Stony Brook Southampton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stony Brook Southampton, is a liberal arts college in Southampton, New York that is affiliated with the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
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[edit] Southampton College
Southampton College was founded in 1963 by Long Island University. The campus is between the Shinnecock Indian Reservation and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. It had a separate stop on the Long Island Rail Road until 1998 when the station was dismantled because it was lightly used.
From 1993, Robert F.X. Sillerman served as the Chancellor, replacing Angier Biddle Duke, ambassador to Spain under Lyndon Johnson. Sillerman took the job on two conditions: that the college scrap ill-defined liberal-arts programs and focus on marine science and creative writing. And that he lead publicity - he named Kermit the Frog as the 1996 commencement speaker: 31 newspapers picked up the story, a free marketing bonanza that raised the college's profile and drew hundreds of new admissions.
After many years of fiscal mismanagement, the University announced a multi-million dollar capital campaign, launched a new interdisciplinary CORE curriculum and the construction of a new library (almost completed) to re-vamp the campus. After one year of a 10 year plan however, Long Island University officials ceased all plans.
[edit] Closure by LIU
Long Island University decided to effectively close the campus by relocating all Undergraduate Programs to the Long Island University C.W. Post Campus. This forced most students to either move to C.W. Post where their programs would be offered but no classes would be added to C.W. Post's curriculum, or transfer elsewhere.
Although protests and advocacy including a rally by the non-profit Save The College at Southampton and the student-led organisation The Orphans of L.I.U. (Long Island University) made numerous headlines with their actions, Undergraduate Programs ceased and all but a few campus buildings were shuttered by the end of Summer 2005.
Graduate programs still at Southampton post Summer 2005 were:
- Childhood Education (MS)
- English and Writing (MFA)
- Homeland Security (Advanced Certificate)
- Literacy Education (MS)
- Teaching Students with Disabilities (MS)
When Long Island University announced its plans to close the campus, in 2005 the Shinnecock Indian Nation filed a suit seeking return of 3,500 acres including both the campus and the golf club. There were local concerns that either the land would be taken over by the Shinnecocks for a casino, or that the land would be scooped up for a massive housing development in the Hamptons.
[edit] Stony Brook Southampton
The undergraduate Marine Biology department was moved to the control of State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY) in summer 2005, and from the fall 2005 SUNY began offering an undergraduate marine sciences program, with teaching and research facilities at the campus leased from LIU.
After resolution of the Shinnecock legal suit, on March 24, 2006 SUNY announced a final agreement for the purchase of the 81-acre Southampton College property from LIU. SUNY paid US $35 million for the 84 acre campus and its waterfront facility for its famed Marine Biology department, as well as the NPR affiliated WLIU-FM 88.3 radio station[1].
Currently a satelitte location, SUNY's intend to develop it as a full college campus, focusing on academic programs related to the environment and sustainability. An enrollment of about 2,000 students is expected within the next five years. Professor Martin Schoonen was appointed interim dean of Southampton campus on August 3, 2006, rebranded Stony Brook Southampton
In addition Stony Brook will offer an MFA creative writing program, headed by Robert Reeves, who directed the writing program at Southampton for LIU. The Writers Conference, the 30-year institution on the East End, annually attracting leading authors and artists from across the country, was again held at the campus in Summer 2005, and will return to Southampton for 2006 and onwards. Stony Brook also plans to offer courses and events at Southampton related to its Center for Wine, Food, and Culture.
[edit] Alumni
The writing department was the college's most famous department, since several New York City area authors who live in the area contribute including:
- Billy Collins
- Avery Corman
- Gerard Donovan
- Jules Feiffer
- Molly Haskell
- Kaylie Jones
- Robert Hullot Kentor
- Peter Matthiessen
- Robert Pattison
- Roger Rosenblatt
- Robert Reeves
- Dava Sobel
- Nahid Rachlin
- Alan Weinblatt
- Matt Klam
[edit] External links
- Stony Brook Southampton
- Southampton College the LIU site contains mainly alumni information
