SBU: History and Timeline

1995
Dr. Shirley Strum Kenny is inaugurated as the 4th President of Stony Brook University on April 28th.

The hospital becomes the first in the nation to voluntarily extend length of stay for maternity patients to two days or four days if patient had a caesarian section, bringing national press coverage including Today and Nightline.

The Surgical Care Center and Breast Care Center opens at Stony Brook Technology Center in East Setauket.

Norman H. Edelman, MD, appointed Dean of the School of Medicine.

1996
Charles Wang of Computer Associates donates $25 million to Stony Brook for construction of an Asian American Studies Center. Governor George Pataki and Senator Alfonse D’Amato attend ceremonies celebrating the event (Newsday).

Hospital is named one of the nation's "Top 100 Hospitals" and one of the "Top 15 Major Teaching Hospitals," in Modern Healthcare.

Primary Care Center opens at Stony Brook Technology Park.

New Maternity Center opens with state-of-the-art equipment.

Breast Care Center is rededicated and named the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center.

Newsday's Sunday edition front page story is titled, "Eyes on the Prize: The Fight over Stony Brook," with subheading, "From East to West, Hospitals Vie for Suffolk's Premier Medical Center. Only Hitch is, It's Not for Sale".

Organizational restructuring takes place. The "Hospital within a Hospital" format calls for formation of five hospitals: Women's and Children's, Surgical, Medical, Mental Health and Cardiac.

Operating budget is approximately $300m.

3,510 babies are born.

Norman H. Edelman, MD, Dean, School of Medicine, named Vice President of the Health Sciences Center.

September 12, 1996: dedication of the William and Jane Knapp Alumni Center.

1997
A national study ranked Stony Brook one of the top three public universities in the nation (second only to UC Berkeley and tied with UC Santa Barbara) in the combined research areas of science, social science, and arts and humanities (SB News, Vol. 1, No. 1, February 1998).

Health Resource Center is opened in hospital lobby.

Actor Alec Baldwin appears at press conference to announce his family's pledge to raise one million dollars for breast cancer research at Stony brook in honor of their mother, Carol Baldwin, a breast cancer survivor.

Sextuplets-third set in the United States and only the 10th set in the world-are born in the new maternity center.

1998
University Hospital was named one of the top 15 teaching hospitals in a study that examined 3,575 hospitals nationwide (SB News, Vol. 1, No. 1, Feb 1998).

Starting in 1999, the University’s men’s and women’s sports teams will be eligible to compete in Division I NCAA play (SB NewsVol. 1. No. 1, Feb 1998).

SB places 12th among all US colleges and universities in royalties generated from inventions licensed to industry ($12 million). SB accounts for 98% of all SUNY-system licensing revenue. (In previous five years, SB recorded 319 invention disclosures, 142 patents issued, 161 licenses. 16 new companies were formed to commercialize SB-originated technologies; 14 are in New York State, and 12 on Long Island. 

Community Resource Center is opened in Stony Brook Village.

Allergy and Asthma Centers open in Hampton Bays.

Carol M. Baldwin Health Screening Center opens in the Smith Haven Mall.

1999
SB now has 12,700 undergraduates.

700+ public access computer terminals are now available to students. 

Centers for Molecular Medicine and Biology Learning Laboratories officially open on 11/12.

To fulfill President Shirley Strum Kenny’s vision of a ‘heart of the campus,’ the six-acre central mall is landscaped with fountains, trees, plants, benches, tables and chairs, and a ‘brook’.

Research Foundation ranks SB’s research activity as the highest in the SUNY system.

October
Ground breaking for 7500-seat stadium to host Division 1 sport events. 
Dennis Mitchell is appointed Chief Financial Officer.
I. Bernard Hirsch is appointed Acting Chief Operating Officer.
Hospital signs a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the option of joining the Long Island Health Network.