OntheWilderSide

(excerpt from)
The Southampton Press
Stony Brook University will announce drastic cuts to Stony Brook Southampton
by Will James / Apr 6, 10 7:11 PM

Stony Brook University officials are proposing to slash spending on Stony Brook Southampton, effectively reducing operations at the 81-acre Shinnecock Hills campus to two buildings and pulling the plug on most of the programs offered there, in order to save money, according to local politicians.

The proposal comes just four years after Stony Brook University purchased the campus for $35 million from Long Island University, and invested tens of millions of dollars in an effort to transform it into a center for sustainability and environmental studies.

In a closed meeting at the Stony Brook University’s main campus on Tuesday afternoon, Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. discussed the proposal with New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle and U.S. Representative Tim Bishop, according to Mr. Thiele and Mr. LaValle.

Mr. Thiele, who along with Mr. LaValle was instrumental in convincing the state to provide the money to acquire the college, described Stony Brook University’s expected announcement as a “breach of faith.” In the same press release issued Tuesday evening, Mr. Thiele said Stony Book University officials “are taking the substantial goodwill created by Stony Brook on the East End in the last five years and flushing it down the toilet.”…

Stony Brook University underwent a change of leadership this summer, when Dr. Stanley, formerly the vice chancellor for research and a professor of molecular microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis, took the reins from Shirley Strum Kenny, who retired after 15 years of service. Stony Brook Southampton was purchased under Dr. Kenny’s leadership….

Five years ago, Long Island University, the original owners of the campus, were proposing to close the college and sell the land to developers. An outcry from the community, and the help of local politicians, thwarted that sale and set the stage for Stony Brook’s acquisition of the campus.

Background: Photos and stories from a conference on sustainability previously held at the Stony Brook Southampton campus, from the PeaceSmiths web-site: here and here.

Filed under: Ecology, Environment, local, long island, Long Island Politics, nature, News, politics, progressive politics, sustainability Tagged: | college life, Dr. Samuel Stanley, Fred Thiele, higher education, Kenneth LaValle, Long Island news, Samuel Stanley, Shinnecock Hills, Southampton, Stony Brook University, Stonybrook University, sustainability studies, Tim Bishop, university