Stony Brook Honors Dorothy Lichtenstein in NYC Wednesday
Stony Brook University will honor Dorothy Lichtenstein, widow of late Southampton artist Roy Lichtenstein, at its 19th annual Stars of Stony Brook Gala on Wednesday, April 11 at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers.
The fundraiser and dinner will be hosted by the Stony Brook Foundation and will welcome special guests Jane Pauley of CBS Sunday Morning and Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau.
Lichtenstein will be recognized for her long-running support of a host of University arts and cultural programs, including the Stony Brook Southampton’s creative writing and film programs, the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, the Turkana Basin Institute in Kenya, and Centre ValBio in Madagascar.
She will join a distinguished roster of scholars, politicians, celebrities and luminaries who have been honored at the Gala including: former Vice President Joe Biden, Nobel laureate C.N. Yang, actors Julie Andrews, Alan Alda and Ed Harris (Pollock), Renaissance Technologies founder James Simons, CA Technologies founder Charles Wang, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond, and world-renowned conservationists Patricia Wright and Richard Leakey, who is also a famed paleoanthropologist.
Since its inception in 2000, the Stony Brook Foundation Stars of Stony Brook Gala has raised nearly $50 million to support student scholarships and a featured academic program of excellence. This year’s Gala is celebrating the Stony Brook Southampton creative writing and film programs Lichtenstein has been so instrumental in supporting.
A Stony Brook Foundation Trustee since 2008, Lichtenstein’s philanthropy is felt across the Stony Brook campus through her support of scholarships and in the University’s programs around the world. She has made significant investments in both Leakey’s research on human evolution at Turkana Basin Institute and Wright’s conservation work at Centre ValBio. The depth of her support inspired SUNY to confer Lichtenstein with an Honorary Doctorate in 2014.
Lichtenstein is widely known for her position as president of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, established after her husband’s death in 1997 to facilitate access to his work and the art and artists of his time. One of the most influential and innovative artists of the late 20th century, Roy Lichtenstein originated the Pop Art movement that altered the history of modern art.
“For well over a decade, Dorothy has helped foster the creativity of a new generation of fine artists, writers, filmmakers and cultural thinkers, ones who are going on from Stony Brook to make our world a fuller, more vibrant place,” said Gelfond, ’76, chair of the Stony Brook Foundation. “Dorothy’s commitment to advancing the arts has touched nearly every corner of the University and, of course, much of the world.”
Lichtenstein also serves as a board member or trustee of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Trisha Brown Dance Company, MASS MoCA, and The Parrish Art Museum.
The 19th Annual Stars of Stony Brook Gala is on Wednesday, April 11 at Pier Sixty at Manhattan’s Chelsea Piers. Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. Visit stonybrook.edu/gala for more info and tickets.