Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith Shares Her Vision at Her Second “State of the University”

ASPIRE 2035 Serves as the North Star in Propelling University Forward

STONY BROOK, NY-September 14, 2026-In her second State of the University address, President Andrea Goldsmith highlighted the State University of New York at Stony Brook's (Stony Brook University) accomplishments over the past year and shared its bold ambitions for the future with an audience of students, faculty, staff, government leadership and other community partners.

President Goldsmith shared her personal experience of serving as president of Stony Brook University, "As I begin my second year leading this exceptional university, I am filled with immense gratitude for everyone who has made the first year of my presidency so joyful and rewarding: our inspiring students; our passionate, brilliant faculty and dedicated staff; our compassionate healthcare teams; our visionary academic leaders; and our steadfast supporters and friends. It is all of you - our people - that are the foundation of our excellence…the fuel behind our momentum… and the inspiration for our dreams to advance this university toward even loftier heights of achievement."

She also highlighted the value the university provides to its diverse student population, "From its modest beginnings, Stony Brook University has risen to become the number-one public university in the great state of New York. At $7,000-a-year-tuition for in-state undergraduate students, we deliver outstanding, accessible education and serve as a catalyst for opportunity, recognized by our ranking as one of the top universities in the country for upward mobility. Forty percent of our undergraduates have parents who did not earn a college degree, and more than 40 percent are Pell Grant recipients…students whose families are least able to afford college. These students have a higher graduation rate than the average across all our students, demonstrating their determination to seize the opportunities a Stony Brook degree provides."

President Goldsmith praised Stony Brook Medicine's role as Suffolk County's first and only academic health system that represents another example of the university's excellence as well as the upcoming building of the new state-of-the-art hospital on the university's Southampton campus.

The president went on to identify the university's mission to enhance prosperity and enrichment across the entire region. She said that he university looks to strive for greater heights of excellence and impact because New York State deserves to have one of the best public universities in the country that is a model of higher education for good.

The President shared the collaborative process that produced ASPIRE 2035, the shared vision for the decade ahead for the university. These goals across research, education, healthcare, and societal impact and provides a clear path to achieve them.

In conclusion, President Goldsmith challenged those in attendance to help grow the university. "Together, we will make Stony Brook one of the greatest public universities in the nation. New York deserves nothing less - a university our state, our country, and our world look to as a model of American possibility and progress."

For more information, please visit the recording of the State of the University here.

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About The State University of New York (Stony Brook University)

The State University of New York at Stony Brook is New York's flagship university and No. 1 public university. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With more than 27,000 students, more than 3,000 faculty members, more than 237,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world's biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked as the #59 overall university and #26 among public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook's membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 71 research institutions in North America. The university's distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize, Fields Medal, Breakthrough prizes in mathematics and physics, and MacArthur Fellows Genius Grants. Stony Brook has the responsibility of co-managing Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy - one of only eight universities with a role in running a national laboratory. In 2023, Stony Brook was named the anchor institution for the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island in New York City. Providing economic growth for neighboring communities and the wider geographic region, the university totals an impressive $8.93 billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stonybrooku/ and X @stonybrooku.