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. The college features an innovative curriculum devoted to issues of sustainability and the environment.[1]
About Stony Brook Southampton In only its first full year of operation, Stony Brook Southampton is Stony Brook University’s newest campus location. Located on 82 seaside acres on the world renowned East End of Long Island, N.Y., Stony Brook Southampton’s interdisciplinary academic programs focus on issues of ecological sustainability, with undergraduate majors in Environmental Studies, Marine Sciences and Marine Vertebrate Biology. The campus is also home to a nationally-recognized graduate program in Creative Writing and Literature, Stony Brook’s Center for Wine, Food and Culture, the Pollock-Krasner Library and the nearby Pollock-Krasner House, the Avram Theater and its annual music series “Music at Southampton: Sustainable Treasures,” and the three-decades-old Summer Writers Conference, which annually attracts many of the country’s literary stars.
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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 and Long Island University decided to effectively close the campus. This forced most students to either move to C.W. Post 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.
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.[2]. In the agreement to take over WLIU is to continue its LIU affiliation and move from its broadcasting studios in Chancellors Hall by September 2009 to another location within 15 miles. The station has an agreement to have its broadcast tower on the campus through 2024.[3]
Stony Brook intends 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 continues to be held on campus.[4] Stony Brook also plans to offer courses and events at Southampton related to its Center for Wine, Food, and Culture.
[edit] References
- ^ "Stony Brook Acquires Flowerfield Property and Confirms General Agreement on Southampton", Stony Brook University, 3 Nov 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
- ^ "Stony Brook University Completes Purchase of Former Southampton College Property", Stony Brook University, 4 Oct 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
- ^ LIU Triumphant - Dan's Papers - August 17, 2007
- ^ "Writers conference returns to Southampton campus", Newsday, July 6, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
[edit] External links
- Stony Brook Southampton
- Southampton College the LIU site contains mainly alumni information
