Secretary of the
University, and SUNY Chancellor-Elect Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher, following the SUNY
Board meeting here. He becomes the fifth President of Stony Brook, succeeding
Dr. Shirley Strum Kenny, who is retiring after 15 years in the position.
“Hearty congratulations and a warm welcome from the entire SUNY
community go to Dr. Samuel Stanley on becoming Stony Brook University’s
president,” said SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman Carl T. Hayden. “What makes Sam
Stanley the best person to lead Stony Brook University is not just that he is a
prominent biomedical researcher, a talented academic administrator, and a
published scholar who serves on important national committees related to his
field of expertise, but that he was also presented with the Distinguished
Service Teaching Award from the students of Washington University.”
Chairman Hayden also remarked on the leadership of Dr. Shirley Strum Kenny
saying, “On behalf of the entire SUNY community, I want to express deep
appreciation to Shirley Kenny for her 15 years of extraordinary service,
leadership and commitment as president of Stony Brook University. We are truly
grateful.”
“Dr. Samuel Stanley is the right person to lead Stony Brook
University forward and I am excited and enthusiastic about the future,” said
SUNY Trustee Michael E. Russell. “Members of the Stony Brook University Council
and the Search Committee, and their Chair Rick Nasti, have earned great praise
and appreciation for conducting a thorough, rigorous national search and for the
outstanding result they achieved in bringing Sam Stanley forward.”
“Dr. Stanley is absolutely an outstanding successor to Dr. Kenny,” said
Chancellor-elect Nancy L. Zimpher. “I am so proud that he is the first
presidential appointment that I have played a role in at SUNY and I know he will
be an exceptional president in leading the talented students, world-class
faculty and outstanding staff at Stony Brook University. I look forward to
working with Dr. Stanley in the months and years ahead to advance and improve
public higher education on Long Island and across New York.”
Echoing
these sentiments, Richard T. Nasti, Chair of the Stony Brook Council and of the
Presidential Search Committee, said, “we at Stony Brook are extremely pleased
and excited that Dr. Stanley will serve as the institution’s next President. He
is a dynamic leader with a proven track record of success at one of the nation’s
premier academic and research universities. His outstanding amalgam of skills
and credentials, as well as his creative energies will serve him well. In fact,
his depth of experience in attracting research funding will benefit Stony Brook
tremendously as we climb in the ranks of major AAU research universities.”
Dr. Stanley ? who, since 2003, has served also as Director of the
National Institutes of Health-funded Midwest Regional Center for Excellence for
Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases ? called his new appointment a
“dream job.
“This brings it all together for me, the opportunity to lead
a great research university...to help faculty and students achieve more, and to
make a difference,” Dr. Stanley. “I know that in its relatively short life,
Stony Brook has made extraordinary advances. So I’m excited, and I’m looking
forward to working strategically with my new colleagues on the faculty and
staff, as well as with students, alumni and others to build on this remarkable
trajectory of increased excellence, while solidifying its position among the
nation’s top research universities.”
As Vice Chancellor for Research at
Washington University, Dr. Stanley is credited with substantially advancing the
research enterprise. In this role, he oversaw a research portfolio of $548
million, including $391 million in NIH funding. His responsibilities encompassed
a broad array of activities associated with the management of these extramural
research funds, including, but not limited to, the full range of matters related
to undergraduate, graduate, and faculty research, and technology transfer.
Dr. Stanley received his B.A. in 1976 from the University of Chicago and
his M.D. in 1980 from Harvard Medical School. After his internship at
Massachusetts General Hospital, he was named a Fellow in Infectious Diseases at
Washington University School of Medicine.
The author and co-author of
dozens of peer-reviewed articles and scholarly publications, Dr. Stanley is the
recipient of numerous awards, including the Burrough’s Welcome Scholar Award in
Molecular Parasitology and the Distinguished Service Teaching Award from the
Students at Washington University. He sits on a number of community, regional,
and national science advisory boards, including the NIH National Advisory
Allergy & Infectious Diseases Council; the U.S. Department of Commerce
Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee; Research Alliance of
Missouri; Saint Louis Academy of Science; and St. Louis Center of Excellence,
Missouri Life Sciences Trust Fund, and is an Ambassador for the Paul G. Rogers
Society for Global Health Research..
Dr. Stanley is married to Dr. Ellen
Li, a world renowned gastroenterologist, an MD/PhD who is also a Professor at
Washington University’s School of Medicine. Drs. Stanley and Li are the parents
of four children.
Part of the State University of New York system, Stony
Brook University encompasses 200 buildings on 1,600 acres. In the 50 years since
its founding, the University has grown tremendously, now with nearly 24,000
students and 2,100 faculty, and is recognized as one of the nation’s important
centers of learning and scholarship. It is a member of the prestigious
Association of American Universities, and ranks among the top 100 national
universities in America and among the top 50 public national universities in the
country according to the 2008 U.S. News & World Report survey. Considered
one of the “flagship” campuses in the SUNY system, Stony Brook University is a
driving force of the Long Island economy, with an annual economic impact of
$4.65 billion, generating nearly 60,000 jobs. Stony Brook accounts for nearly
four percent of all economic activity in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and
roughly 7.5 percent of total jobs in Suffolk County.