Issue #50, March 23, 2007

THE LATEST NEWS AT STONY BROOK SOUTHAMPTON

By Alan-Michael Braveman

Stony Brook Southampton has now committed to finishing the new Library that Bob and Laura Sillerman initially helped raise the funds for, during the time Bob was serving as Provost of Southampton College. The Library was never completed due to the sale of the college to Stony Brook in October 2006. At the press conference on March 19, a beautiful rendering of the building was unveiled. Dr. Martin Schoonen, the Interim Dean, explained that the term “library “is almost a misnomer on today’s campus. There are fewer stacks and journals in a modern collegiate library than ever before, since so much of the material students need are really electronically digitized documents that can be instantly downloaded right to a computer in a residence hall, or at any hot spot on campus.”

This 29,600-square-foot building will be an environmentally friendly facility, with high-tech resources that will include wireless connectivity and multimedia capabilities, “changing the facility from a warehouse of information into a destination for learning.” The Library will serve as an informal study center and information exchange, rather than just a place to just check books in or out, but will still be a quiet place to read or study. The Pollack-Krasner Archives will also be housed in the new building. And yes, there will still be lots of “real” books. Bob Sillerman’s promise at the last graduation (May 2004) that this would be the best Library on any college campus may well come true.

In addition to finishing the Library, there are a bevy of carpenters, painters, plumbers, electricians and engineers hard at work all over the campus. Newly completed offices abound in Chancellor’s Hall, and as fast as they are finished, they are filled with administrators, student advisors and admissions officers. The newly appointed Dean of Admissions, John Noonan, has already formed a Sailing club in conjunction with the Marine Science Department. A Kayak club is also in the planning stages. More than one hundred new students fill the classrooms and hallways, taking classes in Astronomy, Playwriting, and Atlantic Marine History, along with an Art History class on the Age of Michelangelo. It is a wonderful sight to see as they begin to bring life to the heretofore dormant campus.

Renovations are also underway in The Fine Arts building, bringing modern technology and a refitted theater up to speed. There are a series of concerts and lectures planned for this summer in the Avram Theater, and the Art Gallery is expected to be in full swing again. Wood Hall will once again be home to the student center but this time it will also house a Wellness Center along with a cafeteria and a snack bar, as well as other facilities for student leisure activities.

Three of the campus Residence Halls will be refitted and ready for students enrolled for the fall semester. It is expected that at least 120 students will be in residence along with the most modern wireless technology available and air conditioning that works, as well as plumbing that functions quietly. In bygone days, some of the plumbing had been known to convulse and shake in such a loud manner that golfers at the Shinnecock course missed one -foot putts.

The main floor of the Gymnasium will be rescued from oblivion after the plumbing is repaired and then the main floor of the building will be devoted to intramural activities.

For the coming fall, over one hundred student applications from all over America have been received, and they continue to pour in.

This concept of teaching sustainability for a modern world through an interdisciplinary curriculum that integrates principles and methodologies, from the social sciences, engineering, the natural sciences to the humanities, is what will attract the new students. It will make Stony Brook Southampton an exciting place to go to college. The students who choose to attend will be handed a truly unique opportunity — a college campus where students and faculty can grow and create the culture and life of a new college, and a campus where they can help to shape destiny and make the world a better place to live. Stony Brook Southampton will be a truly “green” campus and the supporting curriculum will encourage students to study in a manner that will prepare them for the real world. This is an impressive goal that is fast on the way to becoming a reality.