Stony Brook Southampton, the embattled campus that was all but closed last August, may be on its way back as soon as next semester, said President Stanley in an exclusive interview with Think Magazine.
“We have had some very good ideas, and I think a couple of them are things we’re looking towards implementing in the fall semester,” he said.
Stanley was hesitant to discuss any plans in detail however, because the committee tasked with making a final judgment on the campus has yet to announce its proposals.
But he offered a glimpse into what the campus may look like in the near future.
“I think we’ll have two programs we’ll roll out and then we’ll continue to look at other things we can do,” he said.
One program is the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, which currently operates its own facility at Southampton by the water. It is home to just a few dozen students throughout the year, but the rest of the Southampton campus could accommodate the entire department if the university chooses to relocate it there.
“We are going to build programs that will bring students there,” said Stanley. “Some of them may be from this campus that will be able to take classes there, others will be new students that come from outside.”
Having just two academic departments would be a significant reduction in offerings for Southampton, which until 2010 offered a range of programs focused on sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Figuring out the best use for the Southampton campus was a step that President Stanley thinks should have been done to a greater extent when Stony Brook University purchased the campus in the first place for $35 million in 2005.
“One of the things that I think wasn’t perhaps considered as carefully as it should have been was what are the unique strengths of that location, what are the things that make it valuable?” he said. “I think we have two really good programs that will take advantage of that location.”
“The plans we’re putting forward are things that would really play to that location.”
Students and supporters of Southampton who envision a return to what the campus was as early as last year shouldn’t get their hopes up too quickly though.
“I think that the biggest challenge I see moving forward is going to be people’s expectations,” warned Stanley. “We may not be able to start with 300 students there again right away, we may need to build gradually. We’re absolutely committed to taking advantage of that place.”
what kind of a$$backwards administration is this? They had 800 students coming in for the next school year & 9 programs but complained that that wasnt enough. So they shut it all down just to start all over again with even LESS students and LESS programs than were already there? Outrageous. The irresposnible executives who caused all this destruction & massive waste should be held accountable & fired.
BTW, when the closure was first announced last April, the Southampton students suggested that moving the main campus’ marine sciences & environmental programs to the Southampton campus, where the marine science & environmental sustainaability centers are actually located, would be the more logical & cost effective thing to do. Too bad it took that administration almost a year to pay attention to that suggestion.
Now they need to move the sustainability programs & the displaced sustainability students back to the “green” campus that they created & where their outdoor environmental laboratory is located!
They said it had to be closed because it was too expensive to operate & provide services for such a small school. So is it not too expensive to operate an even smaller one? They said it had to be closed because enrollment was slow, now they say it’s ok to let it build up “gradually”. I guess this is Stanley’s way of admitting he was WRONG. Ok. So start re-growing the college by making it The Marine Sciences and Sustainability Studies Center & move all those programs back to Southampton. Not only would that begin to correct Stanley’s monumental mistake, but it also would free up much needed classroom & dorm space on the main campus. When that college is reopened, the Southampton students who were displaced (kicked out)should be the first to return.
what geniuses these suits are. they must get migraines trying to think up how next to waste more money. Oh yes. Let’s close a whole college becaus we can’t afford to run it — and a year later open up another one that we have to spend more money starting from the ground up. Let’s just re-invent the wheel because we have to make a name for ourself in this new city. But last I heard the college was closed because it cost 2.5 times more to educate its smaller number of students than it does at the over-crowded main campus. By that reasoning, how much more will it cost to educate the few dozen students they are putting back there?
Maybe they’ll get a million $$$ education.
Please ask Stanley this:
1. When you decided that having a college at Southampton was not in your budget, hundreds of students were displaced and their sustainability program dismantled, to be replaced with what is offered at the main campus. Now that you see the way clear to re-open a college at Southampton again, when will the sustainability program & displaced students be returned to their campus?
2. Southampton campus’ uniqueness & value is in its location, which is perfectly suited to environmental studies. When will you move all of Stony Brook’s environmental progams from the main campus over to Southampton to take advantage of the uniqueness and environmental opportunities of that location?
Thanks.
Finding it interesting that he wouldn’t say which program
is the 2nd one that is moving east to the closed campus but talks
about fine arts “consolidation”. Won’t be surprised if the fine
arts program is the other he’s planning to move off campus. He’ll
eventually rid the Stony Brook campus of anything that isn’t
medical science or technology and that’s no secret.
Would be nice if they took advantage of the ART opportunities that are all over the east end!!!
Agreed. The campus is perfectly suited to environmental studies & the arts. it should be Stony Brook’s Center for Enivronmental, Sustainability, and Marine Studies, along with its Center for the Arts. Move them all over there & take advantage of that unique opportunity.
Moving the environmental sustainabilities & marine programs to the southampton campus sounds like a great idea. Even the arts could go there too. That would give those students better access to the ocean the environmental issues they study & the art community AND it would relieve some of the overcrowding at the main campus. A win-win solution.